REKA: holiday the Swiss way: since the 1930s, a Swiss travel fund has offered affordable holidays in one of the most expensive destinations in the world. Swiss News has more.

AuteurBrunjes, Justin
Fonction BUSINESS UNUSUAL

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A professor of mine once mused, "Never think about your coming vacation; just book and go. If you build up your expectations in advance, you're almost certain to be disappointed."

And it's true. Things are lost or forgotten, the weather turns sour, everything seems to cost a fortune, and emotions flare up. With this in mind, the Swiss travel fund known as REKA set out to make holidays as affordable and relaxing for the Swiss public as possible.

With 1.3 million overnight stays a year at their 12 holiday villages and roughly 1,400 vacation flats, REKA is currently the second largest provider of vacation lodging in Switzerland. But the organisation is far more than just another holiday accommodation agency.

Everyone wins

Established in 1939 as a joint effort between Swiss employers, workers' unions, and the ministries of tourism and transport, the Bern-based non-profit organisation provides holiday opportunities at a reduced price through a unique system based around 'REKA-Checks'--vouchers which never expire and are as good as gold in roughly 7,000 locations throughout Switzerland and abroad.

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The process, as explained by REKA spokesman Andre Dubois, is relatively ingenious. REKA sells these cheques to participating employers at a discount of 1.5 per cent, under the condition that the employer then sells them to employees at a further reduction of around 20 per cent.

Companies save money because social costs (taxes and social security) don't have to be paid on these sums; and employees benefit because, "for roughly every 84 francs they spend on a holiday, they get 100 francs in goods and services" says Dubois.

Companies participating in the REKA scheme include seven of the ten biggest Swiss employers: the Post, Coop, UBS, Credit Suisse, Novartis, Manor and Zurich Financial services.

The cheques are also available to the average consumer at Coop affiliates. However, here savings are much less attractive at three per cent.

"The cheques are in circulation for an average of 200 days," says Dubois, during which time REKA's finance department invests the money in the market and watches it grow. The profits are returned to REKA customers in the form of further reductions in cheque prices, development of REKA holiday locations and special offers.

Specials include REKA's "free" holidays for families of modest income. They actually cost SFr 100 francs a week (so, practically free, anyway). Around 1,200...

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