Although not taking office until Nov. 1, Switzerland Tourism’s new director for Canada – Oliver Weibel – is already looking forward to letting the “fun begin” in this country, not least in promoting the European nation through his country’s participation in the World Cup of Soccer, which starts not long after he does. (Nov. 21).
Weibel takes the reigns at ST’s downtown Toronto office from popular outgoing director Pascal Prinz, who will be taking on a new role as Director, Global Accounts at ST based out of Zurich.
No stranger to tourism marketing, Weibel has worked at the national tourism board’s headquarters since 2017 as marketing manager, accommodations & hospitality.
Weibel holds a bachelor’s degree in International Hospitality Management from EHL Hospitality Business School in Lausanne and before joining Switzerland Tourism, Weibel held several positions in the international hotel industry, most recently working as Head of Sales & Marketing and Congresses & Events at the Hotel Einstein in St. Gallen, where he was responsible for the North American market.
Weibel told Travel Industry Today that one of ST’s first tasks will be planning events around the World Cup, one of the first world’s largest and high-profile sporting events.
While acknowledging Pascal Prinz’s “amazing contributions to the Canadian business and the recovery effort for travel to Switzerland and Europe,” ST Director of Americas Claudio Zemp said, “With Oliver, we have a tourism expert joining us with experience from the core part of our business. He has worked extensively with our partners in Switzerland and knows our business well. And, with his extensive experience in North America, he is the ideal man with proven expertise in both marketing and the hotel and hospitality industry.”
In 2019, the Canadian market generated 275,000 hotel room nights for Switzerland, representing a 17% growth from 2015. The average daily spend of Canadian travellers to Switzerland is $388, placing them in the top third of this ranking. ST expects 75% of Canadian hotel room nights to return this year (compared to 2019).