Promoting long-haul travel during a pandemic is no mean feat, but Switzerland Tourism’s newly appointed director for Southeast Asia, Batiste Pilet, is rising to the challenge.
We need to protect this strong positioning, while focusing on segments that are more niche, where our competitive advantage is very clear.– Batiste Pilet, Switzerland Tourism
Pilet moved to Singapore in June to lead the regional team after more than 15 years in China, the last nine years of which was to oversee Switzerland Tourism’s China operations. He takes the reins from Ivan Breiter, who established the SEA office in 2012, and nurtured the Singapore market to become one of Switzerland’s strongest source markets in the region.
Despite the challenges of Covid-19, Pilet said the tourism organisation is sharpening its focus on Southeast Asia, where he sees “great potential in the future”.
His strategy: highly targeted marketing to special interest groups.
“We established our regional office in Singapore nine years ago and have a solid relationship with the travel trade in the region,” he said. “Switzerland is widely recognised in European programmes, which is a great achievement given that we are not the obvious choice for group tourism. We need to protect this strong positioning, while focusing on segments that are more niche, where our competitive advantage is very clear.”
This means moving beyond pricing considerations to engage with special interest groups, like wellness travellers, classical music lovers and watch enthusiasts.
“This can be facilitated by doing more digital marketing and social media,” Pilet explained. “We plan to develop new and existing channels and find communities that are niche but have strong bond to exchange with Switzerland.”
The corporate incentive travel market remains a focus, while Pilet also plans to develop emerging markets in Vietnam and the Philippines where he admits “it’s easier to be present in-market at the initial stage of development and to keep relationships growing organically, rather than being late and having to invest a lot”.
Clearly, Pilet is playing the long game. While many tourism organisations have shifted focus to domestic and regional markets in the wake of the pandemic, Switzerland Tourism remains committed to long-haul from Asia — not only maintaining market share, but diversifying the market mix for the future.
“There is a commitment from management to keep our global offices open. This is a big strategic position because, like all destinations, we are fighting to get revenue. But we have to be ready to pounce at any time. If not, it will be very difficult to catch up [when travel resumes].”
Switzerland Tourism will develop new products including winter wonderland experiences for Southeast Asian travellers. Photo Credit: Getty Images/FedevPhoto
Reflecting on his time in China, Pilet understands the implicit need to localise tourism campaigns for the region — as well as the intricacies involved in such a task — from language translation, to assessing local market needs and adapting to local business customs.
“We are used to short lead times,” he said. “We know that we have to be ready and willing to catch opportunities as they arise because very often the best projects are those that have not been planned in advance.”
While regional travel is still restricted across Asia, Switzerland Tourism is planning a serious of virtual roadshows for the second half of the year, and is working with several land operators to develop new products for Southeast Asian travellers.
This includes winter wonderland experiences, train travel for mini groups, and a Swiss city experience. A seasonal campaign, with clear products associated with each of Switzerland’s four seasons, is also on the cards.
“Swtizerland has a strong reputation of being clean and safe,” Pilet said. “Post Covid, we plan to leverage our image of reliability, and the diversity of experiences that are available without the need to cross borders.”