{"id":113785,"date":"2021-10-04T08:16:40","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T06:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=113785"},"modified":"2024-07-03T10:35:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T08:35:37","slug":"business-tourism-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/business-tourism-strategy","title":{"rendered":"Basel, a strategy to win back business visitors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Something has changed at Basel<\/strong><\/a>Switzerland, like many other European cities, was hit by the Covid-19 crisis. The Swiss metropolis is renowned for its research and chemicals cluster, for the presence of major financial institutions such as the Bank for International Settlements and for its its trade fair and conference business<\/strong>. The Swiss city is home to an average of thirty or so annual trade fairs<\/strong>. In 2019, they attracted more than 743,000 visitors, many of them Swiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this segment has been undermined by the pandemic<\/strong>The Covid, for example, caused the cancellation of BaselWorld... Covid caused the cancellation of BaselWorld...<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Something has changed at Basel<\/strong><\/a>Switzerland, like many other European cities, was hit by the Covid-19 crisis. The Swiss metropolis is renowned for its research and chemicals cluster, for the presence of major financial institutions such as the Bank for International Settlements and for its its trade fair and conference business<\/strong>. The Swiss city is home to an average of thirty or so annual trade fairs<\/strong>. In 2019, they attracted more than 743,000 visitors, many of them Swiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this segment has been undermined by the pandemic<\/strong>In particular, the most important annual events have been cancelled. Covid has led to the cancellation of BaselWorld, dedicated to watchmaking and jewellery (81,000 visitors in 2019); Art Basel, Europe's leading contemporary art fair (90,000 visitors); and SwissBau, one of the biggest construction fairs, a bi-annual event (95,000 visitors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MICE in slow motion<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many of these events will be repeated at the end of the year and in 2022.<\/strong>. But they are unlikely to attract as many visitors as they did before the crisis. A factor that will require the tourism sector to reposition the city's image<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Stefan Bonsels, Sales Director, Basel Convention Bureau<\/strong>the business travel<\/strong> represented around 35% of the 758,000 visitors expected in 2019,<\/strong> including 472,000 from abroad. However, many of them are expected to be unavailable in the short term. \"\u00a0We believe that MICE travel will make a comeback as people want to meet again. However, we believe that hybrid events will dominate the industry as long-haul markets will be less active than 'local' markets. The<\/em><\/span> companies will also reduce the number of MICE participants to send to an event, not only because of reduced travel budgets, but because of increased awareness of environmentally friendly behaviour within companies<\/em>\" explains Stefan Bonsels.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Convention Bureau is also working to attract operations MICE more environmentally friendly<\/strong>t. \"\u00a0For example, we are highlighting the range of vegan menus<\/strong> to reduce the CO2 impact of catering services. We also offer free public transport<\/strong> delegates booking at city hotels. We also encourage the use of the train whenever possible.<\/em>says the Sales Director. The Basel tourism authorities have signed a special pre-carriage tariff agreement with Deutsche Bahn. <\/strong>They are addressed to delegates at a congress or trade fair. The Convention Bureau would like to set up a similar process with the Swiss SBB and the SNCF...<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To support business tourism, Basel's tourist office wants to appeal to the leisure segment. The city has just launched its new slogan \"This is Basel<\/strong>which replaces the two-decade-old slogan \"Basel. Culture unlimited\". \"We have high hopes for this repositioning, which should bring a new dynamism to our tourism industry, particularly by targeting the 30-45 age group, who are looking for a more authentic experience.<\/em>\" says Stefan Bonsels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n