About us
Swiss Tourism Experts is an independent network of consultants and researchers. We are specialists in the tourism and hospitality industry with extensive experience in tourism development, investment promotion, destination management and destination marketing. We can further contribute our knowledge in associated fields such as regional development or capacity building.
Our network stands for Swiss quality, combining excellence, precision, transparency, innovation and reliability. We combine members from Swiss tourism companies with international experience. Benefit from our joint knowledge for your next tourism project.
Members of the network
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Barbara Urfer Wyss
Co-President
Bettina Bülte
Co-President
André Gribi
Vice president
Co-founder of gutundgut llc | Hospitality and tourism consultant
Destination management, business development, project management
Barbara has been working in the strategic positioning of hotels and the launching of touristic projects in Switzerland and abroad for over 25 years. Barbara has extensive know-how about the specific needs of hotels and their co-operation with various partners in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Co-founder and managing director focus hospitality at G&B Travel and Hospitality Partners Switzerland
Tourism strategy for destinations, guest experience design, quality management
Bettina is specialized in creating smooth guest experiences that match the promise of a hotel brand. Over the past 15 years, she has formulated hotel concepts, conducted feasibility studies and supported destinations in their market positioning in 20 countries of the EMEA region. She lectures at tourism and hospitality schools and speaks at industry events. Additionally she is in the board of Engadin Tourismus AG, the destination marketing the most inspiring valley in the Alps.
Founder and Managing Partner at Hotel & Gastro Consulting GmbH
Tourism expert, financial expert, investor search, M&A Hotels
André is an international tourism expert and leader of different tourism & hotel projects in Europe, Africa and Asia. He worked 9 years (2007-2015) with the franchise Kohl & Partner and since 2015 has his own brand. He has a vast network of investors and is a specialist when it comes to financial aspects for tourism companies and projects.
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Christian Baumgartner
Board member
Barbara Haller Rupf
Board member
Rafael Enzler
Board Member
Founder of response & ability GmbH | Professor for sustainable tourism at the FHGR (University of applied Sciences of the Grisons)
Sustainability in tourism, regional development, education management
Christian, landscape ecologist, is specialized in developing and implementing sustainable tourism projects and sustainable regional development. He has vast experience in tourism in protected areas, labelling and monitoring. His geographical experiences cover mainly Europe (Alpes, Danube area, Balkans), Caucasus and Central Asia.
Founder of haller tournet llc
Education management, training of instructors, curriculum and course design
Barbara, Founder of haller-tournet llc; Former director of the college of Higher Education in Tourism Lucerne (HFT Lucerne) and head of different education programs in the field of tourism management for the University of Applied Sciences Grison (Fachhochschule Graubünden FHGR).
Co-founder of gutundgut llc | tourism consultant | MBA
Destination management, business development, project management
Rafael is an international experienced tourism manager and placemaker. Before becoming a consultant, he served in different senior management functions for Switzerland Tourism in Amsterdam, New York, Dubai and Zurich. Prior to this post, he was Director of Toggenburg Tourism.
Romano Wyss
Board Member
Christian Müller
Member
Founder of Wyss Conseil Scientifique | Scientific consultant
Regional development, sustainability, innovative work models
Romano is a scientific consultant working in the fields of sustainability, regional development, energy and tourism. Faced with challenges such as climate change, digitalization and population aging, I actively contribute to the development of new tourism approaches that connect spaces and local actors to jointly develop promising tourism offers for sustainable and regionally anchored tourism.
Co-founder of gutundgut llc | Architect, project manager, placemaker
Sustainable tourism, master planning, project management
Christian, graduate architect at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), is specialized in the design of sustainable tourism projects. His portfolio includes architectural services for realized eco-resorts and master plans for sustainable regional development. He has worked in the European Alps, the Balkans, the Caucasus, North Africa and Nepal.
Veronika Schanderl
Member
Tourism consultant | Member of response & ability GmbH
Destination development, knowledge transfer, sustainability
Veronika is an expert in sustainable tourism development, with 15+years working experience in international developing cooperation and 12 years in sustainable tourism development and destination management, knowledge exchange and facilitation. She has worked for private and public clients, as well as for bi- and multilateral agencies across the globe, with particular focus on Latin America.
Dr. Roland Schegg
Member
Research coordinator at the Institute of Tourism of the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland Valais
Digital transformation / eTourism
Dr. Roland Schegg is Professor of Tourism at the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland in Valais and researcher at the Institute for Tourism (ITO). Between 2000 and 2004 he worked at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). He obtained his BS at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and his doctorate at the University of Geneva. His research interests include various topics in the field of eTourism and digital transformation for travel and tourism (distribution, website benchmarking, e-commerce, technology adaptation and digital capacity building).
Claude Balsiger
Member
Managing Partner at Allegra Tourism | Outdoor Tourism Consultant
Destination development, master planing and implementation, outdoor tourism
Claude's career in outdoor tourism began over 15 years ago as tour leader and guide for long distance routes in the Himalayas. Since 2007, he holds different positions in the outdoors industry, such as program director at the Swiss Cycling Federation and Editor in chief for Switzerland’s Ride Magazine.
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Darco Cazin
Member
Founder of Allegra Tourism | Outdoor Tourism Consultant
Destination development, analysis, benchmarking, business models, outdoor tourism, master planning, implementation
Darco has led the development and implementation of business models and masterplans in many destinations since 2003. He speaks five different languages and he has coined various methods that have become best practice and standards across large parts of the Alps. He holds a Master of Arts in Business Administration and did his post degree studies in Design Thinking.
Adrien Rebord
Member
Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation | Advisor Vocational Skills Development
Hospitality, development cooperation, entrepreneurship support
Adrien has worked in international development cooperation since 2013 after gaining private sector experience in hotel development and sustainable tourism. Before joining Helvetas in 2018 as Advisor for Skills Development, he implemented and advised hospitality related TVET projects in South and South-East Asia. Adrien holds a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management from Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, with a specialization in finance, and an Executive Master in Development Policies and Practices from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Gerry Romanescu
Auditor & member
Co-founder and leader hospitality | G&B Travel and Hospitality Partners Switzerland
Tourism strategy for destinations, guest experience design, quality management
Gerry focuses on the customer experience and creating value for everyone involved along the traveler's journey. In this role, his 30 years of industry experience has driven the transformation of global travel companies and destination organizations in EMEA and Switzerland, creating ecosystems with shared goals and values.