Two tourism organizations sign cooperation agreement
The two tourism organizations Adelboden-Lenk-Kandersteg and Lenk-Simmental have signed a new cooperation agreement. It is intended to enable cooperation under new auspices.
"There are some commonalities and many challenges that we have to master together," Hansjörg Schneider, chairman of the board of Lenk-Simmental Tourism LST, was quoted as saying in a statement on Tuesday. The new contract takes this special situation into account.
In their joint communication, the organizations emphasize that cooperation requires a basis of partnership, acceptance of each other's needs, communication at eye level and constructive exchange.
The tourism organization Adelboden-Lenk-Kandersteg recognizes the autonomy of the tourism organization Lenk-Simmental. This includes, for example, the independent brand presence, the mutual agreement on press releases or the cooperation with Gstaad-Saanenland.
Furthermore, the agreement also regulates the use of the cantonal lodging tax. After deduction of the contribution to the cantonal tourist marketing organization "Made in Bern", the funds are used for the promotion of the ski region "Adelboden-Lenk...dänk!", for market development in Switzerland and abroad with a focus on hotel promotion and for digital projects.
Conflicts over here and over there
Conflict-ridden years lie behind the tourism organizations in the western Bernese Oberland. The tourism organization Adelboden-Lenk-Kandersteg came into being in 2018 as part of a destination consolidation. Lenk-Simmental Tourism, however, refused to join. Under pressure from the canton, a cooperation agreement was concluded instead, which Lenk-Simmental Tourism terminated again in 2019.
At the same time, Lenk-Simmental flirted with a switch to the destination Gstaad-Saanenland. However, the canton did not allow this step: The destinations were legally binding in 2018, they said. If not a change of destination, then a selective cooperation with the Saanenland, they said to themselves in Simmental and took action.
Last May, the tourism organization Adelboden-Lenk-Kandersteg suffered a scandal. The entire board of directors and the director resigned in unison following demands from shareholder circles for a restructuring of tasks and responsibilities. The management saw this as a withdrawal of trust and drew the consequences.
Meanwhile, the Adelboden-Lenk-Kandersteg tourism organization has new strategic leadership. In late summer, Chairman of the Board René Müller spoke of involving the top performers more in the future. "We are increasingly relying on a bottom-up strategy," Müller said in an interview with the Bernese Newspaper. (SDA)
