In view of overtourism, it would be wrong to simply cut advertising funds for tourism. Sustainable tourism in particular depends on good marketing.
Whether with or without marketing – certain Swiss destinations always work: tourists from South Korea take photos of themselves on the Eiger North Face above Kleine Scheidegg.
Peter Klaunzer / Keystone
Until recently, tourism was a term that had entirely positive connotations: we Swiss are world champions when it comes to traveling. However, this also makes the debate about negative excesses in this sector – often denounced as “overtourism” – particularly difficult, because everyone is an expert and can contribute their part.
In addition to day tourism, the concept of the holiday home rental business has recently come under fire. In heavily frequented areas, this phenomenon is so pronounced that, like hotels, holiday homes are now rented out for just one night. This undermines the concept of the holiday home, just as the originally idealistic idea behind Airbnb – providing guests with their own living space at a reasonable price – has been turned into the complete opposite by commercialization. Nobody wants these excesses; they are the opposite of sustainable and are making living space for locals extremely scarce.
If we take a closer look, however, we notice that in Switzerland only a few so-called hotspots are affected by large flows of guests, which overload the local structures at certain points – but never all year round. As the responsible tourism manager of such a heavily frequented tourist region, I see the efforts at all levels – mountain railways, accommodation providers, local authorities – and am convinced that we can get this phenomenon under control with short-term measures and longer-term planning.
Meanwhile, there are calls to simply abolish the means of marketing Swiss tourism as a measure against overtourism. On the surface, this even seems understandable. Why continue to advertise Switzerland as a travel destination when, according to forecasts, tourists will be coming in droves in the coming years anyway? The irony is that it would be precisely the small number of tourist hotspots that would not suffer, but could actually benefit, if national or cantonal marketing were restricted. This is because the well-known tourist regions have their own marketing structures with their strong local players, such as the mountain railways, or they participate in them. They would continue to market themselves – only now without competition from other Swiss destinations.
But what would have to change in marketing if we wanted to focus on sustainable tourism in the future instead of attracting hordes of tourists? What defines a sustainable tourist? Do they even exist? First of all, this is of course a mental construct that helps us to grasp the characteristics of a guest who behaves sustainably in the best sense of the word. This means, for example, that the further away they come from, the longer they should stay with us. They should be interested in the regional cultural peculiarities and products, not just superficially, but in depth.
In addition, we also use our marketing resources to target long-distance markets that have different peak travel times than European guests, which are in the shoulder seasons, so that we can cover as many visits to our region as possible all year round. These goals are ambitious, and marketing resources must be used precisely. Sustainable offers that are attractive and include stays of several days therefore also cover several Swiss destinations. But it is precisely the national and cantonal marketing structures that bring destination managers to the table and help us put together these packages. Restricting or even abolishing these channels would be counterproductive; they would harm the lesser-known regions and fuel one-dimensional, short-term mass tourism around the Swiss hotspots.
Let’s just say it: we are probably experiencing the zero hour, the golden hour of a modern understanding of tourism, which needs our marketing more than ever. If we really want to be serious about sustainable tourism, then we must now create new instruments, offer structures and know-how that make a joint approach by Swiss destinations – and in any case: cross-cantonal offers – possible.
We really have more pressing problems in Switzerland than worrying about too many tourists. Let us be happy that, despite all the international conflagrations – and to the surprise of many – tourists from all over the world continue to visit us and count on Switzerland’s welcoming culture and stability.
Marc Ungerer
PD
Marc Ungerer, 56, has been managing director of the Jungfrau Region tourism destination since autumn 2017 and has also been president of the Bern Destinations Association for several years. Before that, he worked in cultural management, including over ten years in marketing for the Hamburg State Theater and the Elbphilharmonie. He studied history and economics at the University of Zurich and international relations in Vienna.
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