Basel in the shop window of Europe

At yesterday's ITB media event at Messe Berlin's Hub27, the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel in May and the Women's European Football Championship in July were the two dominant topics. Martin Nydegger, head of the Swiss tourist office, is convinced that Basel will be able to cope well with the huge crowds of music and show fans: «The people of Basel are used to organizing such events.»

But Switzerland will also be in the spotlight in July, when the round ball rolls in various stadiums and the ladies fight for the European title – with coach Pia Sundhage, Switzerland also wants to have a say. Switzerland Tourism is responsible for communications. By the way: anyone with a ticket for a game can travel free of charge by train and bus to the venue.

Taking time

At the media event, the representatives of Switzerland Tourism were pleased with the increase in the number of overnight stays by tourists. Direct connections are therefore a major concern. The new direct Swiss flight between Zurich and Seoul has triggered a real boom.

Nydegger emphasized that Switzerland is no longer a destination with classic high and low seasons. Switzerland can be visited all year round. The Brazilians, for example, like to come in January – when there are not many tourists. The Indians come in the low season in April and May.

Nydegger called on people to take time to discover the many places. Only in this way can you discover the «little pearls». One of the main objectives of Switzerland Tourism is to promote harmony between the Swiss population and tourism. Time and again, hotspots would be overrun because certain places were particularly promoted on social media (example: Iseltwald), which would cause annoyance among the population.