The conference was organised under the auspices of the Federal Office of Culture, Archaeology Switzerland (AS), Swiss Tourism and the Swiss Tourism Federation (STV) with the help of local partners such as the Museum and Castle of Thun, the city of Thun and the Foundation Vivat.
The conference opened with the introductory speeches of the director of the Museum Lilian Raselli and of Philippe Haeberli, the director of the Stadtmarketing Thun. Then Oliver Martin from the Federal Office of Culture in the Federal Department of Home Affairs introduced the subject by stressing the importance of communication and making new connections especially in times of economic crises. The two keynote speeches presenting archaeology to the tourism specialists and tourism to the archaeologists were presented by Marc-Antoine Kaeser, director of the Laténium and Mario Lütolf, director of the Swiss Tourism Federation, and closed the morning session.
The conference opened with the introductory speeches of the director of the Museum Lilian Raselli and of Philippe Haeberli, the director of the Stadtmarketing Thun. Then Oliver Martin from the Federal Office of Culture in the Federal Department of Home Affairs introduced the subject by stressing the importance of communication and making new connections especially in times of economic crises. The two keynote speeches presenting archaeology to the tourism specialists and tourism to the archaeologists were presented by Marc-Antoine Kaeser, director of the Laténium and Mario Lütolf, director of the Swiss Tourism Federation, and closed the morning session.
In the afternoon the participants split up into four different groups for workshop sessions on the following themes:
Workshop 1: What are the benefits of archaeology for tourism and of tourism for archaeology?
Workshop 2 : “An archaeological excursion around Switzerland”
Workshop 3 : PR and marketing of archaeological sites
Workshop 4 : Authenticity - Culture and Traditions
These workshops gave the participants the chance to exchange points of view on the chosen subjects. The chairmen of the workshops presented the results of their workshop on the second conference day. One of the outcomes of these discussions was agreement on the need to develop a common language and an information platform for both professional groups.
Workshop 1: What are the benefits of archaeology for tourism and of tourism for archaeology?
Workshop 2 : “An archaeological excursion around Switzerland”
Workshop 3 : PR and marketing of archaeological sites
Workshop 4 : Authenticity - Culture and Traditions
These workshops gave the participants the chance to exchange points of view on the chosen subjects. The chairmen of the workshops presented the results of their workshop on the second conference day. One of the outcomes of these discussions was agreement on the need to develop a common language and an information platform for both professional groups.
The second conference day was concluded with three presentations given by Marc-Antoine Kaeser, Thomas Pauli-Gabi (Museum Aargau) and Erik Thurnherr (Texetera), wich showed that innovative ways exist for the integration of archaeology and tourism, but also that there is still much to do especially in the sector of communication, structures and education.
On the 8th of November, following the first day of the conference, a conference dinner was organised in cooperation with the Hotelfachschule in Thun. With a five course menu the guests were taken on a culinary journey through time, starting with a prehistoric soup and finishing with a very modern scoop of pepper ice cream. This evening also included an original artistic performance allying music and films (Time Travel Art Performance).
On the 8th of November, following the first day of the conference, a conference dinner was organised in cooperation with the Hotelfachschule in Thun. With a five course menu the guests were taken on a culinary journey through time, starting with a prehistoric soup and finishing with a very modern scoop of pepper ice cream. This evening also included an original artistic performance allying music and films (Time Travel Art Performance).