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[textarea]Excitement grows over potential of Wales’ new air link with Switzerland
The stereotypes might depict it as a land of cheese, chocolate and cuckoo clocks, but Switzerland is increasingly being seen as a crucial trading partner for Wales, as Matt Withers found out
“THE dragons and the knights”. That is what comes to mind when the Swiss think of Wales, according the nation’s ambassador to the UK.
He means it in a good way, as one of the “positive cliches” he says he believes Wales shares with his country. But in truth few Swiss holiday in Wales.
And it is one of the things many hope to change when, at the end of next month, the first regular scheduled flights between the two countries begin to operate.
Helvetic Airways, after lengthy discussions involving the Assembly Government, launches its four-times-a-week flights from Cardiff to Zurich in the hope that they will prove a success for both business and leisure passengers.
Welsh tourism chiefs hope to lure Swiss holidaymakers to Wales for the first time – Visit Wales has taken a keen interest while the managing director of Cardiff Airport said he hoped to see Swiss tourists “spending their money in hotels and bars in Cardiff”. Equally, all sides believe there will be enough interest among Welsh tourists in using Zurich as a gateway to the Alps and northern Italy.
It is also hoped that it will provide a boost for Welsh business. Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones says: “Clearly the financial and professional services sector is the sector we want to grow within Wales. And obviously a link with Zurich, therefore, is very important in that particular development.”
And there are already major Swiss companies with UK bases in Wales. Air traffic control technology firm Schmid Telecoms UK has its headquarters in Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan. Currently staff based there have to fly via Amsterdam when making frequent trips to Zurich.
“This does enhance the very strong links there are between Wales and Switzerland,” said Mr Jones. “We are very much in Wales, obviously, open for business, fully committing to supporting new enterprises and business growth, and we obviously want to help businesses who want to start up, to expand, in terms of inward investment and, of course, exports.
“Wales is an attractive place to do business and obviously we understand that our links with other parts of Europe and the world are very important to us.
“And Zurich, of course, is far more than just a banking capital. I have visited Zurich on a number of occasions, not because I’m a banker or I’ve got lots of money to invest, but because I think Zurich is a lovely location to visit.”
Visiting the National Assembly this week, Anton Thalmann, the Swiss Ambassador to the UK, told the Western Mail he thought the two nations had “a nice relationship that has grown over time, and I think Switzerland, with its small size is predestined to find its way outside of the big centre of London”.
He said: “We get more attention here and I think that over the coming years now we’ll make a big effort to be more present in the provincial capitals.”
On the average Swiss person’s knowledge of Wales, Mr Thalmann said he thought Wales had “the same advantage of Switzerland, to have quite a few positive clichés associated with it”.
“I mean, when you think of the whole legendary Britain, old Britain, you naturally think of Wales too. And the dragons and the knights and all that, so I think it’s an easy, natural association,” he said.
However, he added, business links between the two nations were still not strong enough.
“There’s a lot of potential for improvement because London does tend to take a big part, and then we have some manufacturing firms with plants in Britain,” he said.
“But I think in that area we still have to make efforts and I wouldn’t say it’s without hope.
“I think the Swiss are pretty big investors in most important markets, so the question is if you can get new ones to come, because the old ones are probably already established somewhere in the rest of the UK, so I would encourage you to work on new firms. I mean, we are pretty good exporters. We are expensive. And if you partnership with people, you probably realise quite quickly where your potential is, and I can only encourage you to do that.”
The ambassador did, though, question whether there would be a huge influx of Swiss holidaymakers as the result of the flights, raising the point that perhaps the two countries were too similar.
“There is maybe the difficulty that, when you go on a vacation, you want to have a complete change of scenery,” he said.
“And between Wales and Switzerland – well, they have a lot in common and you could imagine that you’d go to a more different place for your vacation. But I think that can be overcome because it’s still another language, another culture, it’s a way off from Switzerland and it’s much cheaper. So I wouldn’t exclude it, no.”
The managing director of Cardiff Airport, Patrick Duffy, said a lot of research had been done by the airport, airline and Assembly Government and they were confident there was a long-term market out there.
He said: “We know statistically how many people go from Wales to Switzerland every year. We can extrapolate how many might want to go, and then we have to look at how many might want to come here.
“These sort of transactions are primarily in the interests of the region. The airport is just a part of the supply chain, part of the infrastructure, but fundamentally it’s a regional issue. So what I’m really delighted about is that we can have a triangular discussion with the Welsh Assembly, with the airline concerned and with the airport, to come together to work out a plan.
“Hopefully there’ll be much more communications and fluidity of activities between the Welsh Assembly and counterparts in Switzerland, and hopefully we’ll see more Swiss residents coming to visit here and spending their money in hotels and bars in Cardiff. The historical statistics which led to this conversation in the first place are dominated by the business demands, definitely. So we know from the stats a lot of the travel between Switzerland and Wales is business.
“But based on that we thought there was enough to make a viable connection. And that’s why we presented the case. But beyond that, we think there’s a huge amount of leisure opportunity, which isn’t the case at the moment, or it hasn’t been the case that a lot of people from Wales visit Switzerland or a lot of people from Switzerland visit Wales.
“But that’s a huge opportunity. There’s a huge opportunity for the Swiss government and so on to look at attracting Welsh people over to Switzerland and a huge opportunity for Visit Wales here to get tourists to come here. As well as the business side, ultimately what we’d like to see is Swiss businesses investing in the local economy here. And if they have the connectivity it makes life so much easier.
“The business side says that that’s established demand. And that that business is already happening without a direct route. So that’s a very good starting point. This is where Visit Wales comes in. They can exploit a leisure opportunity inbound into South Wales. But equally the Swiss will be looking for the same the other way.”
