The 2017 Switzerland Meeting Trophy: A Picturesque Tour of North-Eastern Switzerland

Magazine:
10th Nov, 2017
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Every summer, Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau organises the Switzerland Meeting Trophy, an unconventional rally that brings together meeting and incentive specialists and international media representatives to showcase what country has to offer as a MICE destination.

Elise Mazzarini reportsI must admit I was very excited about the Switzerland Meeting Trophy before the trip; the staff from Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau prepared for its guests – 8 teams of 15 different nationalities with a total of 88 persons - a programme rich in activities and discoveries against breath-taking natural landscapes. Not to mention, of course, the infrastructure and possibilities of hosting international events that blend perfectly with the environment.

Catching a train from Zurich Airport to reach your final destination is a cinch. This is exactly what we – Team Belgium guided by Myriam Winnepenninckx – did to reach our hotel, Arcona Living Schaffhausen. Located in Schaffhausen’s Old Town, the hotel  features congress facilities in seven event rooms and boardrooms plus an in-house spa with
gym, and five different saunas. After a short break, we enjoyed a welcoming networking dinner at Güterhof, a restaurant housed in a huge historical building right on the waterfront. Formerly a warehouse, the restaurant serves typical dishes from the Rhine region and can host seminars and workshops for up to 40 sitting participants, 85 roundtable guests and 120 for concert seating. There, we met our strong competitors from the other teams in a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

The next morning we had breakfast at Laufen Castle, located at the Rhine Falls. There are five rooms that can accommodate 200 people, high above the mightiest waterfall in Europe. After enjoying this amazing view, we took the very special Churchill train – in which we were told the historical anecdote related to it - to St. Gallen, a UNESCO World Heritage textile city filled with history, culture and arts, where beautifully painted houses and traditional architecture tickled my curiosity everywhere I went. Afterwards, we headed to Flims-laax-Falera, a ski resort 1,100m above sea level, and had a wonderful dinner at Foppa, which served a typical dish from the area called “capuns” before spending the night at the amazing Hotel Romantik Schweizerhof, established in 1903 in a great location near the Swiss Grand Canyon.

The next day, we visited the Waldhaus Flims Alpine Grand Hotel & Spa and after a stop at the astonishing turquoise Lake Cauma and a boat trip back to Zurich, we celebrated the final evening of the trip around Lake Zurich (congratulations to the French team who won the Trophy and a very Swiss prize!)  and stayed overnight in the spacious rooms of the Renaissance Zurich Hotel, a 15 minutes’ drive from the airport.

  

The last stop on our itinerary was the centrally located FIFA World Football Museum in Zurich, where the history of the Beautiful Game all over the world is presented in a very enjoyable way. The conference rooms also provide the ideal inspirational setting for your next event where delegates can experience a unique atmosphere imbued with team spirit.

I am now looking forward to go back to Switzerland, being it for a professional or a personal purpose and I hope you have the same feeling after reading this report. See you there!

For more information and if you want to participate to the Switzerland Meeting Trophy, please contact:

Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau

Myriam Winnepenninckx

myriam.winnepenninckx@switzerland.com

02/345 83 57

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