"Innovation promotion and new projects take a long time"
- Richard Kämpf, who heads tourism at Seco
Swiss government to increase its investment in tourism, as country's natural beauty is no longer enough to draw tourists. In 2012, the annual budget for Switzerland Tourism, which is the national marketing organization, was 99.4 million Swiss francs ($108 million), while it is planned to enhance this figure in 2013. Currently, the budget is increasing by 5 million Swiss francs per year for the years 2012 to 2015. The tourism sector remains under pressure not only due to the strength of nation's currency, but also due to increased competition from globalization. At the same time, the Seco's project InnoTour was organized in order to stimulate the development of new projects. Last year, more than 90 projects were evaluated.
"In the beginning we had to be very proactive, going to companies or hotels and saying, ‘Can we do this with your employees?'" says Eva Reinecke, manager of Projekt Herzlichkeit (Project Friendliness). "Now the companies contact us." By the end of December 2012, around 1,050 people were due to have taken part in the coaching.
"Innovation promotion and new projects take a long time," says Richard Kämpf, who heads tourism at Seco. "On the other hand it's the only chance to react in the long run. You have to invest either in the quality or in the [unique selling points] of your offerings, or you have to invest in new markets.
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