The campaign was initiated by Switzerland Tourism (ST) as part of the Recovery Plan. The label shows guests that they are visiting an establishment that has made a conscious commitment to comply with the protection concept.

With the first two relaxation measures on 30 April and 11 May, a slow return to normality is taking place. But it is a new normality to which the Swiss people will have to get used to first. Hotels, museums and restaurants have resumed operations and shopping is once again possible. Cable cars, shipping and tourist attractions could resume operation, and the opening of the borders with Austria, France and Germany is scheduled for 15 June.

Confidence of guests
The protection concepts drawn up by the federal government and industry associations for the opening of businesses are mandatory. The cantonal authorities are responsible for monitoring compliance with the protection concepts.

For some guests, however, the step into the new normality may be fraught with doubt and uncertainty. In order to strengthen guests' confidence in Switzerland as a holiday destination, the tourism industry associations HotellerieSuisse, Seilbahnen Schweiz, IG Parahotellerie Schweiz, Verband Öffentlicher Verkehrsmittel, Verband Schweizer Schifffahrtsunternehmen, Verband Schweizer Tourismusmanager and GastroSuisse have launched the Clean & Safe campaign, which was initiateted by ST.

So far, the campaign includes a new label and the information platform www.clean-and-safe.ch with an overview of all industry-specific protection concepts.

New competitive factors
As a clean and safe country, Switzerland’s prospects are bright. An evaluation by Tripadvisor users shows that Switzerland achieves very high scores in terms of cleanliness: "In addition to a written evaluation, our users can rate criteria such as location, service, value for money and cleanliness for the accommodation they visit," explains Fabrizio Orlando, global senior manager industry relations at Tripadvisor. "Compared to the other European countries with at least 5000 accommodation ratings, the accommodation in Switzerland achieved the highest score in the cleanliness category in 2019 on Tripadvisor."

By the start of the tourist season, the label should be well known among the Swiss population and in the most important guest markets, as well as being used in establishments throughout Switzerland. Commenting on the new label, Christof Huber, president of the Gstaad-Saanenland Hoteliers' Association, said: "With or without the label: all restaurants and hotels in the destination comply with the protection concepts".

And a detail that speaks in favour of the Saanenland: The official ST website to introduce and promote the new label features a large banner showcasing the Arnensee.

Based on AvS/Sonia Wolf