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Making its presence felt -
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he Swiss reputation for discretion and privacy has worked well for the
country’s banking community, but to an extent this has also reinforced
the stereotypical view of the nation as being rather distant. To counter
this, two years ago the Swiss parliament established Presence Switzerland
– an organisation aimed at better promoting the country abroad.
This is done by showcasing the country’s diversity, humanitarian
engagement, the direct influence the Swiss have on political decisions
as well as their excellence in education and their hi-tech sector.
Its strategy for the UK is to emphasise Swiss-British relations and
to organise and publicise a wide range of events over the next three
years. The United Nations has declared 2002 as the International Year
of Mountains, so it is entirely appropriate that mountainous Switzerland
promotes itself on a theme called Dialogue Across Mountains.
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Presence
Switzerland stresses the long-standing relationship between the UK and
Switzerland. Ambassador Johannes Matyassy,
the organisation’s chief executive, says the organisation’s
task is to “inform the world about Switzerland, its diversity and
its attractiveness – and to try to get some understanding of the
country because, like all countries in the world, it has its own peculiarities”.
Presence Switzerland is conducting a series of studies in different
countries to discover exactly what are foreigners’ perceptions
of Switzerland.
Mr Matyassy says ten countries are on the priority list: Germany, Italy,
France, Austria, China, Japan, India, the United States, the UK and
Spain. The last three, he says, are being given “special attention”
over a period of three years.
This year tourism authorities, governments and agencies around the world are doing their utmost to boost leisure travel since the terrorist attacks on the US last September. Switzerland, which on anyone’s reckoning would have to be one of the most civilised and safest places in the world, nevertheless cannot afford to be complacent. “Once a month about 120 television stations worldwide receive video clips from us,” says Mr Matyassy. “Every two weeks a video on Switzerland is broadcast by CNN, for example. Then we have our web site, we produce various brochures, we stage exhibitions and so on.”
He adds that their initial studies show that British tourists place the friendliness – perceived or actual – of a nation’s citizens high on a list of priorities in considering a holiday destination. “Switzerland does have a good image abroad, but this image is based on many stereotypes. Yes, we have mountains and we have banks, and many people have the impression that everyone in Switzerland is rich and everything works well. But we are not seen as a country with warm and friendly citizens. So, this is just one more stereotype which we are working to change.”
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