Switzerland Tourism Launches Pop-up Hotels
by Shrutee K/DNS
Switzerland Tourism (ST) has
launched pop-up hotels in 11 Swiss cities that gives guests the chance to spend
the night in unusual places that have never been slept in before. The pop-up
hotels are part of the ST cities campaign, allowing tourists to experience the
booming Swiss cities from a surprising perspective. The fishermen’s cabins in Basel
are normally only accessible to a small number of people. But, this summer,
Switzerland Tourism (ST) is making it possible for interested guests to spend a
night in a beautiful hut directly on the Rhine because one of the huts is being
turned into a pop-up hotel room for a few months. The pop-up hotel in
Bellinzona is equally unusual. It’s hidden in Castelgrande Castle. Guests can
be the king or queen of the castle in the tower room of this UNESCO World
Heritage Site – at least for one night.
Exclusive city experiences
Vevey is offering a modern pop-up
hotel with a long history. A shop cum café was set up in the former ballroom
some time ago. “Bravo”, this ballroom-shop-café combination, will be
temporarily available as a hotel room. Other pop-up hotels launched by ST, in
cooperation with 11 Swiss city councils, include a floating room, a secret
boathouse and a prison tower. All the hotel rooms are attractive overnight
options, thanks to their uniqueness and their beautiful locations. It’s all
fairly exclusive: every “hotel” has just one pop-up room, and the rooms can
only be booked during a period of around three months.
Product development by Switzerland Tourism
These pop-up hotels showcase
Swiss cities in a new, modern and surprising manner. They give visitors the
chance to see the nation’s cities from a perspective that was previously the
preserve of the Swiss. This new project, initiated by ST as part of its product
development, is being sponsored by the 11 cities, together with selected hotel
operators. The latter are responsible for furnishing the rooms and providing
the service. ST’s temporary pop-up hotels reveal unknown corners of Swiss
cities, taking guests off the beaten track and away from mass tourism.
Swiss urban feeling
The pop-up hotels are a part of
the ST city campaign “Swiss urban feeling”. The campaign presents a new, urban
Switzerland, with surprising secret tips from local people. This meets a need
expressed by city tourists. 25% of guests are looking for “hidden gems”, a good
15% are interested in fine cuisine and around 10% would like to “meet local
people”. This list of preferences was established by TMS 20171. The city
campaign also comprises the new offer “Taste my Swiss city”, which ST launched
in early May together with 11 cities. ST is investing a total of 12 million
Swiss francs in this year’s city campaign.
City breaks in vogue
City breaks are booming in
Switzerland. Since the year 2000, overnight stays* in the largest cities have
increased by 50.5% and in smaller cities by 14.6%. And the boom continues.
According to the ITB World Travel Trends Report, the popularity of city breaks
will continue to rise sharply. Not least because city dwellers in particular
tend to travel to cities. And the proportion of the world’s population living
in cities is continually growing. According to the UN Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, around 5 billion people across the globe will be living in
urban areas by 2030. Growth in cities is also based in emerging, long-haul
markets. For example, 37.4% of all Indian tourists stayed in a major Swiss city
last year, from where they went on frequent excursions to nearby mountain
destinations.
Locations of the pop-up hotels:
Baden: city tower. By Trafo
Hotel.
Basel: fisherman’s cabin. By
Basel Youth Hostel.
Bellinzona: Torre Nera,
Castelgrande. By Hotel & SPA Internazionale.
Bern: former customs house. By
Altes Tramdepot.
Lausanne: room in hotel garden.
By Beau-Rivage Palace.
Lucerne: secret boathouse. By
Seehotel Kastanienbaum.
Schaffhausen: floating hotel. By
MS Konstanz.
Solothurn: Krummturm. By Hotel
an der Aare.
St. Gallen: tower room. By
Einstein St. Gallen.
Vevey: former ballroom. By Astra
Hotel.
Zurich: milk bar. By
Milchbar/Péclard.
Availability: Till end of August 2018 on MySwitzerland.com/popup
Prices: Price per room/night, including breakfast: from 150 to 750
Swiss francs
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