Switzerland Sets Sights on Winter

Switzerland Tourism kicked off its upcoming winter season last week with special trade events in Toronto and New York, where it unveiled two new television spots.

The Toronto event was held at the CN Tower where travel agents and industry partners were treated to a special presentation promoting the Swiss winter experience and dinner.

Canadian numbers to Switzerland remain strong with arrivals and overnights ahead of 2015. Over the last 10 years, the number of Canadians visiting Switzerland has grown by 30%.

“We are committed to Canada and will continue in doing various promotions targeted at Canadians only,” said Evelyn Lafone, market director for Canada.

The most popular destinations for Canadians are the Zurich Region with 64,911 overnights, the Geneva Region (48,025) and the Valais Region (21,050). With 52.6% more overnights in 2015, the Bern Region recorded the biggest growth in visits from Canada.

While renowned for its skiing experiences, Switzerland has much more to offer with Lafone noting visitors can also take in the country’s Christmas markets, museums and spas during the winter months, which were described as milder than here in Canada. Also on hand for the Toronto event was former professional skier Chris Robinson, who shared tips on travel to Switzerland.

In other news, Switzerland is getting set to open the world’s longest train tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, in December, connecting Zurich with Milan, Italy, in two hours and 40 minutes. The tunnel is 57 km long at a depth of up to 2,300 metres below the Gotthard massif.

Upcoming special events include the Alpine World Ski Championships Feb. 6-19, 2017 in St. Moritz.

Pictured at the Toronto event are Switzerland Tourism’s Ursula Beamish-Mader (l) and Lafone (r) with Patrick Oberson of Swiss International Air Lines.

(http://www.MySwitzerland.com)