By winning the Swiss tourism prize t Bonfire AG has finally climbed to position of role model with respect to the consistent digitalisation of a mountain destination. The start-up of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG and Zermatt tourism is managed by Andreas Mazzone. SI spoke to him about the ideas, strategies and benefits of Bonfire AG.

Mazzone: At an early stage, our destination identified the megatrend of digitalisation as an opportunity and not a risk. Even in 2015, it was clear to everyone that we can become digital only collectively.

What is the use of one person developing a tool that nobody else will use? Even five years ago, Zermatt tourism therefore started an e-fitness programme. Hoteliers and restaurateurs received free training, workshops and support to improve their web and social media appearances.

The technology is developing so quickly that we recognised the need to act disruptively and proactively. We therefore established Bonfire AG in 2018 and it has been responsible for all the digitalisation matters of the destination since that time.

We want to make Zermatt the best digital mountain village in the world. The convenience for guests is in the foreground; the digital fitness of the service partners is behind the scenes.

A strategy group of representatives from the mountain railways, tourist board, hotel association, restaurant association, trade society, apartment association and local authority discusses the digital construction sites and produces a concept or requirement document for the respective solution required.

In addition, a data protection lawyer is consulted. External companies are then commissioned with the development. After tests with pilot partners, the end product is offered to all service partners, such as hoteliers and restaurateurs.

We are purely a cash-burning unit and obtain our money from Zermatt Bergbahnen AG and Zermatt tourism. We are effectively the research and development department of the destination. Depending on the project, ten to twelve people are involved, and I keep an eye on the big picture.

The digital architecture of Zermatt is based on our data warehouse. This is a database in which all systems are networked and data are compiled. We therefore do not pass on our wealth of information to booking platforms such as Booking.com or Expedia. Our digital reporting system is important here.

When checking in, guests have no need to enter more data and can instead enjoy a welcome drink straight away. In addition, we have launched the Matterhorn app as well as planning and analysis tools for the social media appearances of our service partners.

Not least, the pioneering dynamic pricing system of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG has been created in collaboration with Bonfire. The mountain railways have contributed substantially to this.

The mobile-first solution aims to support guests during their entire stay and make their visit as convenient and pleasant as possible – the key word is convenience. With the Matterhorn app., guests can find all the important information about weather, snow, pistes, facilities and events, train and e-bus timetables as well as maps of points of interest.

Furthermore, they can book ski tickets in the online shop, reserve seats in restaurants and receive push messages of warnings or important announcements.

Over 95,000 users have downloaded the app. since it was launched at the end of 2018, consistently rated it as positive in the app. stores and actively used it according to the usage duration. The app. has also been well received by the service partners.

This is why we have developed tools with which the service partners can organise their social media appearances by responding quickly to negative postings or using the right hashtags.

In addition, we have our CRM system, with which we send guests a pre-mail in the design and name of the respective hotel seven days before the start of their stay – with a welcome, information about the journey, an event calendar and a download link to the Matterhorn app.

Three days after their departure, guests then receive a post-mail with a ‘thank you’ and request to rate their stay.

In the medium term, we – like Weisse Arena AG with its Inside Laax app. – want to increase the involvement of our app. users. To do this, we will integrate a points/loyalty system into the app.

In the long term, we want to become less dependent on booking platforms, for example with our own marketplace. That is certainly difficult, but achievable.

With all the products we develop, we must always maintain our technically clean data structure. Confusion on digital solutions and data would be fatal. We must never lose sight of the big picture: to think of the destination Zermatt- Matterhorn comprehensively, collectively and digitally.

Interview conducted by Thomas Surrer