New course in Solothurn: Marco Lupi becomes President of Tourism!

New course in Solothurn: Marco Lupi becomes President of Tourism!

In a crucial moment for the Solothurn Region, Marco Lupi was elected the new president at the General Assembly of Solothurn Tourism region. Lupi succeeds Michael Hug, who held the office for nine years and pointed out numerous challenges, including Corona pandemic, during his term. Under HUG, the association, which currently has 560 members, had significant successes, but also determined a decline in the logging nights.

Marco Lupi was previously a member of the board for four years and attaches great importance to presenting the region more widely. "We have to bear the variety of our offers," he emphasized in his choice. The region organized 1.466 city tours last year, which led to 154,735 logging nights. However, the region recorded a decrease of 7 % for the logging nights, which is mainly attributed to the closure of the Hotel Astoria and the guild house in landlord.

finance and outlook on the future

Region Solothurn Tourism generates sales of CHF 1.5 million, with the revenue of the association rose to CHF 1.659 million. For the coming year, the association is planning a budget goal with a yield of more than 1.7 million francs. The success in the media presence should not be underestimated: Last year, the region achieved an advertising equivalence of CHF 4 million, supported by around 400 articles.

One of the key investments to combat the decline in the logging nights is the new hostel in the Nominis Jesus monastery, which is intended to help to compensate for the lost 2,000 logging nights. In addition, the association has planned a variety of events, including the “Solothurn adventure weeks”, which offer 150 bookable occasions from the end of July to October 26. A new project, "Urban Golf", is scheduled to start eleven lanes in the old town in June.

special events and honors

With the aim of keeping guests longer in Solothurn, special tours are offered in a special edition of the magazine "Transhelvetica". The other planned events include the adventure trail on the Weissenstein and the 3rd dragon boat race at the end of August. Martin Barth will replace Hans Weber on the board.

A particularly emotional moment of the General Assembly was the minute's commemoration for the late city guide Kathrin Käch, which offered city tours for over 46 years. Helmuth Zipperlen, who has been active in the city management business for 55 years, recalled her valuable contribution to tourism funding in Solothurn.

The challenges and changes that Marco Lupi as the new president now want to tackle will be crucial for how the Solothurn region will develop in the coming years. Lupi calls to bundle the forces and to raise the region's tourism landscape to a new level. Further information on the developments and the annual report of the Solothurn Tourism region can be found on the pages of Solothurn City.