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Avanti and Swiss Graubunden Region Team Up on Travel Advisor Educational Campaign;
Family-Friendly Destination with Year-Round Outdoor Sports, Mountain Resorts, Wellness Spas;
Three New Avanti Itineraries, $50 Gift Card, Webinar, E-brochure, and Microsite
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| Celerina in Graubunden’s stunning Engadine Valley is a small village five minutes from the legendary resort town of St. Moritz. |
| Portland, Oregon, February 9, 2023 – Visit Graubunden and wholesale FIT tour operator Avanti Destinations have announced a joint campaign to educate advisors on independent travel options in thirteen locations within the largest and least populated canton, Graubunden, in the south-eastern corner of Switzerland. The region, also known as Grisons, is filled with dramatic mountains, glaciers, lakes and rivers, year-round outdoor sports, picturesque villages, and thermal spas. |
| Avanti sells custom-crafted independent travel vacations exclusively through travel advisors, not directly to consumers. |
The joint educational campaign includes: a webinar led by the tourist board and Avanti on February 14, 2023 at 1:30pm Eastern, 10:30am Pacific; a new 40-page downloadable e-brochure, “Adventure throughout Graubunden”, which includes three new customizable vacations, at https://www.flipsnack.com/779977E569B/graubunden-switzerland/full-view.html on Avanti’s travel advisor portal; new microsite with videos, photo gallery and description of destinations also on Avanti’s site at https://www.avantidestinations.com/landing/graubunden_microsite/index.html; and a $50 gift card for advisors for each three-night Graubunden stay having a minimum land value of $2,500 booked between January 19, 2023 and March 31, 2023, with travel completed by December 31, 2023.
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| Near Flims, is the brilliantly turquoise Lake Cauma, as appealing during summer months for swimming and boating as the immense mountain resort of Flims Laax is during the winter. |
Two scenic train rides and off-the-beaten-path gems |
| “Graubunden is an increasingly popular vacation choice for independent travelers and their families who enjoy both winter and summer outdoor activities, as well as spectacular scenery,” said Paul Barry, Avanti’s CEO. “Mountain resorts have been designed to connect easily to ski slopes, hiking trails, sport schools and even daycare. The two famous scenic trains that traverse the canton – the Glacier Express and Bernina Express – are unforgettable experiences for children and adults alike and are the highlights of three customizable vacations described in the e-brochure. The fourth is a new self-drive itinerary. |
| “While some Graubunden destinations, like St. Moritz and Davos, are familiar names to experienced travelers, others, like Laax, Celerina, and Scuol, are definitely off-the-beaten path, hidden gems worth exploring. We are pleased to team up with Visit Graubunden to introduce this stunning region to our travel advisor partners.” |
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| The spectacular 213 ft-high Landwasser Rail Viaduct, built in 1901-1902, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and can be experienced on Avanti’s new Alpine Cruise by Rail itinerary or the Bernina Express scenic train. It is named for the Landwasser River that it crosses. |
Thirteen Graubunden destinations |
| The thirteen featured destinations include: St. Moritz, Alpine resort of the rich and famous for more than 150 years at the terminus of the Glacier Express and blessed with abundant sunshine, hosted two Winter Olympics and boasts more than 200 miles of ski runs, as well as hiking trails, cross-country ski trails, and many winter as well as summer outdoor activities in and around its picturesque lake; Celerina, charming village five minutes from posh St. Moritz, has hotels near the ski lift, a 14th century church, and the most sunshine all year long in this part of Switzerland; elegant Davos, the highest town (over 5,000 ft) in Europe offering winter and summer sports galore, plus shopping, restaurants and nightlife, was a health and wellness mecca long before the World Economic Forum for which it is currently known; the mountain resorts of Flims and Laax together with Falera form the Crap Sogn Gion ski area, one of Europe’s largest, with almost 40 miles of snow-assured slopes and nearly 150 miles of ski runs - especially popular with freestyle skiers and snowboarders because it has the world’s largest half-pipe; in warmer weather Flims offers biking, hiking, and swimming in brilliantly turquoise Lake Cauma; Arosa beacons with its twin lakes, ski slopes, and for families – the Squirrel Trail, and a bear sanctuary reachable by cable car; Lenzerheide, a top-rated ski resort, which shares a lift pass with nearby Arosa (one hour away), also known for mountain biking and hiking, as well as the Belfort Castle, Heidsee lake for water sports, and Sanaspans waterfall; Scuol is a quaint town near the Italian border with cobblestone streets, distinctive sgraffito decorations on historic buildings, and has been famous since medieval times for its 20 healing mineral hot springs; the capital of Graubunden and the oldest Swiss city, Chur, has