For the second year in a row, the Nordic Countries Team won the Switzerland Meeting Trophy organized last weekend by Switzerland Tourism.
This unconventional rally, in which 83 congress and incentive travel specialists took part, was designed to let them take a closer look at Switzerland and its facilities for hosting professional events.
During this 6th edition, participants travelled by boat, by train, on foot and by car from Zurich to Lucerne, via the Grisons and the shores of Lake Lucerne, combining business with pleasure and trying out potential meeting venues for their customers.
“Study trips” are part of daily routine for professional congress and seminar organisers. But the Switzerland Meeting Trophy is much more than just a study trip. It is an entertaining, innovative way for them to get to know Switzerland better and to evaluate the quality of its infrastructure, as well as the opportunities it offers as a meeting destination.
At the same time, participants have a chance to personally test the cultural and sporting activities that can be included into leisure programmes accompanying professional events.
Eight national teams representing Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, North America, the Nordic countries (last year’s winner) and – for the first time – Russia, took part in this year’s rally, from 9 to 11 July.
All these countries are growth markets for Switzerland in the segment of congresses and meetings. Travelling by boat, on foot, by car and by train (including the special “Churchill” train), the teams journeyed from Zurich to Lucerne, stopping in Bad Ragaz, Arosa, Andermatt and Weggis.
This year yet again, the Switzerland Meeting Trophy emphasized the importance Switzerland gives to environmental protection and sustainable development. On most of the trip, priority was given to using public transport, and the rally highlighted the wide variety of regional products in the gastronomy sector.
In connection with congress infrastructure, the rally also stressed the efforts of host venues to limit their environmental impact and improve their energy efficiency, as demonstrated for instance by the solar panels installed on the new exhibition space at Lucerne’s Swiss Museum of Transport.
In Switzerland, the Meetings segment (meetings, incentives, conventions, events) generates an annual turnover of CHF 640 million, as well as 1.9 million overnight stays (5.4 percent of all hotel overnights) .
