5th Switzerland Meeting Trophy: the Team Nordic Countries Wins the Race

The team Nordic Countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) won the 5th Switzerland Meeting Trophy organised by Switzerland Tourism. This rally, which took place from August 28 to 30, 2009, is a journey across Switzerland by boat, train, in “fun cars” and on foot. The 70 participants, all professional congress, meeting and incentive travel organisers as well as 1 journalist per team, learned all about Switzerland’s assets as a congress and meeting destination while traveling from ZГјrich to Basel via Lucerne and Interlaken.

For all professional congress and meeting organisers, study trips are part of the routine. But the Switzerland Meeting Trophy is much more than a study trip. It is a fun and unconventional way to discover Switzerland, its infrastructure, and the opportunities the country offers as a meeting destination. The purpose of this rally organised by Switzerland Tourism is to stimulate the demand for conferences, meetings and incentive travels in the country. En route, participants have a chance to experience the many different facets of Switzerland. Along with the high quality conference infrastructure and the wealth of shopping on offer, they discover the rich variety of cultural, sports and leisure activities that can be included in programmes around conferences and meetings. This year, from August 28 to 30, seven national teams took part in the rally. In addition to team Nordic Countries, the winning team, the following countries were represented: Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, North America and France. These markets are all extremely important for Switzerland in the field of meetings and congresses. The rally took place in “fun cars”, by boat, train and on foot, on an itinerary going from ZГјrich to Basel via Lucerne, Ballenberg, Interlaken and the Schilthorn, and included a ride on the legendary “Churchill” train.

During the Switzerland Meeting Trophy’s 5th edition, a particular emphasis was put on visiting places committed to promote sustainable development and to protect the environment. For instance, the itinerary included visits to the KKL (Culture and Congress Centre) in Lucerne, which cooling system uses water from Lake Lucerne, to Interlaken, which was granted the label “Energy city” as early as 2003, or to the Schilthorn restaurant, which almost exclusively uses solar energy.

The first prize included an authentic Swiss cow bell, as well as a certificate of adoption for “MICEli”, a Swiss cow – whose milk will be made into cheese which, when mature, will be delivered to the winners. In addition, all members of the team Nordic Countries will also have the opportunity to visit MICEli up on the alp.

Switzerland as a meeting and congress destination.
In Switzerland, the Meetings sector (meetings, incentives, conventions, events) generates an annual turnover of CHF 640 million, as well as 1.9 million overnight stays (5.4 per cent of all hotel overnights) .
For additional information, please contact:

Caroline Pidroni, Director of Sales & Marketing North America
Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB)
Tel.: +1 212 757 5944 ext 236, e-mail: caroline.pidroni@switzerland.com
www.MySwitzerland.com/meetings

To access the slideshow:

http://www.swiss-image.ch/slideshow/?event=switzerlandmeetingtrophy2009

September 3, 2009   Posted in: Switzerland