Le tourisme en Suisse ou l'avènement d'un modèle d'excellence (19e-20e siècles)

Creating Attractive Places

“…During the nineteenth century, the development of tourism in Switzerland triggered important investments in the construction of a positive image of the nation as a leisure destination (Bertron, 2016;Tissot, 2004). Romantic ideals about the Swiss countryside, in particular the Swiss Alps, were popularised by the British bourgeoisie and aristocrats.…”

“…In her doctoral thesis, Caroline Bertron (2016) shows how private boarding schools in the Lake Geneva area promoted the Swiss Alps as an ideal educational location where natural settings met cosmopolitanism, quality, and security. Laurent Tissot (2004) argues that the excellent reputation of the Swiss brand emerged from a combination of circumstances: investments in tourism and transportation infrastructure during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as the creation of tourism offices during the same period, contributed to the institutionalisation of place branding. In addition, private and state-sponsored publications such as travel brochures, postcards, posters, and guidebooks participated in the diffusion of an advertising iconography.…”

Delphine Guex, Mise en scène et valeur territoriale : tourisme et développement régional dans les Alpes suisses

“…On peut dire que cette approche a été implicitement embrassée par les historiens du tourisme ; l'innovation technologique (et plus généralement la notion de qualité et d'excellence) ont entretenu une relation étroite, des innovations techniques ayant contribué à l'essor du tourisme, et réciproquement le tourisme ayant dynamisé l'innovation industrielle. Cet aspect a été souligné par de récentes recherches en Suisse (Humair, Lapointe Guigoz, Sulmoni et Gigase, 2014 ;Tissot, 2004).…”