Accommodation
Sleep well!
This area was conceived in connection with the feasibility study. The most important goals were to provide suitable accommodation in the Three-Lakes Region for individuals, groups, students as well as staff, and to do so at reasonable prices and in good quality, because the image of Expo.02 also depended on these external services.
The number of overnight stays was extrapolated by external experts. On the basis of these figures, partners were sought for the construction and operation of modular hotels and campsites. Due to the short duration of Expo.02, it was very difficult to find investors.
Finally, a modular hotel Swiss Tubes in Biel-Bienne, a three-star modular hotel in Yverdon-les-Bains and a five-star hotel in Neuchâtel were built. In addition, two campsites were built for the event under external management: a campsite for tents in Yverdon-les-Bains and a campsite for caravans in Ipsach. The Swiss Youth Hostels operated a temporary hostel in train carriages at Neuchâtel station. In 2001, the project for two tipi villages was incorporated into Expo.02, as the initiators lacked the funds to realise the project.
The objectives regarding the control of the prices of the existing hotel infrastructures and the internet exchange for accommodation for Expo.02 employees were achieved, but the number of overnight stays did not meet the expectations of the concessionaires. But generally speaking, the total number of hotel overnight stays in the Three-Lakes Region was higher than in the previous year, while the number of overnight stays in the rest of Switzerland decreased.