Here, visitors can hike, bike, ski, admire nature and culture, or simply enjoy breathtaking views unlike anywhere else in the Alps. The destinations Aletsch Arena, Bellwald, Blatten-Belalp, Brig Simplon, Goms, and Landschaftspark Binntal offer a wide variety of experiences. To make these offerings and products more visible and tangible for guests as a whole, the six players have initiated an intensification of their regional cooperation under the name "Tourism Cooperation Aletsch Collective."
The tourist destinations in the region have already been cooperating on individual projects for a long time. Examples include the Stoneman Glaciara product, the supra-regional mountain bike and suspension bridge maps, and the current joint hosting of three disciplines of the 2025 Bike World Championships by the Aletsch Arena and Bellwald. However, the Innotour project "Digitalization Cooperation Aletsch Collective," implemented between 2020 and 2023, served as the actual starting point for intensive and lasting strategic cooperation.
Making better use of existing potential
This successful digital cooperation project provided the decisive impetus for consolidating and expanding strategic cooperation between the tourism organizations. "The cooperation potential of the six destinations as a tourism region is enormous. Our products and expertise complement each other perfectly," says Philippe Sproll, Managing Director of Aletsch Arena AG and Chairman of the cooperation. "We want to seize the opportunity and structure our cooperation in greater depth."
The strategic cooperation project Aletsch Kollektiv, launched a year ago, serves as the foundation for this initiative. It is supported by funds from the New Regional Policy (NRP) and is overseen by the Upper Valais Regional and Economic Center (RWO). The project focuses on three key areas: joint coordination, development, and communication of offerings and products, as well as the consolidation and continuation of the already established digitalization cooperation, which includes five of the six destinations.
The third pillar of strategic cooperation in the tourism region concerns overarching marketing in international markets. Brig Simplon Tourism, Belalp-Blatten Tourism, and the Aletsch Arena are involved in this final sub-project. Their tourism products will be marketed under the Aletsch Arena brand within Matterhorn Region AG, which is responsible for increasing global awareness of Valais products and services.
New highlight map now available
According to Esther Schlumpf, RWO project manager, the coordinated communication of offerings and products is an important step in strengthening cross-destination awareness. "In the future, guests will receive information on offerings that go beyond their respective destination. This is real added value for the region," she explains. Specifically, this will be achieved through the targeted integration of offerings on the websites of all participating stakeholders.
At the same time, a highlight map has been created and is now available in the tourism region. For the first time, it presents tourism offerings from all six destinations in a single, visually appealing document. Going forward, guests from around the world will be able to discover the region’s highlights on a single tourist map. Based on this, the cooperation between the six destinations is already planning further steps. Philippe Sproll says: "In the next step, we want to develop an adventure trail featuring sights to discover in the region. A concept for this is already in development."