“Indictment of poverty”, “outrageous” – followers are frustrated
Switzerland Tourism only tweets in English
This causes a stink: Switzerland Tourism is shutting down the German and French-language Twitter channel. As an alternative, the association refers to the English channel.
Published: 11 minutes ago
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Switzerland Tourism bids farewell to its German …
Martin SchmidtEditor Economics
Domestic guests saved the Swiss tourism industry in the pandemic. They ensured solid winter figures and booming summer business. The industry would have every reason to thank the Swiss. Instead, Switzerland Tourism alienates its loyal guests.
The marketing organization discontinued the two Twitter channels in German and French last week. Until now, Switzerland Tourism has regularly provided information about events, tourism offers and media articles there. To say goodbye, there was now a “bye & thank you”, “au revoir & merci”.
«Regrettable», «Certificate of poverty»
Criticism hails from the followers. From “regrettable” to “outrageous” to “poor evidence” there is a lot to read. What increases the frustration of some: Switzerland Tourism refers to the English Twitter channel when saying goodbye. A follower therefore wonders whether Switzerland Tourism does not care about its own compatriots. And she is annoyed that she is co-financing the offer with her tax money. “The four national languages make Switzerland interesting and are a cultural asset,” writes another.
The 46,800 followers of the German channel have been dry since Thursday. There is low tide for 24,500 people on the French Canal. Only the Italian Twitter channel with over 25,000 followers remains of the national languages.
Older users increasingly on Tiktok
Have the channels fallen victim to the Sparhammer? Switzerland Tourism denies this on request. There can be absolutely no question of a reduction in social media activities. “The MySwitzerland.com Twitter channels in German and French are among Switzerland Tourism’s least followed and most neglected social media accounts,” says spokesman André Aschwanden. In addition, the traffic on the two channels has fallen sharply.
Again and again, Switzerland Tourism notices changes in the behavior of users. Certain platforms are becoming less important, while others are becoming more popular. “For example, Tiktok, which is now increasingly shifting to the ‘upper’ age groups, as the latest findings show,” explains Aschwanden.
Switzerland is the “most important market”
The holiday country marketer adapts its channels to such changes. We want to be as close as possible to the relevant target groups. For this purpose, new channels are regularly used, such as Pinterest, BeReal or Tiktok, “which, unlike the Twitter accounts in German and French, are more widely recognized and are growing strongly,” says Aschwanden.
The Swiss guest does not miss out: “The Swiss market has always been the largest and most important market for Swiss tourism,” emphasizes Aschwanden. In the national languages, one is present on Instagram or Facebook, among other things.