Switzerland has long had a reputation for being a clean and safe destination for hosting business events. But Switzerland Tourism has stepped that up a gear with its ‘Clean and Safe’ campaign in response to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

We’re thrilled to be partnering with Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB) to host our first event in the destination next spring. So, we caught up with SCIB Head Barbra Albrecht to talk all things Switzerland, and find out more about what measures are being taken to boost confidence and reassure planners that events can take place safely…

We’re so pleased to be hosting our first ever inVOYAGE in Switzerland in March 2021. What does it mean to you to be host destination for our first ever Spring event?

We are thrilled to be working with inVOYAGE, it’s a huge privilege to be hosting this important luxury MICE event. It gives us a great opportunity to showcase our destination to the global buyer community and we are really looking forward to it. The Bürgenstock Resort is a super location, so I think it’s going to be a fantastic edition.

Switzerland reopened borders in June. What’s the situation now?

We are in the same situation as most countries in Europe. People have been on holiday over the summer and they are coming back home, so we have seen a small increase in the number of COVID cases in some locations. We continue to monitor and evaluate the situation daily and take health and safety incredibly seriously. We are trying to start living again slowly and have lots of security concepts and hygiene measures in place across all our hotels, restaurants and transportation. Masks have to be worn inside stores and on transport and we are respecting distances.

What has the summer season been like? 

It has been very good in the mountain destinations. Believe it or not, some destinations had their best summer season ever. But it has been a lot more difficult in the cities naturally. Lots of Swiss people holidayed at home and discovered and enjoyed new destinations on their doorstep, which is positive.

Business meetings are taking place again, but on a much smaller scale and its local business, so Swiss companies holding small meetings as opposed to any international or inbound business. For larger events, hybrid formats are being arranged. 

How many of the hotels reopened?

The hotels here were never forced to close. Some did close, while others closed some floors or some of the facilities. Business is not back to normal. Occupancy levels are much lower than usual, especially in the cities, and we expect that to continue over the next few months.

What’s the current guidance for events in Switzerland?

It depends on the region. We are allowing events up to 1,000 people, but these obviously need to respect certain safety measures. You cannot have more than 300 people come into contact with one another at any time, to allow for track and tracing. So, you could have 300 people come to the first day of an event, and another 200 on the second day. Or you could have a larger group but split into different areas within a venue.

What processes and protocols has the tourism and events industry put in place to protect visitors and those working in the industry? 

The Swiss Government has set clear protection guidelines, which have to be followed by Swiss tourism providers. We have the ‘Clean & Safe’ label as well as the information platform www.clean-and-safe.ch, which provides an overview of all industry-specific protection concepts. All hotels, restaurants, venues and transportation have to sign up to sign up to adhere to these via their respective tourism association, and regular checks will take place to ensure they comply. If they do not comply, there are quite heavy fines in place.

HotellerieSuisse and the Expo Event Swiss LiveCom Association have also drawn up specific safety protocols and guidelines to be adopted when holding business events (meetings, conventions, seminars, conferences, etc.) in hotels, convention centres and other locations.

How have had to change the way you communicate with event planners?

It has changed completely. We have organised lots of virtual communications such as webinars, but we’re always trying to find new creative formats to make it interactive and interesting for the planners. 

For example, we integrated Song Division in a virtual event we did in North America, where we had everyone singing in teams. We are also planning something creative for the UK market, that will be a different format.

As soon as possible, we will try and combine virtual with in person into a hybrid format, but we have to be very flexible with guidelines changing all the time. We are now planning more or less everything as hybrid, with the option to make it virtual only if needs to be.

Are you getting many enquiries for business events? 

Not many at the moment due to the continued uncertainty. We do have a few coming in, but these tend to be for 2021 and 2022. In the short term, over the next three months, any events booked are mostly from the local Swiss market.

Switzerland is a very outdoors destination – does this lend itself to the current climate of social distancing?

I think this helps us quite a bit, along with our image of being a safe, reliable and clean destination. We are not overcrowded and are cities are not big, so there is plenty of space for distancing, especially in the mountains. It’s perfect on the Bürgenstock, where inVOYAGE is going to be held. You are overlooking Lake Lucerne and the mountains, and there are so many possibilities for outdoor activities – you can hike, you can bike and so much more.

Many of our properties can also be booked exclusively, which is ideal in the current climate, as you can privatise the whole hotel just for your group, which reduces risk and also helps boost delegate confidence. We are going to be pushing this exclusive takeover element more actively and plan to launch a campaign, initially in Switzerland, to try and get companies meeting in hotels again.

What trends do you expect to see in the meetings and events market over the next year?

I think exclusive takeovers will definitely be a key trend, which is why we are focusing on it. Hybrid will also be really big – so a mix of physical and virtual attendance, which is something we are doing at SCIB with the management team. And finally I think sustainability will also be big for events next year.