As the centre of excellence for positioning, public relations, marketing, and guest services, Luzern Tourismus works diligently to ensure the first-class authenticity and sustainability of the Lucerne-Lake Lucerne region’s tourist offerings.
Q&A WITH LUCERNE TOURISMUS
With tourism being one of the main economic sectors in the region, Lucerne Tourismus highlights brand positioning, management, and maintenance in the interests of numerous partners who provide top-notch services for the city, its economic presence, and its image as a sought-after touristic destination.
The organisation’s vision is to make Lucerne-Lake Lucerne the first-class adventure region in Switzerland by highlighting the unique charm of the city, the fantastic lake and mountain experiences, and the high-quality variety of offerings in an innovative network.
Marcel Perren, CEO of Lucerne Tourismus, tells us more about the city’s unmissable offerings and the organisation’s goals for the future of this historic location.
Can you talk us through the origins of Lucerne Tourismus and its initial vision?
Marcel Perren, CEO (MP): Lucerne Tourismus is organised as a public limited company and brings together the most important tourism providers within the Lucerne-Lake Lucerne region under one roof. Through joint marketing under the Lucerne umbrella brand and the creation of the best possible framework conditions, we endeavour to further develop our destination management organisation sustainably and successfully.
What are your organisation’s current goals?
MP: Our current business plan focuses on creating a digital competence centre for the destination and all tourism suppliers, raising awareness of tourism among the local population, and promoting sustainable tourism development.
How do you market Lucerne as a destination?
MP: As an internationally recognised tourism brand, we serve 18 markets worldwide in the leisure and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) sectors. We work closely with Switzerland Tourism representatives worldwide in various areas.
How do you promote off-season travel?
MP: This is a very important strategic issue for us as we want to achieve the best possible annual capacity utilisation, particularly in the hotel industry. Our focus is on developing the MICE business, expanding the Christmas and winter season in the city of Lucerne, and strengthening autumn as an optimal travel season.
Are there any interesting projects you wish to highlight?
MP: We are proud that in June, the International Conference on Peace in Ukraine took place on the Bürgenstock, which is part of our destination. This opens up new opportunities to position ourselves as a prime MICE destination. Some years ago, we successfully launched Lilu Light Festival Lucerne, which generated additional overnight stays in January and positioned us even stronger as a “city of lights”.
In the future, we also want to publicise the event season and, in particular, the wide range of music events in Lucerne with various measures.
Why, in your opinion, should someone visit Lucerne?
MP: There are many reasons, but above all, the Lucerne-Lake Lucerne region is the perfect mix of a charming little town and a fantastic lake with the nearby mountains that offer many possibilities for excursions. This makes our destination a “Switzerland in a nutshell”, where you will find everything that makes the country special.
“Switzerland is an extremely popular holiday destination, and our region is a strong and internationally recognised location. We also benefit from a very high density of experiences in our destination and a good mix of guests from all over the world”
Marcel Perren, CEO, Lucerne Tourismus
What are some of Lucerne’s most unique landmarks?
MP: We are proud to hold one of the most iconic sights in Switzerland – Chapel Bridge. The wooden bridge and its water tower can’t be missed and is the perfect photo spot.
Secondly, visitors to Lucerne have the chance to see one of the last remaining fortification walls in Switzerland – Musegg Wall. For all architectural and music enthusiasts, the Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne (KKL Lucerne) is also a must-visit destination. The building is a masterpiece of renowned architect, Jean Nouvel, and the concert hall is well-known thanks to its outstanding acoustics.
Then, of course, everyone coming to Switzerland should experience our great trains. Lucerne’s train station is in the heart of the city, just next to the boat pier from where excursions on the lake occur, with connection to the local mountains.
What trends are transforming the tourism industry in Lucerne, and how are you utilising them?
MP: At the moment, it is particularly important for us to have a good relationship between the local population and our guests. We want to strengthen the welcoming culture and involve the local population more actively in tourism development.
What challenges does the tourism industry in Lucerne face?
MP: We are currently focussing on increasing the length of stay of our guests. The average length of stay in Lucerne is currently 1.9 nights. With the high density of experiences in our tourist region, this value is not sufficient for us, and we would like to increase it.
Are you optimistic about the future of the tourism industry in Lucerne?
MP: We are very positive about the future. Switzerland is an extremely popular holiday destination, and our region is a strong and internationally recognised location. We also benefit from a very high density of experiences in our destination and a good mix of guests from all over the world.
