Grindelwald moves – Part 6 | December 14, 2024
One ticket, endless possibilities. This is Switzerland Tourism’s promise of how Switzerland can be traveled sustainably and relaxed. The first figures confirm: The strategy is on track according to schedule and should ultimately also relieve congestion on the roads in the Lütschinental.
Roger Federer and US comedian Trevor Noah (right) have gotten on the bandwagon – and many tourists in Switzerland are following their example. Photo: Switzerland Tourism/André Meier
Roger Federer and US comedian Trevor Noah show us how to do it: ride a train. If you watch them travel through the Swiss mountain landscape with a cup of coffee – primarily made of porcelain and not cardboard – you feel the impulse to do the same.
But the focus is not just on the experience. Especially in places like Grindelwald, where cars often move through the valley in slow-moving traffic in both summer and winter, Switzerland Tourism also wants to use its initiative to help relieve congestion on the roads. By specifically promoting public transport, tourists can not only travel in a relaxed manner, but also help protect the unique nature of the Lütschinental from the burden of traffic.
The six-part series: “Grindelwald moves”
In the six-part series “Grindelwald moves”, innovative actors show how the Eigerdorf could develop in the coming years.
This is the sixth and final part of this series, published daily this week.
Already published:
This is exactly the feeling that Switzerland Tourism wants to convey with this advertising clip: traveling by train in Switzerland is an experience – and a thoroughly positive one. However, every Swiss citizen knows that it is not always possible to travel in such a dignified manner and with a lot of legroom on Swiss trains.
Today, not by train, but by tram: Martin Nydegger often and happily uses public transport. Photos: Denise Jacob
Travel worry-free through Switzerland
“No, that’s not a parody,” says Martin Nydegger, director of Switzerland Tourism, when asked. The commercial is not aimed at commuters, but at an international audience. The railway should not only be seen as a means of transport to get from A to B, but also as an invitation to experience Switzerland.
With the launched “Grand Train Tour,” which runs from Lucerne via Interlaken, Montreux, Zermatt, St. Moritz, Lugano and back to Lucerne, tourists are discovering Switzerland’s tourist hotspots – or, as Nydegger puts it, “a series of beautiful destinations”. The concept is well received by guests from the USA, China, India, Japan and Brazil.
It is crucial that tourists can travel through Switzerland “worry-free” – without having to deal with ticket machines, ticket variations and their validity. Nydegger summarizes this with two keywords: “Hospitality” and “Convenience” – hospitality and comfort. The “Swiss Travel Pass” fulfills this promise: a ticket for unlimited travel by train, bus and boat for a limited time, essentially “a general subscription for a limited period of time”.
“In Switzerland you are never on the wrong train”
This hospitality comes at a price. A ticket for eight days in first class costs 731 euros. For the tourists, the amount is of secondary importance, says the native of Bern. The top priority is uncomplicated travel. Tourists are also aware that, like Federer and Noah in the commercial, you cannot rely on an older lady to buy you a ticket and coffee – even in Switzerland.
Roger Federer on set for the “Grand Train Tour” video shoot. Photo: Switzerland Tourism/André Meier
The numbers prove the 52-year-old right: Since the commercial was launched in spring 2023, sales of the “Swiss Travel Pass” have increased by 16 percent in all markets. Guests from the USA, China and India in particular travel by public transport. The ad’s slogan, “You’ll never be on the wrong train in Switzerland,” seems to have arrived.
Switzerland as “Central Station Europe”
But not for all nations. Travelers from cultures far away from public transport, such as those in the Gulf States, have not yet discovered traveling by rail. Switzerland Tourism is staying there. In the United Arab Emirates there are already the first converters and an increase in sales of 17 percent.
Nydegger also wants to reinforce the message to European guests: “You can travel from your country by train – and in Switzerland you can discover the country wonderfully on rails.” He even has in mind to market Switzerland as “Central Station Europe” – a European rail hub.
Appreciates the good air. As a child, he spent his school holidays with his grandparents in the Bernese Oberland to recover from his asthma.
Sustainability is on board
The Germans are probably skeptical about this argument – especially when it comes to traveling with Deutsche Bahn. «Yes, that is certainly the case. Deutsche Bahn has room for improvement. But we can’t control that. We are concentrating on the conditions in Switzerland.”
Nydegger also follows this credo when it comes to sustainability. Traveling from long-distance markets such as overseas or Asia is not climate-friendly, but as soon as the guest arrives in Switzerland, one can guarantee that their stay is sustainable, says Nydegger.
He himself, who grew up in Büren an der Aare, spent his school holidays with his grandparents in Habkern. “Asthma cure,” he says, and appreciates the good mountain air. Although the advertising strategy with Federer and Noah is primarily about the public transport experience, ecology also plays an important role.
Almost couldn’t get enough of traveling by train
With this strategy, Switzerland Tourism has two aces. On the one hand, to promote public transport and make travel for tourists as uncomplicated as possible. On the other hand, environmental awareness plays an important role – at least from the moment travelers arrive in Switzerland. Especially in places like Grindelwald, where tourism often leads to congested roads, the initiative can make a decisive contribution to improving the quality of life and preserving nature.
Whether you actually meet Roger Federer on the train is secondary. Rather, the message is that traveling by train in Switzerland is more than just transportation: it is an element that is part of the tourist experience. This makes public transport not only a flagship of Switzerland, but also a key to discovering the country in a decelerated and sustainable way.
Grindelwald Tourism
Dorfstrasse 110
3818 Grindelwald
Telephone 033 854 12 12
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2024-12-14 09:07:00