Being one of the most popular destinations among the Indians for decades, Switzerland is now looking to tap travellers from India during winters. The destination recently unveiled a new Winter Campaign for 2016 and ‘Nature wants you back’ campaign for summer 2017. The winter campaign will focus on the action and adventure that one can explore in Switzerland.
Speaking about the development, Claudio Zemp, Director – India, Switzerland Tourism said “2015 was an amazing year for us; we witnessed a growth of 22 per cent from India market. This year with the Schengen visa there was a bit of problem with the biometric coming in. We are still awaiting the figures for this year. But India is a priority market for us. Most of the Indian travellers come to Switzerland during the summers. It is important for us to tap travellers for winters and fall also. We expect around eight to 10 per cent growth out of India market for the winter tourism. Our main focus from the Indian market is still the summer season.”
This year, the destination has introduced a new product where a traveller can learn and experience skiing for a day. Indian travellers are one of the major targets for this new product. “We do have people coming in for adventure activities and skiing in winter. The profile of these travellers is high end and niche. People also come for Christmas holidays. With this new campaign and new product of one day skiing course, travellers can come and experience and get a lot of photo opportunities. The experience in winter is too different from summer. Everything one has experienced during summer changes during the winter months. So, we expect some of the repeat clientele to come and experience this,” Zemp added.
The summer campaign “Nature wants you back” will be led by the newly appointed Brand Ambassador Ranveer Singh. The campaign tag line is ‘#INLOVEWITHSWITZERLAND; and is all set to promote adventurous vacation or a leisurely, relaxed trip. “With Ranveer Singh coming in as the Brand Ambassador, we will be launching a TVC. We want to promote some of the unique attractions through this campaign. The whole aim of the campaign is to promote adventure and attract the young audience. We feel that the younger class of travellers is a big segment in India and we want to tap this. Rest of the segments like families, groups, etc. we have already successfully targeted,” Zemp said.
According to Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director, Switzerland Tourism India, although Indians love to go on a vacation during the summers, we do hope for a change after this campaign. “Apart from the picturesque natural beauty, Switzerland is also a complete package for families and honeymooners who are not only looking at a relaxing vacation but also crave some adventure,” she added.
Apart from the leisure segment, Switzerland also receives a lot of incentive travellers from India. According to the latest statistics, MICE contribute 19 per cent in the total arrivals from India to Switzerland. Zemp added, “MICE is doing extremely well from India, especially the incentive travel. We have a little bit of conferences also happening. MICE business from India to Switzerland accounts to almost 19 per cent of the total tourism.”
Speaking about the travel trade engagement activities he said, “The travel trade is very crucial for us, for winter promotion we have hosted roadshows in India. We will also take 35 tours operator for a workshop in March to experience the destination. In terms of overnights, India is the eight biggest markets. It is a strategic growth market and we see more potential in this market and now we are spending more for marketing promotions in India market.”