a 13th century cathedral and car-free Old Town with colorful houses and cobblestone streets – considered one of the loveliest old towns in Switzerland – and is a stop on the Glacier Express scenic train and starting point for the Bernina Express; the quiet beautiful village of Vals not only offers winter and summer sport facilities, but one of the most impressively designed spas, carved directly into the side of a mountain; located on the Bernina Pass leading to Italy, Pontresina is a mountain village with Belle Epoque on the flanks of Piz Bernina, Graubunden’s highest peak at 13,300 feet, and provides ample opportunities for snowshoeing, tobogganing, advanced skiing slopes, and breathtaking wilderness trails; Bad Ragaz offers winter and summer sporting activities but is best known as a wellness and spa town since Benedictine monks discovered the healing powers of bathing in the thermal waters flowing from the nearby Tamania Gorge in the 13th century; it is also where the beloved children’s story “Heidi” was written. Fans of the novel can visit the Heidi House in the quaint village of Maienfeld and hike the Heidi Trail. |
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| Piz Bernina at 13,300 ft is the highest mountain in Graubunden (and the eastern Alps generally), located near St Moritz, Celerina, and Pontresina close to the Italian border and surrounded by glaciers. Piz is the Romansh word for Mount. Graubunden is the only Swiss canton where people still speak Romansh, Switzerland’s fourth official language. |
Three new customizable independent vacations – two by train, one by car |
| The e-brochure describes four customizable vacations, three of which are brand new. These vacations may be combined or linked to other Swiss, Italian, German, or Austrian destinations. Avanti offers a total of more than 10 recommended vacation itineraries in Switzerland, including several by scenic train. |
- Switzerland Off-the-Beaten-Path (by rail) (available May-October)– nine days/eight nights in Zurich, Laax, Davos, Scuol, Celerina, Zermatt. Highlight is a ride on the fabled Glacier Express scenic train (first class, panorama windows) with three-course meal. Also included: self-guided excursion to Gornergrat from Zermatt by the world’s highest open-air cogwheel railway (10,135 feet) to view the Matterhorn and surrounding panorama of 29 peaks each over 13,000 feet high; accommodations; discount on additional rail tickets and other local transport, as well as some mountain excursions; excursion in Zurich to Uetliberg Mountain House with fondue dinner; daily breakfast.
- Alpine Cruise by Rail -)(available May-October) - four days/three nights in Davos, Chur and St. Moritz. Includes: a ride on the Bernina Express scenic train between Chur, Poschiavo and St. Moritz; a ride on the Nostalgia train between Davos and Filisur, which travels on the spectacular 213 ft.-high Landwasser Viaduct, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; visit (with entrance fee) to the Disentis Benedictine monastery, founded in 700 AD; accommodations; daily breakfast. Luggage is forwarded to each evening’s overnight destination, freeing clients from handling it during the day.
- Alpine Circle Self-Drive – (available May-October) four days/three nights in Bad Ragaz (also known as Heidiland), St. Moritz, and Flims. Includes four days car rental, accommodations, daily breakfast. Extra car rental days and overnights may be added. Clients can explore the spas in Bad Ragaz, the nearby Heidi-themed sites, and Tamina Gorge – source of the town’s mineral springs. On the way to St. Moritz, detours to Chur, the picturesque village of Zernez, and the Swiss National Park are highly recommended. While in St. Moritz, take an optional daytrip on the Glacier Express (additional charge) and Gornergrat to see the Matterhorn. Between St. Moritz and Flims are Bergn, a pristine Alpine village, Bellinzona with its Tre Castelli (three castles) UNESCO World Heritage site. Just outside Flims is the beautiful turquoise-colored Lake Cauma.
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| For more information on independent travel in Switzerland and Europe generally, or to book custom-crafted, multi-destination FIT travel 365 days a year throughout Europe, Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, or Central and South America, log onto the recently revamped advisor portal https://book.avantidestinations.com or call 1-800-422-5053 to speak with an expert travel consultant. |
| Since 1981, Avanti Destinations has been selling independent travel products and custom-crafted vacations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Central and South America exclusively through travel advisors. The Portland, Oregon-based wholesale tour operator offers a wide range of FIT components to travel advisors only, including air, rail, rental cars, hotels, sightseeing/attractions, transfers and hard-to-find experiential travel options. Avanti specializes in hand-picked, locally-owned hotels in both large and small cities and in connecting all the pieces of complex, multi-destination itineraries. The company also creates complete packages for custom groups of 15-100 passengers. For more information: https://book.avantidestinations.com. |
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