How many people come to an event like the Swiss Economic Forum, how many work to produce it? What else does the conference bring to the local economy, what triggers orders in the suppliers’ businesses? What are the secondary effects that result from it, and what do the participants gain beyond the time in which the forum is held?
Events with a national impact always trigger substantial economic effects, and provide added value to the region where they are located. Academics from the Institute of Tourism and Mobility (ITM) at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, in collaboration with the Institute for Business and Regional Economics (IBR), have conducted a study to determine the effects on the economy and tourism that resulted from organising and holding the Swiss Economic Forum in 2022.
According to this study, the Swiss Economic Forum generated total revenues of CHF 10.36 million in 2022. The resulting added value amounting to nearly CHF 5 million is calculated from the revenue minus advance payments and depreciation. The volume of work corresponds to an equivalent of around 34 full-time positions.
As well as the direct economic earnings, there is also a non-material benefit, which often accrues over time, and which arises at the periphery of an event. In a survey of participants, one point that was mentioned was the acquisition of new business contacts that would not have come about without the SEF. Over 40% of respondents reported initiating or concluding new contracts and partnerships during the Forum. According to the study, such high figures are to be assessed as very positive compared to other events. One seventh of the respondents said that the event had led to an increase in turnover for their own company.
Wallebohr / H. Wallimann / J. Z’Rotz: Wertschöpfung und touristische Bedeutung des Swiss Economic Forum (Added value and touristic significance of the Swiss Economic Forum). ITM/IBR of the Lucerne School of Business. Lucerne 2023.
We will be happy to send you the study on request. Contact: NZZ Connect Bern.