Showcasing 60 Years of Switzerland’s MICE Strategy at the 2025 Swiss Trophy
From 19 to 22 June 2025, the Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB) and Switzerland Tourism hosted the 19th Switzerland Meeting Trophy. The multi-day rally gathered 62 international event professionals from across Europe and North America to assess Switzerland’s MICE infrastructure through a comprehensive programme filled with diverse activities, including team-based challenges, site exploration and opportunities for informal interaction among participants.
Headquarters has long supported the Trophy as a media partner, and this time our International Commercial Manager took part for Team Belgium, telling us about his first visit to Switzerland.
Author: Jesús Parrado - HQ International Commercial Manager
I arrived at Zurich Airport shortly before the official programme began and walked through the city centre to get a feel for the country. I found Zurich to be efficient, easy to navigate and calm. That afternoon, I joined Team Belgium at Zürich Hauptbahnhof, and we travelled on the historic Red Arrow Churchill train to our first destination. After several seamless connections, we reached Grindelwald and checked into the Sunstar Hotel Grindelwald. Located against the backdrop of the Eiger Mountain, the hotel offers business groups the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery while making use of its facilities, including seven seminar rooms and a plenary space for up to 260 participants. That evening, we attended a flying dinner at the Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof, where we interacted with the other teams and Swiss partners.
The rally format transforms destination familiarisation into a challenging, team-based activity. Over the course of several days, we travelled through Jungfraujoch, Interlaken, Spiez, Emmental and Bern, completing tasks that highlighted local culture, transport links and venue potential. At Jungfraujoch, also known as the ‘Top of Europe’ and home to Europe’s highest railway station, we tested our knowledge of the country and our coordination in a curling challenge. This was followed by a chocolate tasting experience at the highest-altitude venue in Europe. Afterwards, we had lunch at Congress Kursaal Interlaken, a venue capable of hosting events for between 80 and 1,500 attendees, showcasing how historic character and modern logistics can coexist in one place.
That evening, after crossing Lake Thun by boat, we stayed at the Deltapark Vitalresort in Gwatt bei Thun, a wellness retreat overlooking the lake. We began the next morning's programme at Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Thun (KKThun), a lakeside venue in the Bernese Oberland offering a mix of versatile spaces suited for different kinds of business events. Its central location and cultural programming also support blended business-leisure formats, making it a practical option for planners seeking local engagement and efficient organisation. Following this, the group visited the Emmentaler Show Dairy in Affoltern im Emmental, where we observed a demonstration of traditional cheese-making before proceeding to Bern.
In the capital, a tour of BERNEXPO showcased the scale and versatility of Switzerland’s event infrastructure. With over 47,000 m² of flexible space, the venue’s halls and meeting rooms can accommodate events with 10 to 5,000 attendees. Recent developments, including the Festhalle and Cube Congress Centre, have added a further 8,500 m² to the venue, increasing total capacity to 9,000 delegates. Located near the centre of Bern and connected to major transport hubs, the venue is ideal for hybrid congresses, trade shows and large-scale association meetings. In the afternoon, a cultural session at the Federal Palace involving traditional flag-throwing wrapped up the day’s activities.
We spent our final evening at the Swissôtel Kursaal Bern, a venue with 27 meeting spaces, a casino, and a rooftop restaurant offering views of the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the farewell dinner, the North American team claimed victory in the 2025 Trophy, with Belgium close behind. Our last day concluded with brunch at Casino Bern, a walking tour of the city and the return journey to Zurich Airport.
The Switzerland Meeting Trophy provides a clear example of how MICE professionals can be introduced to a national offering through immersive engagement. From a planning perspective, this competition offers a live demonstration of how venues, transport systems, and destination partners can work together seamlessly. It also reveals Switzerland’s long-term strategy in this sector, reflecting the country’s 60-year commitment to the business events sector and its pioneering role as the birthplace of the world’s first national convention bureau in 1964.
The SCIB, created through a collaboration of destinations including Lausanne, Montreux and Interlaken, among others, continues to this day as part of Switzerland Tourism, promoting Swiss destinations across 13 international markets. That legacy was marked at IBTM World in Barcelona in November 2024, where SCIB celebrated its 60th anniversary. HQ joined the commemoration as a longstanding media partner. However, as a first-time participant, I found the strength of first-hand experience to be the most compelling takeaway, rather than the presentations or promotional messages. Seeing the execution in real time, the coordinated logistics and the professional hospitality of Switzerland’s business events community gave me a much deeper understanding of the destination’s capabilities than any brochure or sales pitch could.
Switzerland has much more to offer than beautiful scenery and engaging social activities. The country also brings together innovation and expertise across a wide range of sectors. Our coverage of association events in the country reflects our broader editorial focus on the ways in which national strategies support knowledge-driven meetings. A good example is our report from the European Space Agency’s 50th anniversary in Lausanne, (written by my colleague Manuel Fernandes and published in HQ #120). Readers can also access exclusive online interviews with Patrick Barbey (Managing Director of Vaud’s innovation and investment support agency, Innovaud), Grégoire Bourban (Head of Space Exchange Switzerland – SXS), and Emmanuelle David (Executive Director of ESC – eSpace).
These interviews are part of our magazine’s collaboration with the Space Cities Network, an international alliance founded by Lausanne and other cities to promote innovation and cross-sector engagement in space. The network connects universities, research institutions, industry and public agencies to promote scientific exchange and economic development. This mission closely aligns with Switzerland’s broader positioning as a host of high-level, science-oriented business events.
For more information, visit Switzerland Meetings
Powered by Meeting Media Company, publisher of Headquarters Magazine (HQ) – a leading international publication based in Brussels, serving the global MICE industry and association community.
