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The study
In January 2025, the Institute of Tourism (ITO) at HES-SO Valais-Wallis conducted an online survey, the seventh in its series since 2015, probing the digital practices and strategies of Swiss tourism organizations (TOs).
Our study was carried out as part of the Resilient Tourism project. The Innosuisse-supported Resilient Tourism Flagship (www.resilienttourism.ch) aims to foster the datafication of the Swiss tourism and travel sector, in order to create digitally-supported resilient services, processes and business models. The program has been designed by six research institutes in partnership with over 30 Swiss players in the tourism sector.
The study assesses the evolution of digital marketing trends, including the use of social networks, strategic data management and analysis, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into tourism operations.
The data was collected via an online questionnaire, to which 79 organizations responded, providing a detailed insight into the current innovations and challenges facing the Swiss tourism sector. This substantial sample provides a solid basis for analyzing current practices and anticipating future directions for TOs in the digital age.
Use of social networks
Between 2015 and 2024, the use of social networks by Swiss Tourist Offices has evolved significantly, with a growing dominance of visual platforms such as Instagram (97%) and YouTube (70%), as well as the emergence of TikTok (41%). LinkedIn (81%) is emerging as a strategic tool for corporate communication and partnership development. Traditional tools such as Facebook (99%) and Google Review (58%) remain essential pillars, while others such as Twitter/X and Pinterest are losing importance. This evolution illustrates a strategic adaptation to new digital trends, with an emphasis on engaging content and direct interaction with audiences.
In 2024, Swiss Tourist Offices will mainly be using social networks to raise awareness of their destinations (87%), engage visitors (76%) and promote their products and services (73%). Increasing traffic to websites (63%) is also a key objective, while the use of networks as a service or feedback channel remains limited. These results show a strategy focused on visibility and interaction, with opportunities to exploit for a more customer- and quality-oriented approach.
In conclusion, Swiss tourist offices are adapting their social networking strategies to remain relevant and effective in an ever-changing digital landscape. They are prioritizing targeting and visibility tools to reach potential tourists, while managing the challenges posed by dynamic social platforms.
Budget & Marketing
Analysis of budget data shows that 60% of the TOs surveyed have an overall budget of CHF 1 million or more. Although the use of social networks by tourists has increased considerably, TOs continue to allocate relatively modest resources to these channels, despite a gradual increase in investment in recent years. In 2024, the median budget for search engine marketing was CHF 31,285 (CHF 202,409 for large TOs), while social network campaigns had a median budget of CHF 26,062 (CHF 115,363 for large TOs). This underlines the growing but still limited prioritization of digital channels in TO marketing strategies.
On average, 1 in 7 office jobs is dedicated to online marketing. Around two-thirds of organizations devote less than 15 hours a week to social network management (the median value is 9.5 hours). Investment in time and personnel is proportional to the size of the organization, with larger destinations investing more in social networks. Cumulative totals reflect a variety of financial and resource commitments, indicating a diversity of strategic approaches among destinations of different sizes.
Using data
The survey highlights a growing awareness of the importance of data, with 37% of EOs claiming to have a clear strategy respectively human resources in the area of data, marking a significant improvement on 2018. This increase reflects a growing awareness of the importance of data in guiding strategic and operational decisions. Data collection is primarily driven by marketing needs and the personalization of the customer experience, as well as its exploitation as a source of monitoring and knowledge enhancement. These priorities underline the need to invest in the skills and tools required for effective data management.
However, significant challenges remain, including lack of human and financial resources, regulatory constraints, user costs and technical skills gaps. These obstacles hinder the fully strategic adoption of data, despite its growing recognition as an essential lever for performance optimization and decision-making.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) by IoTs
AI adoption: The integration of artificial intelligence in Swiss Tourist Offices (TOs) is growing, but still limited. A majority of TOs (52%) have started using AI recently, and 8% plan to adopt it soon. However, around a quarter of TOs are still not using these technologies, mainly due to resource constraints, costs, and a lack of technical understanding.
Areas of use: IoTs make extensive use of AI for marketing-related functions, including content generation and digital communication. AI is also applied to personalizing the customer experience, optimizing operational processes, and managing customer relationships. These areas reflect strategic use to improve efficiency and customer engagement. However, areas such as tourism flow management or forecasting remain under-exploited.
Challenges to overcome: The main obstacles to AI adoption include the lack of quality data, the lack of in-house technical skills, and the high cost of implementation. Strict data protection regulations and the difficulty of integrating AI into existing processes also hamper its implementation. These challenges underline the need to invest in training, improve access to accessible and reliable solutions, and strengthen data infrastructures.
Conclusion: Although AI adoption is still in its early stages in the Swiss tourism sector, it has recognized potential to improve efficiency, communication, and visitor satisfaction. TOs will need to overcome structural and technical challenges to maximize the impact of AI, with a particular focus on improving skills, data quality, and raising awareness of the strategic benefits of these technologies.
