GENEVA, October 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- A Hat Trick - Three Times Won!

Geneva has just been voted Europe's Leading City Break Destination for the third time at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2017. Held in St Petersburg, and known as the Oscars for the tourism industry, Geneva's natural attractions, tourism offer and digital expertise stood out amongst the fierce competition for the highly acclaimed accolade.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/562765/Geneva_Leading_City_Break_Destination.jpg )

A hat trick - the first of its kind for Switzerland 

Geneva pulled off a hat trick this weekend by being named "Europe's Leading City Break Destination 2017" for the third time in four years, an honour that is the first of its kind in Switzerland. Having succeeded against Paris, London and Venice in 2014 and 2015, Geneva pulled off a tour de force this year by beating off stiff competition from cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Rome with an overwhelming majority of online votes.

"Aware of the strong potential for growth of the sector, we have been working to promote Geneva to tourists for many years now," says Geneva Tourism CEO Philippe Vignon. "We are very proud of this award which acknowledges the efforts made this year by various stakeholders in Geneva, including our team. This success confirms that Geneva has all it takes to attract tourists in search of an unforgettable weekend in Europe."

The ideal destination for a city break 

Tourism stakeholders attending the award ceremony praised Geneva as an attractive tourist destination offering high quality services to visitors, while escaping the downsides of mass tourism that affect many other major European cities. Beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Geneva and within a stone's throw of the Alps, Geneva is easy to access thanks to excellent land and air connections. Its accommodation offer is outstanding with the availability of great weekend deals. Additionally, the high number of pioneering services available; including free public transport, access to many activities at reduced rates with the Geneva Pass, a year-long rich cultural programme and even customised tours make Geneva the ideal destination for a weekend break in Europe.

City breakers, a central focus alongside advanced digital expertise 

With a clear market position and success-driven strategy, Geneva Tourism has been working for many years to implement and promote a series of ground-breaking products tailored to meet the needs of city breakers. In line with this, Geneva Tourism has developed invaluable expertise in digital technology, a key driver of its marketing strategy. Head of Marketing at Geneva Tourism, Vincent Dubi, has commented:

"Several factors, including the emergence of the internet, have considerably impacted the tourism industry. Nowadays, most Europeans book their own holidays. We have successfully negotiated this change by strengthening our digital hub in order to be able to speak the same language as city breakers and therefore promote Geneva in the best and most innovative way possible among our target audience. In Switzerland, Geneva is a pioneer in the field and our digital leadership has certainly been a great help in successfully positioning Geneva as the ideal destination for weekend breaks." 

The development of a comprehensive website available in eight languages, sophisticated social networking strategies with pages tailored to different markets, comprehensive digital campaigns, and utilising bloggers and key influencers are just some examples of the initiatives implemented by Geneva Tourism.

The special attention paid to welcoming European visitors and cutting-edge digital expertise have undoubtedly helped Geneva stand out from its competitors and achieve an unprecedented hat trick in becoming the leading European city break destination for 2017.

Find the communication kit about this victory here

W: geneve.com

SOURCE Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation