Councils agree on CHF 646 million for location promotion
The National Council and the Council of States have agreed to leave the funds for tourism promotion and regional policy unchanged. This poses challenges for the Swiss Tourism Federation. A total of around CHF 646 million is to be invested in location promotion from 2024 to 2027.
In the years 2024 to 2027, a total of around CHF 646 million is to flow into the promotion of the location. The two chambers of parliament have agreed on this, the parliamentary services inform in a press release. Specifically, the Council of States withdrew its vote for an increase in funding for tourism promotion and the contribution to the Regional Development Fund. Both areas are to receive the same amount of funding for the coming years as for the expiring period.
The Federal Council had already set out the goals for location promotion for the years 2024 to 2027 in January. According to these, the framework conditions for SMEs are to be improved, the regions strengthened and the opportunities of digitalisation exploited. Furthermore, location promotion should contribute to sustainable development and strengthen the attractiveness of business and tourism.
The Swiss Tourism Association(STV) has mixed feelings about the agreement of the councils. On the one hand, the stakeholders of the tourism sector were relieved “that the proposals of the Federal Council regarding the financial means for the tourism promotion instruments could be maintained”, according to a corresponding statement of the STV. On the other hand, it is feared that planned commitment to sustainability and digitalisation in particular will fall victim to the red pencil. Due to high inflation in some source markets, the unchanged funding level also means “a substantial reduction in funds for foreign marketing”, the association writes.