by Suman Gupta
Mumbai,December 2017: Switzerland Tourism, in an effort to catalyse tourism development across India, has introduced several new attractions, experiences and activities to make travellers familiar with both popular and lesser known destinations in Switzerland. The recently conducted Annual Roadshow in India across cities of Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Delhi witnessed over 900 participants from the travel & tourism trade industry in a bid to bridge connections. The delegation at the roadshow included hoteliers, mountain excursions, destinations and other local representative from various partners from Switzerland.
The Aletsch Arena, Luxury hotel from Villars Chalet Royale were some of the new partners that participated this year. Other partners such as St. Moritz, Davos Klosters, Interlaken, Gstaad, Lucerne and the Lake Geneva Region were a part of this event as well.
A special B2B session was held in each city allowing the Indian travel agents to meet and discusses business prospects with the Swiss delegations;. A brief presentation made by Mr. Claudio Zemp – Director India, Switzerland Tourism, included insightful market information on tourism in Switzerland covering new destinations, products, and trends.
Mr. Claudio Zemp, Director – India, Switzerland Tourism, said, “2017 has been a remarkable year for Switzerland Tourism with Ranveer Singh coming on board and promoting the destination with his charm, unmatched energy and fun personality which thoroughly matches the image Switzerland Tourism wanted to portray. In terms of growth from India, we had a fantastic year with a year to date growth of 25.1% more overnights, Switzerland welcomed 23.9% more Indians in 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016. For the coming year, the country has a lot to offer in terms of adventure, food, cuisine, new unexplored destinations and unique experiences. We are thankful to our partners for their continued support and we hope that we welcome more tourists for the upcoming season. ”
Ms. Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director, Switzerland Tourism India, says, “Switzerland has also been accredited as one of the world’s most luxurious destination as it has an abundance of luxurious offerings and experiences. In the past few years, Switzerland tourism has upped the ante to attract more tourists from India. Apart from the key metros, we are also penetrating into tier I & II cities by conducting training sessions in these markets to ensure that the travel trade is well equipped to answer queries relating to our campaigns and offerings.”
She further added, “We have also witnessed the Indian travel pattern change over the last few years. May and June used to be biggest month for Indian tourists in Switzerland, however this trend is now changing and even though these months are prevalent, the travel graph now ranges from May to October. So far, 2017 has been phenomenal as there has been an increase in overnight stays and the numbers are growing up. As Indians are getting more adventurous, we are now also introducing winter as a season here. We have special offers like the “First ski experience” which is meant for newbies to snow sports who would like to try their hand at skiing – 25 ski resorts offer this package which includes ski clothes, equipment, ski pass as well a 3 hour lesson with a ski instructor which is perfect for Indians.”
With an initial focus on the winter tourist, Switzerland Tourism offers multiple options like skiing, sledging and snowboarding for the active traveller and Christmas markets, open air hot springs and igloo stays for the more relaxed visitor looking for pure white relaxation in winter.
Summer 2018 focus will be packed with an array of adventure activities such as biking, mountain biking, sky-diving, wakeboarding, canyoning, etc. combined with Switzerland’s best touristic and nature highlights.
