How to sell Switzerland in the summer

Switzerland is an amazingly diverse country and has something for everyone. And with tour operations having slashed their prices following the strengthening of the franc, here are some new ways to sell a country that is often dismissed after a single visit.

Winter sport in summer
The client: The sporty fitness freak
The holiday: Last year was all about celebrating the start of winter tourism 150 years ago, but if you’re looking to extend the season, why not sell summer skiing packages instead? Zermatt offers double the fun with its own 150th anniversary this July, celebrating Edward Whymper’s ascent of the mighty Matterhorn. The car-free village sits in the shadow of Europe’s most picturesque peak, which, at 4,478 metres, offers the highest summer skiing in the Alps – and fine views of the Valais region’s verdant valleys – at the Klein Matterhorn snowpark. To raise the heartbeat further, there’s also snowboarding, summer hiking, climbing and water skiing in the stunning canton of Valais.
Book: For something contemporary, make reservations at The Omnia design hotel, which offers guided climbing or skiing trips for those looking to conquer the world.

See and be seen
The client: The celebrity lover
The holiday: A train ride away from Zermatt – and the panoramic Glacier Express is no ordinary train – lies St Moritz, which was a summer hot spot long before it became Switzerland’s winter sport capital.
Celebrities have been flocking here since the word was invented, and Audrey Hepburn even lived here. Badrutt’s Palace hotel on the lake is where the action is, and its main salon is considered the only place to be – naturally, you’d be lucky to find a table here. Not only is there plenty of celebrity-spotting to be had, but a thicket of boutiques and fine emporiums near the hotel (where watches cost a mere 40,000 euros and handbags only 5,000 euros) mean there’s plenty of Alpine shopping to be had here.
Book: The Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains has its own Kniepp spa, so everyone leaves looking like a million dollars.

Cultural city break
The client: The designer
The holiday: You only need say one word to lovers of art and architecture – Basel. The city is home to some of Switzerland’s best public art and architecture, and Basel Tourismus will gladly set your client up with a knowledgeable tour guide. Sights in and around Switzerland’s third most populous city include public art, inspiring buildings by starchitects Renzo Piano, Mario Botta, Herzog and de Meuron as well as Zaha Hadid, and four world-famous museums, including the Fondation Beyeler and the Vitra Design Museum – a few stops away on the bus into Germany!
Book: The Art& Design package from Basel Tourism includes accommodation at art hotels and admission to the four museums over 48 hours.

Taking the waters
The client: The spa junkie
The holiday: Yes, Switzerland is home to luxury facilities such as Clinique La Prairie, but for less dedicated detox and diet enthusiasts there are a number of other wellness options. One such town, also in the Valais, is Leukerbad. The largest thermal spa resort in the Alps, its mineral-rich hot springs have drawn visitors since Roman times. A series of hot pools, ranging in temperature from 28 deg C to 51 deg C, help to relax muscles, stimulate the circulation, and alleviate chronic joint pain – all while soaking in the views of the gorgeous Valais mountains in the distance.
Book: Breakfast in the pool. A highlight is the bubbly breakfast served on a floating wooden board at the Leukerbad Therme. Leukerbad Tourism offers overnight packages on its website.

Chocolate and cheese
The client: The foodie
The holiday: What’s Switzerland without chocolate? Or cheese? For the avid foodie, the region of La Gruyère is the best place to get up and close with some of the world’s finest foods. In Belle Epoque style, passengers travel on the Chocolate Train from Montreux to Gruyères and Broc taking in a cheese demonstration at a local dairy, a visit to the medieval town and castle of Gruyères and finally a tour of the famous Cailler of Switzerland chocolate factory – complete with tastings.
Book: The Chocolate Train, from the Golden Pass line; tickets from CHF99 ($104).

