Attack on holiday resorts: Tourism dispute between Switzerland and Sweden

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Even US President Joe Biden (80) is in trouble when it comes to Switzerland and Sweden. It confuses two countries. After decades of confusion, Sweden is tired of being constantly confused with Switzerland. Switzerland is in a similar situation. Of course, these two beautiful countries are both in Europe. And yes: they both start with the letters “Sch” in German or “Sw” in English. The risk of confusion is great. Sweden now wants to change this.

A recent survey commissioned by tourism organization Visit Sweden found that 50 percent of U.S. respondents were unsure about recognizing the differences between Swedish and Swiss cultures. Problem: Strange things can happen when you mix two countries. World travelers, international pop stars, the New York Stock Exchange and event organizers have all experienced it.

“We must help tourists”

Now Swedish tourism organization Visit Sweden is heading straight for European-friendly Switzerland with a not-so-serious advertising campaign. Goal: To create a clear distinction between the two countries. The first draft of the “official” agreement between Sweden and Switzerland is now available. And Visit Sweden hopes it will be signed. But we are open to discussions.

Sweden highlights the aspects that attract the attention of travelers with a humorous approach. «If people cannot distinguish between Sweden and Switzerland, we must help them. We cannot change the names of our nations. But we can be clearer. Sweden offers a different kind of luxury, so we think it is time to decide who is promoting what and hopefully we can reach an agreement,” says Susanne Andersson, Managing Director of Visit Sweden.

Sweden’s intention is clear: “We will encourage things like sandboxes, rooftop bars and silence.” Switzerland will focus on coasts, mountain peaks and “loud sounds” such as singing. How cliché! “We are waiting for an official answer, but we hope that Switzerland will be willing to negotiate with us on this important issue,” Andersson said with a wink.

“Our guests should not confuse Switzerland”

This is not only well received by Swiss Tourism. «Switzerland is an incredibly strong global tourism brand. It represents unique, exhilarating nature experiences in the Alps and much more. “Our guests do not confuse Switzerland with destinations with similar names, nor with other Alpine destinations,” says Markus Berger, corporate communications officer for the marketing organization Switzerland Tourism.

According to Berger, it is clear: “As a general rule, we never comment on the advertising activities of other tourism destinations. But we are happy when others make humorous tourism advertisements with a wink. This has been a tradition for us for a long time; “It’s nice that others now have the courage to do this.”

And: “Our creative team would be more than willing to create a very witty, lively reaction campaign.” However, they decided not to advertise ping-pong with their Swedish counterparts. “After all, we don’t want to fuel their campaigns with our creativity.”

Source :Blick