The Swiss tourism industry launches its ‘Clean & Safe’ campaign. The campaign, consisting of an information platform and a label, was initiated by Switzerland Tourism (ST) as part of its ‘Recovery Plan’. The ‘Clean & Safe’ label signifies to guests that tourism service providers have made a conscious commitment to comply with protection guidelines. The information platform provides deeper insights into concrete measures taken. The aim is to strengthen guests’ confidence in Switzerland as a safe and clean travel destination.
For some guests, the step into the new normality comes with doubts and uncertainty. In order to strengthen their confidence in Switzerland as a holiday destination, Switzerland Tourism initiated the ‘Clean & Safe’ campaign which is implemented in conjunction with the tourism industry associations*. The campaign consists of the ‘Clean & Safe’ label as well as the information platform www.clean-and-safe.ch, which provides an overview of all industry-specific protection concepts.
The new ‘Clean & Safe’ label is the response of the Swiss Tourism industry to the increased need for safety and hygiene of guests following the corona virus.It is available for hotels, restaurants, lake navigation companies, cable cars, public transportation and meeting facilities. All label holders guarantee compliance with strict rules set by the tourism industry. Tourism service providers can apply for the label with their respective tourism association. The Swiss Government has set clear protection guidelines, which have to be followed by the Swiss tourism industries. Whilst the adherence to the protections guidelines is mandatory, service providers can choose whether or not they want to use the label as a promotional tool.
Guests’ perception of safety and hygiene become competitive factors.
Switzerland as a country already has a reputation for being clean and safe. An evaluation by Tripadvisor users confirms the country’s high ratings in terms of cleanliness: ‘In addition to a written review, our users can rate criteria such as location, service, value for money and cleanliness for the property they visited’, says Fabrizio Orlando, Global Senior Manager Industry Relations at Tripadvisor. ‘When compared to the other European countries with at least 5,000 accommodation reviews, accommodations in Switzerland achieved the highest score in the category ‘cleanliness’ on Tripadvisor in 2019’, he adds.
Switzerland’s way back to the new normality.
With the first two relaxation sets of measures on 30 April and 11 May, Switzerland has moved towards the new normality. Hotels, museums and restaurants have resumed operations and shopping is possible again. Mountain railways, lake navigation companies and tourist attractions are set to resume business on 6 June and events for up to 300 people will also be allowed to take place again.
The opening of the borders with Austria, France and Germany is scheduled for 15 June and for all other Schengen countries the borders will open by 6 July latest. The border opening for non-Schengen countries has not yet been communicated.
*The Swiss hotel association ‘HotellerieSuisse’, Cableways Switzerland, the association of non-hotel accommodations ‘IG Parahotellerie Schweiz’, the association of public transport ‘Verband Öffentlicher Verkehrsmittel’, the lake navigation association ‘Verband Schweizer Schifffahrtsunternehmen’, the Association of Swiss Tourism Managers, and the gastronomy association ‘GastroSuisse’.