To the manor born
The client: International man of mystery
The holiday: Several James Bond films were shot in Switzerland, and the discerning customer looking to recreate that luxury life would need an entire hotel to themselves. The nosebleed Gstaad Palace, in the canton of Bern can be booked out for CHF60,000 ($62,800) per night. That’s inclusive of overnight accommodation, five meeting rooms, 101 bedrooms and five restaurants. A visit to the nearby aluminium-covered revolving restaurant Piz Gloria on the 2,970m Schilthorn mountain, should serve as a souvenir for the Bond buff this is the lair of Bond’s nemesis, Blofeld, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Book: Gstaad Palace. A minimum stay of two nights applies.

Road trips through the Alps
The client: The petrolhead
The holiday: A new way to experience Switzerland that is sure to find favour with the Gulf’s speed freaks is a 1,000-mile car or motorcycle route over five Alpine passes, alongside 22 lakes, and eleven Unesco World Heritage Sites. The route passes by all major sights and attractions in Switzerland and avoids motorways wherever possible. Switzerland Tourism recommends driving clockwise, allowing eight days in total. A similar train tour is available, comprising 750 miles of panoramic routes.
Book: The Grand Tour of Switzerland at MySwitzerland.com/grandtour or The Grand Train Tour of Switzerland atwww.swisstravelsystem.com/grandtraintour.

Best of everything
The client: Ms Value for Money
The holiday: If your client wants maximum bang for her buck, or worse, can’t decide what kind of holiday she wants, a package with a little bit of everything might be a good idea. Instagram-worthy moments on the Tops of Switzerland rail and hotel packages that include excursions to Mt Pilatus, home to the world’s steepest cogwheel railway, a visit to the permanently frosted Top of Europe at the Jungfraujoch and to Europe’s highest-altitude railway station as well as heart-thumping views that extend from Vosges Mountains in France to the Black Forest in Germany.
Book: The Tops of Switzerland package from Rail Europe includes a five-day Swiss Transfer Ticket, four nights in three-star hotels (two each in Interlaken and Lucerne), breakfast, an excursion to Mt Pilatus and a journey on the GoldenPass scenic train. First-class tickets from $1,109 per adult.

By Clark Kelly

***************************************************************************************************************************

A Swiss family experience

Booking a family holiday? Suggest these outings and adventures to keep children busy and off their smartphones. Their parents will thank you for it.

Book a child-sized version of Switzerland: For something both the young and the young at heart will enjoy, recommend the Italian part of the country. The province of Lugano is home to a surprisingly enjoyable attraction at Melide. The Swiss Miniatur outdoor park features model replicas of the country’s finest attractions, such as the Heidi Village in Maienfeld, the castles of Burgdorf and Chillon and the Cathedral of Milan, the singular non-Swiss building and the only model that can also be seen from inside. Eighteen model trains travel between the buildings on approximately 3.5 km of tracks, but there also operating rack-railways, cable cars, suspension railways and ships. Nearby Bellinzona, located at the mouth of the San Gotthard valley, is home to two medieval castles, which will also find favour with children.

Send them camping: Arabs love camping, and myswitzerland.com has a range of more than 200 different campsites, in the Bernese Oberland, around Lake Maggiore and in the Valais region. These range from two-star to five-star, and are situated on mountain plateaus or by picturesque lakes. Depending on where your clients are staying, you can easily find them something.

Tell them to take a hike: There are yellow Wanderweg signs all over the country that point to hiking trails; there’s almost no chance of getting lost if tourists travel down one of these. The local tourist office can offer a map of the area (almost all of them are online), and with bucolic scenes of cows against green meadows and snow-covered peaks in the distance, there’s an Instagram memory moment everywhere.

Haslital has it all: Travellers who turn up their noses at yet another trip to the Bernese Oberland should be sent straight to the holiday town of Meiringen near Lake Brienz in the Haslital region. Not only does the area preserve many elements of Swiss folklore, making childhood stories such as Heidi come alive, it also pulls out all the stops to accommodate families. With mini-golf courses, tepee adventures, picnic areas with barbecues at the ready, and pushchair-accessible mountain bikes, nobody could want for family entertainment. Plus there are waterfalls and ravines to explore, the vintage steam locomotives of the Brienzer Rothorn railway, demonstrations of local crafts and a Sherlock Holmes Museum.

***************************************************************************************************************************