An outdoor company developing an online reservation platform; a nature park setting up an app for its visitors; the wildly successful ‘caves ouvertes’ plotting its future; a hospitality services firm striving to enhance the visitor experience in Switzerland. These were just four of the 21 organizations for whom EHL Hospitality Business School provided coaching services as part of the Resilient Tourism Flagship, supported by Innosuisse – a federal entity.
From Digital Challenges to Practical Solutions
The overarching goal of the four-year program was to facilitate the datafication of the travel sector in Switzerland to create resilient digitally supported services, business processes and business models. The down-to-earth and pragmatic solutions developed during the fourth cohort of the coaching program were outlined by the firms during the project’s closing ceremony held at EHL on Friday 11 September 2026.
“It helped us get the ball rolling,” Corentin Metral said, who heads up the outdoor excursion outfit Guide Concept, “no one here likes to sit at a desk all day so less administrative work makes everyone happy.” His work with EHL coach Amélie Keller and Prof. Alessandro Inversini helped the Château d’Œx-based outfit streamline online reservations, optimize their CRM and publish a monthly newsletter.
“The program helped us envisage the digital future of the Parc Naturel du Jorat,” Loïc Leray told the audience, “despite weak cell reception, our new app will help ease tensions between parc visitors and enhance the overall experience.” Indeed, the organization developed in-house digital capacities to insulate it from the unexpected (e.g., when service providers go bankrupt) and make it more resilient for the future.
“The Flagship project was an opportunity for us to take a step back from our daily operations and think about the future,” concluded Benjamin Gehrig, Director of the Office des Vins Vaudois. With the backing of the program, they analyzed data from a survey of local winemakers soliciting their opinion on the future of the Caves Ouvertes event, whose attendance is rocketing even at a time when wine consumption is flagging. Create a separate event in autumn? Move all events to one giant weekend to share costs? Having precise and timely data will help his organization successfully shape the event’s future. Indeed, everyone during the cocktail reception after the ceremony seemed to have an opinion—wine glass in hand—on the event’s future direction!
“EHL helped us prototype a tool that adds value to excursions, according to Dimitrios Kotoulas, director of Helvetica Itinerantur a local tour operator and we were able to develop a conceptual and operational foundation for testable and structured Destination Experience Intelligence”. For example, the partnership helped his firm identify expectation gaps, i.e. to compare and correct for visitors’ perception of anticipated versus actual experience. “DXI provides Helvetica Itinerantur with a structured foundation to observe, measure progressively and improve the visitor journey,” according to Kotoulas.
Strengthening the Resilience of Vaud's Tourism Ecosystem
For Dr. Juan Perellon, Chief Academic Officer at EHL, the Flagship was a “positive example of canton-level support that has a deep regional impact.” Citing several projects from the long-running program, he made the parallel to EHL’s commitment to both academic and applied research as the Flagship supported both down-to-earth businesses and more complex, strategic projects. “It is always good to go back to our roots,” Dr. Perellon pointed out. Indeed, EHL has been firmly planted in the Canton de Vaud since the school’s founding in 1853.
“No one can innovate alone.” Such was opening salvo from Raphaël Conz, who heads Vaud’s Service de la Promotion de l’Economie et de l’Innovation (SPEI). “We support the datafication of tourism as a lever to strengthen the agility, resilience and performance of regional tourism,” Conz explained, citing its relative importance in the broader economy. Starting with a specific business problem, the Flagship was a way to take action by connecting local businesses with experts in relevant areas. “Supporting pilot projects that can strengthen the economic fabric of the local economy and then disseminate these success stories, Conz continued, was the essence of the project.” He continued, “If EHL hadn’t been involved we wouldn’t have participated.” Moreover, federal funding has a leverage effect, supporting pilot projects that develop pragmatic solutions to operational problems facing many local businesses.
“Getting the right tourists, at the right time, and in the right place,” is one of the tourism’s major challenges, according to the Director of Vaud Promotion, Christophe Leyvraz. “The concrete solutions offered to these businesses through the Flagship strengthened the resilience of the overall tourism ecosystem,” Leyvraz said. It’s “innovation with a clear ambition.” What role did EHL play? “EHL was at the heart of this special project, EHL was a catalyst, a guarantor, the captain of the ship.” Indeed, although EHL is an international brand, its roots are local and the school has a long history of working side-by-side with both small and large members of the local economy.
A Flagship Project with Lasting Regional Impact
The Flagship was a monumental endeavor. Four years; CHF 5.5 million in funding, 6 academic partners, and 34 sector partners. EHL was responsible for the coordination, orchestration and communication of the Flagship. This was just one of the four aspects of the umbrella project. The others being: National Data Infrastructure for Tourism (Hochschule Luzern), Service Design, Business Processes and Business Models (University of St. Gallen), and Resilient Tourism Systems (HES-SO Valais).
The program’s stated aim was to accelerate the digital transition of tourism in Vaud. The call for projects started by asking applicants “What is holding you back from innovating?”. It was followed by a short list, then after six months of testing and prototyping, applicants made a final pitch. All successful applicants received CHF 5,000 in funding they could use towards hiring consultants. Taking a step back, “we’re developing a nice community of practice; relationships have been built; and trust has been strengthened,” said Amélie Keller, EHL’s Project Lead. In Vaud alone, 21 projects benefited from EHL’s expertise. Newsletters, annual conferences, articles and regular podcasts were some of EHL’s outputs during the digital coaching program.
Looking Beyond the Flagship
So where do we go from here? For Dr. Perellon, the Flagship marks the “start of deeper links” between EHL and local economic players. Indeed, the school has every intention to perpetuate its renowned mix of international reach and local roots, and academic excellence and practical impact on everyday lives.
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