Zürich Tourism Convention Bureau
ZURICH
Innovative Convention Region
Zurich is a place where urban dynamics meet the calm of nature and people unite their strengths. In this environment, where thoughts become ideas, ideas turn into visions, and visions shape the future, innovative startups, pioneering tech companies, academia, and the vibrant creative scene connect and make progress together.
A thriving region
Business events and meetings provide the opportunity to connect with interesting people, discover new ideas, and foster innovation. Zurich’s status as Switzerland’s economic and scientific hub makes the city an inspiring destination for forward-thinking business meetings and conventions.
The proximity to world-leading universities, such as ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, to research and innovation centers, and a high quality of life make the broader Zurich region a sought-after location for progressive companies. This has created a collaborative environment that companies like Google, Disney Research, Microsoft, and lately Boston Dynamics have recognized and leveraged.
Innovation doesn’t stop at the city walls
Zurich and its well-connected neighboring regions are a compelling choice for business gatherings. Enriched by their fascinating industrial history, these regions add value with their commitment to quality, beautiful scenery, and drive for innovation.
Region of Rapperswil-Jona
This picturesque city with its lakeside riviera, castle and rose gardens radiates a charming Mediterranean ambiance. It is also home to first-rate enterprises, such as the Swiss multinational Group Geberit and Weidmann as well as to OST – the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. If one wishes to combine highly innovative meetings with nature experiences, Rapperswil is the place to go.
Venue Tip: ENTRA, large-size event hall
Region of Winterthur
A fascinating transition from industrial hub to a dynamic, technology-driven city. Winterthur’s industrial heritage, headed by Rieter und Sulzer, laid the foundation for a flourishing tech city. The region disposes of state-of-the-art research facilities, including ZHAW, one of the leading Universities of Applied Sciences known for its expertise in technology, health sciences, and management.
Venue Tip: Technorama, Swiss Science Center
Region of Zurich Oberland
In the 19th and 20th century, the textile industry shaped Zurich Oberland, paving the way for other industrial branches, especially textile engineering. Today, the region has become a vibrant hub for business and innovation. Surrounded by beautiful nature, offering numerous hiking trails and the highest peaks in the canton, Zurich Oberland is the ideal place to work, live, and create.
Venue Tip: Bleiche Wald, industrial charm
Partner for impactful business events
The Zurich Convention Bureau is your local partner for professional event planning in Zurich. From the initial bidding process right to the final implementation. With its extensive network in science and industry, the team acts as a door opener for meaningful connections.
Zurich - A Premium Destination
Thomas Wüthrich
Director Zurich Tourismus
First of all, congratulations on assuming the role of Director of Zurich Tourism – we know it’s been one year already; we wish you the best of success with your leadership and would like to know a little more about your plans for the future.
You took on the role of director of Zurich tourism in January 2021, pretty much in the middle of the pandemic, so what would you say was your reason for wanting to lead Zurich tourism during this difficult time? Also, what makes you particularly qualified for this role?
Thomas Wüthrich: The start was certainly special. Travelling was practically out of the question as there were travel restrictions everywhere due to the Covid pandemic. My start in this new position had also been postponed, so I used the opportunity to get familiar with the Zurich Tourism team via teams. Then, less than two months into my job, Putin started the war in Ukraine. Despite all the difficulties, however, I was really looking forward to working for Zürich Tourism. It is a highly exciting job and with my previous experience I can certainly contribute something to strengthen tourism in the holiday destina- tion.
Obviously, the pandemic had severe repercussions on the entire tourism and MICE sectors, but are there are learnings we can take away from this period moving forward? Could you, for example, use the ‘down’ time to regroup and plan in a less hectic moment?
Thomas Wüthrich: One important learning is that meetings and personal exchange remain important in post-Covid times. Therefore, there will still be meetings and congresses in the MICE sector. Smaller meetings, 1:1 meetings, will perhaps be held online more often in the future, but the length of travel time for business travellers could increase if they extend their stay for private purposes. This seems to be increasingly the case, and we can play a supporting role in influencing the local experience and on the quality of the respective event. Sustainability, for example, plays an important role here and is increasingly becoming an exclusion criterion. Because business tourism is very important in the city of Zurich, one of my first official acts was to strengthen the congress office team. In terms of personnel, as well as financially.
Now that we are moving ahead at full speed to reignite interest in travel, for e.g. to Zurich and attract more MICE events, what concrete steps have you taken to secure the future?
Thomas Wüthrich: MICE campaigns are indeed planned. We will show meeting planners the value of holding a meeting or congress in Zurich. The diversity on offer for a medium-sized city is tremendous. In the long term, we are focusing on a balanced business mix of corporate events and congresses to ensure high added value.
What motivated the move to link Zurich tourism with the Hallenstadion (Zurich indoor stadium) and with Messe Zurich to create the Arena Convention Expo? What synergies do you hope to achieve with this move?
Thomas Wüthrich: During the pandemic, events came to a virtual standstill and the financial challenges that arose are immense. Thanks to the above-mentioned cooperation, more and bigger events should be possible in the future. At ACE, the A stands for Arena, the C for Convention and the E for Expo, which perfectly sums up what the new collaboration has to offer: Infrastructure and capacities for congresses, corporate events and exhibitions of international size. Most of all, it will now be possible to organise congresses with more than 3,500 participants. With the previous capacities, more than half of all international congresses could not be held in Zurich. This is a great opportu- nity for Zurich as a location. We can already cover small congresses with up to 1500 participants. However, we still lack a congress centre for medium-sized congresses with 1500 to 3500 participants.
Finally, as a closing argument, what makes Zurich so special? Why should event and congress organisers consider this city versus other Swiss cities?
Thomas Wüthrich: As an innovation hub and home to two international and renowned universities, Zurich is primarily a location for many global companies such as Google, IBM and Disney Research. This makes the city on the Limmat river additionally attractive for congresses. Over and above that, the connections within Europe and Switzerland are unique, also thanks to the international airport, which is 10 minutes by public transport from the city centre and is one of the largest in Europe. In addition, Zurich offers everything that other international metropolises also offer for business events however, in a relatively compact space – this makes event organisation easier, and planners can save the costs for many and long transfers and invest instead in important networking events. Sustainable event organisation has almost become a “hygiene factor” and Zurich, located in the heart of Europe, can capitalise on its advantage here.