AI and sustainability in focus at the Graubünden Tourism Day 2024

For the fourth time since 2019, Graubünden Holidays CEO Martin Vincenz welcomed the industry to a Graubünden Tourism Day on October 2 and 3, 2024. Around 160 representatives and service providers from Graubünden tourism attended the presentations and panel discussions on the topics of artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability in tourism at the Arosa Sports and Congress Center. Cantonal Councillor Marcus Caduff emphasized at the opening that the various challenges must be tackled together.

Between fascination and danger
Keynote speaker Roger Basler de Roca provided an introduction to the conference topic of AI. According to the digital entrepreneur, we could actually also talk about "creative inspiration". AI is like a creative spark that ignites new ideas and inspires innovative solutions. "The machine is artificial, the intelligence comes from humans."

Manuel Altermatt, Software Engineering Manager at Google, gave a more critical outlook on AI, even though he is generally a great advocate of the new technology. AI in the hands of abusers could be devastating. "This will undermine the human trust system as we know it," said Altermatt. What's more, unintended consequences of the use of AI are more critical than "malicious" AI.

Philosopher and publicist Ludwig Hasler categorized the topic from a social perspective. AI would take the relationship between man and machine to a new level. "The crucial question is what we want with AI." Referring to Immanuel Kant, he named sleep - or regeneration and dreaming -, hope and laughter as the three things that make humans superior to machines.

Using AI responsibly

Rainer Karcher, CEO and founder of Heartprint, built a bridge from AI to sustainability, the second major conference topic at the Graubünden Tourism Day. The key is to use responsible AI, he said. In terms of sustainability, AI can be used to mitigate climate change as well as to optimize the use of resources. He cited the enormous energy requirements of the new technologies as a problem.

Short presentations by various service providers gave an insight into current applications and projects at the Tourism Day. The company Fair unterwegs specializes in environmentally friendly travel experiences in Switzerland, Travelise offers surprise trips to steer guests, and Cirkel Supply promotes the circular economy through rental ski clothing. From Chiping comes the first "intelligent" golf ball that doesn't "get lost". Equally innovative is Skip's first active hiking pants with a built-in electric motor.

The Digital Tourism Trend Radar 2024 from Inside Labs provides a comprehensive analysis of the current and future impact of data and technology on the tourism industry. At the Tourism Day, AI lecturer Gion Sialm from the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden provided specific guidance for efficient prompts. Representing the NextGen Tourism Board of the Graubünden Tourism Alliance, Jamie Rizzi from the Hotel Schweizerhof Lenzerheide said: "We want to help shape the future of the tourism canton."

How far along is tourism?

The need for a more sustainable approach has been recognized in the tourism industry. In Arosa, the impact of tourism is considered in all dimensions - on nature, society and the economy, said Claudio Föhn, Head of Arosa 2030. According to Philipp Niederberger, Director of the Swiss Tourism Association, the conditions for a more sustainable development of the travel industry in Switzerland are good. Martina Hollenstein Stadler, Project Manager at Graubünden Ferien, called for sustainability to become the standard.

Pascale Berclaz, Director of Made in Bern, Janine Rupf, Head of Marketing Zurich Tourism, Karin Seiler, Managing Director of Tirol Werbung, and Martin Vincenz, CEO of Graubünden Ferien, discussed whether cities or Alpine regions have the edge. There is no clear-cut answer; aspects such as mobility, added value and acceptance of tourism among the population can all be weighed in the balance. "It is important that we see the city and the countryside as a whole experience," explained Pascale Berclaz.

A "must-plus" for the economy

Sustainability also offers new opportunities in other sectors of the economy. Johanna Gollnhofer, Director of the Institute for Marketing and Customer Insight at the University of St. Gallen, called it the 60 percent potential - the proportion of people who have a "green attitude" but do not act accordingly. For the broad masses, the classic customer benefit must be at an advantage with more sustainable offers.

Vanessa Rueber used the example of Patagonia Switzerland to underline the fact that prioritizing environmental sustainability also works from a company perspective and does not come at the expense of profitability. "In everything we do, we pay attention to how we do it," said the Community Marketing and Impact Manager of the outdoor sports apparel company. Products are measured and improved strictly according to sustainability criteria.

Sustainability is just as holistically anchored in the Graubündner Kantonalbank organization. "Thinking and acting sustainably is part of the consistent implementation of our vision and strategy," says Martina Müller-Kamp, member of the Executive Board. In terms of communication, the aim is to present a holistic, consistent and credible image and also to create lasting memories.

Exclusive insight into guest survey

For the first time ever, results from Switzerland Tourism's new national guest survey were presented at the Graubünden Tourism Day. Over 22,000 overnight guests from Switzerland and abroad were surveyed for the Tourism Monitor Switzerland 2023. The results show the guest structure, main travel motives as well as the touristic strengths and weaknesses of a region. Stefan Künzle, Head of Digital Management, presented the results for Graubünden on behalf of Switzerland Tourism.

Graubünden stands out from its domestic competitors in particular due to its high proportion of sports and leisure guests (71 %). These include an above-average number of regular guests from two clear main markets: Switzerland (63 %) and Germany (18 %). The vacation region's best differentiators include sport, public transport and cuisine. In summary, Graubünden is the number 1 for active vacations in Switzerland. Over a quarter of respondents named winter sports as Graubünden's greatest strength. The biggest "weakness" from the guests' point of view is the price level.