The study
In January 2025, the Institute of Tourism (ITO) at HES-SO Valais-Wallis conducted an online survey, the seventh in its series since 2015, probing the digital practices and strategies of Swiss tourism organizations (TOs).
Our study was carried out as part of the Resilient Tourism project. The Innosuisse-supported Resilient Tourism Flagship (www.resilienttourism.ch) aims to foster the datafication of the Swiss tourism and travel sector, in order to create digitally-supported resilient services, processes and business models. The program has been designed by six research institutes in partnership with over 30 Swiss players in the tourism sector.
The study assesses the evolution of digital marketing trends, including the use of social networks, strategic data management and analysis, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into tourism operations.
The data was collected via an online questionnaire, to which 79 organizations responded, providing a detailed insight into the current innovations and challenges facing the Swiss tourism sector. This substantial sample provides a solid basis for analyzing current practices and anticipating future directions for TOs in the digital age.
Use of social networks
Between 2015 and 2024, the use of social networks by Swiss Tourist Offices has evolved significantly, with a growing dominance of visual platforms such as Instagram (97%) and YouTube (70%), as well as the emergence of TikTok (41%). LinkedIn (81%) is emerging as a strategic tool for corporate communication and partnership development. Traditional tools such as Facebook (99%) and Google Review (58%) remain essential pillars, while others such as Twitter/X and Pinterest are losing importance. This evolution illustrates a strategic adaptation to new digital trends, with an emphasis on engaging content and direct interaction with audiences.
In 2024, Swiss Tourist Offices will mainly be using social networks to raise awareness of their destinations (87%), engage visitors (76%) and promote their products and services (73%). Increasing traffic to websites (63%) is also a key objective, while the use of networks as a service or feedback channel remains limited. These results show a strategy focused on visibility and interaction, with opportunities to exploit for a more customer- and quality-oriented approach.
In conclusion, Swiss tourist offices are adapting their social networking strategies to remain relevant and effective in an ever-changing digital landscape. They are prioritizing targeting and visibility tools to reach potential tourists, while managing the challenges posed by dynamic social platforms.
Budget & Marketing
Analysis of budget data shows that 60% of the TOs surveyed have an overall budget of CHF 1 million or more. Although the use of social networks by tourists has increased considerably, TOs continue to allocate relatively modest resources to these channels, despite a gradual increase in investment in recent years. In 2024, the median budget for search engine marketing was CHF 31,285 (CHF 202,409 for large TOs), while social network campaigns had a median budget of CHF 26,062 (CHF 115,363 for large TOs). This underlines the growing but still limited prioritization of digital channels in TO marketing strategies.
On average, 1 in 7 office jobs is dedicated to online marketing. Around two-thirds of organizations devote less than 15 hours a week to social network management (the median value is 9.5 hours). Investment in time and personnel is proportional to the size of the organization, with larger destinations investing more in social networks. Cumulative totals reflect a variety of financial and resource commitments, indicating a diversity of strategic approaches among destinations of different sizes.
Using data
The survey highlights a growing awareness of the importance of data, with 37% of EOs claiming to have a clear strategy respectively human resources in the area of data, marking a significant improvement on 2018. This increase reflects a growing awareness of the importance of data in guiding strategic and operational decisions. Data collection is primarily driven by marketing needs and the personalization of the customer experience, as well as its exploitation as a source of monitoring and knowledge enhancement. These priorities underline the need to invest in the skills and tools required for effective data management.
However, significant challenges remain, including lack of human and financial resources, regulatory constraints, user costs and technical skills gaps. These obstacles hinder the fully strategic adoption of data, despite its growing recognition as an essential lever for performance optimization and decision-making.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) by IoTs
AI adoption: The integration of artificial intelligence in Swiss Tourist Offices (TOs) is growing, but still limited. A majority of TOs (52%) have started using AI recently, and 8% plan to adopt it soon. However, around a quarter of TOs are still not using these technologies, mainly due to resource constraints, costs, and a lack of technical understanding.
Areas of use: IoTs make extensive use of AI for marketing-related functions, including content generation and digital communication. AI is also applied to personalizing the customer experience, optimizing operational processes, and managing customer relationships. These areas reflect strategic use to improve efficiency and customer engagement. However, areas such as tourism flow management or forecasting remain under-exploited.
Challenges to overcome: The main obstacles to AI adoption include the lack of quality data, the lack of in-house technical skills, and the high cost of implementation. Strict data protection regulations and the difficulty of integrating AI into existing processes also hamper its implementation. These challenges underline the need to invest in training, improve access to accessible and reliable solutions, and strengthen data infrastructures.
Conclusion: Although AI adoption is still in its early stages in the Swiss tourism sector, it has recognized potential to improve efficiency, communication, and visitor satisfaction. TOs will need to overcome structural and technical challenges to maximize the impact of AI, with a particular focus on improving skills, data quality, and raising awareness of the strategic benefits of these technologies.
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