How did Switzerland become a popular travel destination? The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through time past defining moments of the history of tourism in Switzerland – from the grand tours of British aristocrats right up to the Instagram hotspots of today. On the way, we encounter landmark events that have enabled, promoted, temporarily prevented, or fundamentally changed travel to and in Switzerland.

In the course of the Enlightenment and the age of Romanticism, the alpine country changed from being an area one passed through to a travel destination in itself. The alpine landscape became idealized as a space of untouched nature and safe travel, two features that define Switzerland’s touristic image of self to this day. The exhibition tells of early travellers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, of British climbers who were the first to conquer four-thousand-metre-high peaks, and of the luxurious hotel palaces of the Belle Epoque. In the 20th century, travel finally became a mass phenomenon – from camping trips to the Ticino to ski holidays in the Alps. 

Today, the tourism industry is caught between the pressure to succeed and the need to act responsibly: climate change, global crises, and digitalization are evermore impacting on travel. Topics such as the lack of snow, “cold beds”, and “overtourism” are challenges that the tourist industry has to face up to. The exhibition offers space to reflect on one’s own travel habits and Switzerland’s future as a holiday destination.