Alex Herrmann, Director,
North America for Switzerland Tourism
Christine Waelti of Basel Tourismus (and a keen Basel booster)
Toronto-based Ursula Beamish-Mader of Switzerland Tourism - always such a great ambassador for her country.
OK, we’re all in the travel industry so we get it that Switzerland isn’t just chocolate and clocks and cheese and Heidi.
But I must say I’m as guilty as the rest who think that Switzerland’s peak tourist season is winter. Sure those spectacular Alps draw their share of winter sports visitors, but did you know that 2/3 of the Canadian visitors come in the summer?
And what a summer 2012 is shaping up to be. As we learned when a Swiss team of 8 visited YTO to let us in on news from the Alpine country.
The entire country is theming its tourism pitch for the season as The Land of Water. Switzerland has some 7,000 glacier-fed lakes and 65,000 km of rivers (so clean some Swiss swim in them during their lunch hour. Who knew?)
Also new are tours including a train tour by Collette, a UNESCO World Heritage itinerary from Cosmos and a Swiss Movements Tour from Chanteclerc.
Business class travellers will be charmed to hear of the new Arrivals Lounge at ZRH for them, complete with massage chairs and showers. Got clients on a tighter budget? Remind them that Switzerland has the lowest VAT in Europe and that hotel rates include not only a generous continental breakfast but also all taxes – unlike some countries I could mention.
And while even those notoriously efficient Swiss can’t guarantee an appearance by Heidi, you can assure you clients that year round, they’ll still find lots of chocolate, clocks and cheese in Switzerland!
