The Ride Congress is the largest specialist conference in the Alpine region for mountain bike tourism. Over 200 decision-makers and managers from summer and mountain tourism from all over Switzerland and neighboring regions in Germany and South Tyrol meet at the Ride Congress. Experts from tourism organizations, mountain railroads, bike hotels, authorities and administrations, trail builders, the bike industry, specialist media and many other tourism service providers are expected to attend. The Ride Congress has been taking place at the Davos Congress Center since 2008 and will be held for the sixth time on 19/20 September 2019.

Expert panel on "Summer tourism - what next?"

A highlight of the Ride Congress will certainly be the presentation by Dr. Markus Schröcksnadel, CEO of Vereinigte Bergbahnen. He will then discuss with Avenir Suisse tourism thought leader Dr. Daniel Müller-Jentsch, Dr. Renato Fasciati, CEO of the Rhaetian Railway - all three of whom will be on stage with their own presentations - and Reto Branschi, CEO of Davos Klosters Destinations. On the same day, Thursday, September 19, Thomas Larsen Schmidt, President of IMBA Europe, and Martin Wyttenbach will lift the veil on the newly founded IMBA Switzerland.

Mountain bike hotel industry and other topics

The Ride Congress will focus specifically on current topics for tourism service providers. In a "Classroom Talk" on the second day of the congress on Friday, September 20, the Hotelier of the Year, Kurt Baumgartner, Janine Bunte, CEO of Swiss Youth Hostels and Patrick Dreher, Head of Innovation & Research at Graubünden Ferien, will discuss the opportunities and options for the hotel industry as co-developers of "Bunanotg". At the same time, there will be further classroom talks on developments in tourism and mountain biking in the cities. The congress will be rounded off by presentations from Andreas Züllig, President of HotellerieSuisse and Claus Fleischer, CEO of Bosch eBike Systems.

Focus on "Coexistence"

Discussion and the active exchange of opinions are at the forefront of the Ride Congress. On the first day of the congress, there will be three parallel focus sessions on the program. The focus on "Coexistence in planning" will bring authorities and administrations together with nature conservation organizations, tourism destinations and other stakeholders. FEDRO will be represented by Gabrielle Bakels and, together with Thomy Vetterli and Adi Arnold, will discuss the implementation of the Federal Cycling Decree since the national vote on the cycling initiative last year. Andreas Boldt will present the position paper of the environmental protection associations on mountain bike tourism. "Cooperation with trail builders is well underway," he reports.

Focus on marketing storytelling

At the Ride Congress, there is plenty of room for an outside view of tourism: what can the tourism industry learn from other sectors? Andreas Widmer, long-standing CEO of the advertising agency Y&R and founder of Westhive Consulting, and Samy Liechti, CEO and founder of Blacksocks, know how to tell a good story simply and profitably. The two will be flanked by communications consultant Ivana Leiseder, who opposes empty phrases and "bullshit marketing", and filmmaker Tom Malecha from "filme von draussen".

Focus on the "travel network"

The third stream on Thursday afternoon will feature a novelty at the Ride Congress. The newly conceived "Travel Network" creates an exchange platform from and with tour operators together with destination organizations. Tour operators will present their best practices and their assessment of the situation for tour operators. Destination organizations comment on these developments in a further, concluding discussion. In this way, tour operators and destinations can jointly set the right course for future mountain bike tourism.

Registration still possible

Participation in the Ride Congress is possible for one or both congress days. 2-day passes are available for CHF 495, the price for the day pass on Thursday is CHF 295 and CHF 245 on Friday. There will also be a supporting program with a "networking dinner" on Thursday evening, where you can exchange ideas with the participants and speakers, as well as two guided bike tours on Wednesday and Friday afternoon.

Links:
www.ridekongress.ch
www.ridekongress.ch/anmeldung
www.ridekongress.ch/kongress-programm-2019
www.ridekongress.ch/referenten

Interview with Dr. Markus Schröcksnadel: "The success of a ski resort is not based on summer guests."
Interview with Andreas Boldt: "Cooperation with trail farmers is on the right track"
Interview with Thomy Vetterli on the implementation of the Federal Cycling Decree: "The cantons must now take a stand on mountain biking"

Website of the newly founded IMBA Switzerland: www.imbaschweiz.ch