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... z1DqF0NGol[/textarea]
The stereotypes might depict it as a land of cheese, chocolate and cuckoo clocks, but Switzerland is increasingly being seen as a crucial trading partner for Wales, as Matt Withers found out
“THE dragons and the knights”. That is what comes to mind when the Swiss think of Wales, according the nation’s ambassador to the UK.
He means it in a good way, as one of the “positive cliches” he says he believes Wales shares with his country. But in truth few Swiss holiday in Wales.
And it is one of the things many hope to change when, at the end of next month, the first regular scheduled flights between the two countries begin to operate.
Helvetic Airways, after lengthy discussions involving the Assembly Government, launches its four-times-a-week flights from Cardiff to Zurich in the hope that they will prove a success for both business and leisure passengers.
Welsh tourism chiefs hope to lure Swiss holidaymakers to Wales for the first time – Visit Wales has taken a keen interest while the managing director of Cardiff Airport said he hoped to see Swiss tourists “spending their money in hotels and bars in Cardiff”. Equally, all sides believe there will be enough interest among Welsh tourists in using Zurich as a gateway to the Alps and northern Italy.
It is also hoped that it will provide a boost for Welsh business. Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones says: “Clearly the financial and professional services sector is the sector we want to grow within Wales. And obviously a link with Zurich, therefore, is very important in that particular development.”
And there are already major Swiss companies with UK bases in Wales. Air traffic control technology firm Schmid Telecoms UK has its headquarters in Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan. Currently staff based there have to fly via Amsterdam when making frequent trips to Zurich.
“This does enhance the very strong links there are between Wales and Switzerland,” said Mr Jones. “We are very much in Wales, obviously, open for business, fully committing to supporting new enterprises and business growth, and we obviously want to help businesses who want to start up, to expand, in terms of inward investment and, of course, exports.
“Wales is an attractive place to do business and obviously we understand that our links with other parts of Europe and the world are very important to us.
“And Zurich, of course, is far more than just a banking capital. I have visited Zurich on a number of occasions, not because I’m a banker or I’ve got lots of money to invest, but because I think Zurich is a lovely location to visit.”
Visiting the National Assembly this week, Anton Thalmann, the Swiss Ambassador to the UK, told the Western Mail he thought the two nations had “a nice relationship that has grown over time, and I think Switzerland, with its small size is predestined to find its way outside of the big centre of London”.
He said: “We get more attention here and I think that over the coming years now we’ll make a big effort to be more present in the provincial capitals.”
On the average Swiss person’s knowledge of Wales, Mr Thalmann said he thought Wales had “the same advantage of Switzerland, to have quite a few positive clichés associated with it”.
“I mean, when you think of the whole legendary Britain, old Britain, you naturally think of Wales too. And the dragons and the knights and all that, so I think it’s an easy, natural association,” he said.
However, he added, business links between the two nations were still not strong enough.
“There’s a lot of potential for improvement because London does tend to take a big part, and then we have some manufacturing firms with plants in Britain,” he said.
“But I think in that area we still have to make efforts and I wouldn’t say it’s without hope.
“I think the Swiss are pretty big investors in most important markets, so the question is if you can get new ones to come, because the old ones are probably already established somewhere in the rest of the UK, so I would encourage you to work on new firms. I mean, we are pretty good exporters. We are expensive. And if you partnership with people, you probably realise quite quickly where your potential is, and I can only encourage you to do that.”
The ambassador did, though, question whether there would be a huge influx of Swiss holidaymakers as the result of the flights, raising the point that perhaps the two countries were too similar.
“There is maybe the difficulty that, when you go on a vacation, you want to have a complete change of scenery,” he said.
“And between Wales and Switzerland – well, they have a lot in common and you could imagine that you’d go to a more different place for your vacation. But I think that can be overcome because it’s still another language, another culture, it’s a way off from Switzerland and it’s much cheaper. So I wouldn’t exclude it, no.”
The managing director of Cardiff Airport, Patrick Duffy, said a lot of research had been done by the airport, airline and Assembly Government and they were confident there was a long-term market out there.
He said: “We know statistically how many people go from Wales to Switzerland every year. We can extrapolate how many might want to go, and then we have to look at how many might want to come here.
“These sort of transactions are primarily in the interests of the region. The airport is just a part of the supply chain, part of the infrastructure, but fundamentally it’s a regional issue. So what I’m really delighted about is that we can have a triangular discussion with the Welsh Assembly, with the airline concerned and with the airport, to come together to work out a plan.
“Hopefully there’ll be much more communications and fluidity of activities between the Welsh Assembly and counterparts in Switzerland, and hopefully we’ll see more Swiss residents coming to visit here and spending their money in hotels and bars in Cardiff. The historical statistics which led to this conversation in the first place are dominated by the business demands, definitely. So we know from the stats a lot of the travel between Switzerland and Wales is business.
“But based on that we thought there was enough to make a viable connection. And that’s why we presented the case. But beyond that, we think there’s a huge amount of leisure opportunity, which isn’t the case at the moment, or it hasn’t been the case that a lot of people from Wales visit Switzerland or a lot of people from Switzerland visit Wales.
“But that’s a huge opportunity. There’s a huge opportunity for the Swiss government and so on to look at attracting Welsh people over to Switzerland and a huge opportunity for Visit Wales here to get tourists to come here. As well as the business side, ultimately what we’d like to see is Swiss businesses investing in the local economy here. And if they have the connectivity it makes life so much easier.
“The business side says that that’s established demand. And that that business is already happening without a direct route. So that’s a very good starting point. This is where Visit Wales comes in. They can exploit a leisure opportunity inbound into South Wales. But equally the Swiss will be looking for the same the other way.”
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... z1DqF0NGol[/textarea]
