Over her countless trips to the country, Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director at Switzerland Tourism, says that your first impression of the place is always how beautiful it is. “Everything works efficiently, every place is clean and picture-perfect.” But as a tourist, it could annoy you that when you come out of the airport, you can’t just hop into a taxi. Instead, you take a 10-minute train ride to the city centre and wheel your bags to your nearest hotel – or take the tram.
For an Indian, given how normalised it is to move around in private vehicles as a tourist, it might take a minute to get used to the idea of their immaculate public transportation system. “If a train is scheduled for 11:03, it will leave at 11:03.” And the last mile connectivity is such that you only have to walk for five to seven minutes to go anywhere. “But of course when the Swiss say 10 minutes, it’s more like half an hour for us Indians!” jokes Sharma.
In For The Long-Haul
For many travellers, their ideal holiday is short. They hop from one place to another to see all the popular destinations, take pictures and then do some shopping. A Swiss holiday should ideally look nothing like that. “We don’t want tourists to fly in, go to Mount Titlis and fly out.” Long-haul stays and sustainable tourism are what they’re looking at. “What we want is a give and take between two cultures.”
In Europe, people often talk about how places like Venice or Barcelona have become impossible to live for the locals. And the Swiss did not take that message lightly. When you fly in from India, it takes about eight to 10 hours and once you land, if you only go hopping from place A to place B, it can’t be good for the environment. Hence, Switzerland wants travellers to stay for at least a week or 10 days and do more than just the highlights.
The Changing Tourist
Initially, it was Switzerland Tourism’s goal to attract older travellers in their sixties. “It is in their golden years when people have the money to spend and would be interested in doing a slower holiday.” Yash Chopra’s films shot in Switzerland did a good job showcasing the country’s beautiful mountains, lakes and meadows. And that’s about as much as Indians knew about Switzerland.
However, post-pandemic, people of all ages started to understand the importance of wellness, sustainability, slow travel and being active. That’s when Switzerland Tourism too changed its marketing approach to invite younger travellers with the same mindset. And Ranveer Singh was onboarded as their ambassador.
Their campaigns showcased him jumping off aeroplanes, going jet skiing, cycling around town and partying. Indians realised that apart from picturesque landscapes and a clean environment, Switzerland had a lot more to offer. There’s a stark difference in how Indian tourists behave pre and post-pandemic. Before, people would moan at the idea of a 10-minute walk, and now, they show an interest in doing at least the smaller hikes and adventure activities. “We are getting a little bit less couch potato as the younger generation realises that we need to move a bit.”
Colours Of Switzerland
A good way of promoting sustainable tourism is to have it continue around the year. Usually, there’s a big batch of travellers coming in during the three months in summer, but they’re trying to level it out by promoting the Swiss autumn and winter.
“There used to be the fear of how cold it gets and that an Indian might be unable to acclimatise. But now, we’re showing people that you don’t need to worry because all indoor spaces are heated.” And for the outdoors, all you need is a good jacket, a pair of boots, a cap, a muffler and gloves. By promoting travel year-round, tourists end up having a better experience as they don’t have to deal with the crowds. It also reduces the pressure on facilities in Switzerland.
Another thing being encouraged is using public transport through the Swiss Travel Pass – a ticket that works across the public transportation systems. People often face a problem with public transportation because of their baggage. And to solve that, a service is now in place where you can send your bags from one place to the other.
Taking On Neeraj Chopra
In 2022, Switzerland Tourism took on Olympic athlete Neeraj Chopra to be their new ambassador. “Bollywood is the tried and tested way that pays off. But we didn’t want to keep on talking to that audience.” Way before talks about onboarding him came up, Chopra had already visited the country and posted about how much he loved his experience. That post caught their attention and soon they took him on as the new ambassador.
Sharma tells us that Chopra was grounded and the exact role model needed to promote the country. He brought on the trip with him his first-ever coach, his childhood friend who runs a sports facility in the village and his father who brought him into sports. “You can see him looking out for his people.” He would lug around their bags, make sure they got the breakfast of their choice – omelettes with chillies and start silly little races with them up and down stairs.
“Neeraj is not someone who knows how to pose, so you have to take shots while he’s on the run.” He even learnt mountain biking while on the trip and enjoyed it a little too much for his coach to be at peace.
Hidden Gems
Asked about the hidden gems of Switzerland, Sharma tells us about the Ballenberg open-air museum that is made up of 700-year-old houses that have been transplanted into the space, or an experience that shows you how chocolate is made from scratch. Zurich too has a mountain where you can go tobogganing in winter and mountain biking in summer. “But if we keep talking about the hidden gems, they will no longer be hidden.” So for a first-time traveller, she recommends you do your research and stay in one place a little while longer to truly get the flavour of the place.
“We also encourage travellers to not do a multi-country itinerary. Stay at least a week in Switzerland and maybe do a few days in a big city like Paris or London if you want to go shopping.” Their goal is to have about 40% of travellers from in and around Switzerland and the remainder from other parts of Europe and around the world.
Land of the brave and adventurous, the cultured and the gourmet, the particular and the peculiar… Switzerland has something for everyone.
