Co-creation of Shared Values in the Aim of Reinvigorating a Mountain Region Through Night Tourism: Case Study in French-speaking Switzerland

Abstract

Tourism is one of the leading sectors in the Swiss economy, even more so in the Alps. Tourism is the epitome of an export industry, especially in French-speaking Switzerland where the proportion of foreign tourists is high. The tourism industry is one of the main export sectors in the country generating 4.7% of all export revenue in 2015 (Swiss Tourism Federation, 2017). According to the Swiss Confederation, the tourism industry must affirm its economic importance and gain market share in the Alps while acting sustainably. The Swiss Executive Cabinet's strategy for growth in domestic tourism drawn up in 2010 aims for better exploitation of tourism potential in Switzerland thereby creating employment and increasing regions' added value. The report goes on to say that seeing as how tourism products are provided in fragmented added value systems, providers must be capable of both cooperation and innovation. It is in this sense that the School of Management and Tourism through its research institutes set the objective to conceive concrete tools for stimulating cooperation through better networking which also encourages innovation. 2 Not only is the Swiss tourism industry fragmented from a geographical perspective, but it is also made up of small entities. Tourism providers tend to have an individualistic approach which leads them to only partially fulfill clients' expectations, with tourists Co-creation of Shared Values in the Aim of Reinvigorating a Mountain Region T...