After touring his homeland of Switzerland by road, Roger Federer is gearing up for another grand tour – this time by rail.
Earlier this year, the recently retired tennis star appeared in an ad campaign alongside actor Anne Hathaway as they steered their way around Switzerland as part of Switzerland Tourism’s focus on self-drive holidays.
Next year, tourism authorities will focus on “the train experience and the grand train tour”, according to Switzerland Tourism Head of Markets Simon Bosshart.
In an interview with Karryon, Bosshart said in his next campaign, Federer would be exploring Switzerland by rail with another star, though he could not divulge who that would be.
More on the campaign would be revealed around March to April next year, Bosshart said, when Switzerland Tourism launches its “next very cool spot”.
Although Bosshart said the campaign would involve Federer getting “lost in Switzerland on a train”, there’s very little chance of that literally happening. According to the Swiss, Switzerland has the best public transportation in the world.
“I mean, there are not many things where we can say we are the best, but here we really are. [We have] the best public transportation system, and with the Swiss Travel Pass product, which is like a train ticket that integrates the whole country or public transportation … with this, you actually have a key to every place in Switzerland, so that’s an absolutely great product.”
Get outdoors
When asked for other tips, Bosshart recommended really exploring the outdoors in Switzerland, which he called a year-round destination despite its reputation as a winter wonderland. To do this, you can travel by car or train – as Roger Federer is about to find out.
Last year, Federer appeared alongside actor Robert de Niro in another Switzerland tourism campaign.
Bosshart is visiting Australia for the first time since the pandemic, and along with promoting his country’s many attributes, he is in Sydney to bid farewell to outgoing Consul General of Switzerland, Bernadette Hunkeler-Brown and welcome her successor, Conny Camenzind.
Karryon spoke to Bosshart at a Switzerland Tourism event at Sydney’s Otto Ristorante on Thursday.
For more on Switzerland Tourism, visit myswitzerland.com.
