Switzerland ready for a Grand year ahead

“When I first landed here, I said to myself, ’This is simply out of this world. This is the most amazing landscape that I have ever seen,’” said famed former astronaut Buzz Aldrin.... while trudging through thick blankets of snow on a breathtaking panoramic Swiss mountaintop.

It’s an epic scene that leads the charge in Switzerland Tourism’s latest winter campaign video, one of many industry updates that were highlighted to travel agents and tour operators at the Swiss Yodel, an intimate soiree held at Switzerland Tourism’s head office in Toronto last night.

Switzerland’s main message? Touring the heart of Europe is more accessible than most people think.

“Canadians are pretty independent travellers,” said Ursula Beamish-Mader, Switzerland Tourism’s manager of media relations for North America. “Our products have itinerary choices for up to couple of days to a couple of weeks. This is something the market requested and now we’re able to do.”

One of those products is the exquisite Grand Tour of Switzerland, a breathtaking 1,600 km journey through four language regions, over five Alpine passes, eleven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, two biospheres and along 22 lakes.

“Canada has fantastic nature, but the difference with Switzerland is that our mountains are accessible to everybody,” said Beamish-Mader. “We have gondolas and railway cars that go up to every peak. “If you’re not highly mobile or fit, you’re still able to go into a pretty Arctic environment.”

Not to mention that Switzerland is a leader in world-class public transportation. “If the world would be like the Swiss for transportation, it would be absolutely perfect. They really have an amazing system,” said Eric Bacon of Rail Europe.

For getting around Switzerland, the newly re-named Swiss Travel Pass is, according to Bacon, the best way to go. “It’s one ticket and you have access to everything,” said Bacon, noting that the pass covers all trains, boats, busses, public transportation in 75 cities and entrance to almost 480 museums. “All that’s missing is food and hotels.”

Switzerland will also be upping their train game in 2016 with its completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, a 57 km-long marvel that will bring the northern and southern areas of Switzerland closer together and allows guests to travel the Alps in just 20 minutes. Switzerland’s Grand Train Tour, too, should be on a traveller’s radar, said Bacon, as it allows guests to customize their own sightseeing itineraries.

With direct flights to Switzerland from Toronto, Montreal and now a newly-added summer route from Calgary to Zurich via Edelweiss Air, Beamish-Mader estimates that roughly 250,000 Canadians visit Switzerland annually. “And that’s in overnights at hotels only,” she said. “That doesn’t count the number of people who stay with friends or rent apartments.”

Luxury accommodation lies ahead with the opening of the car-free Bürgenstock resort in picturesque Lucerne, which is located in the heart of Switzerland. The resort, slated to open in 2017, and reportedly involved investments to the tune of 485 million Swiss francs, will feature three hotels with 400 rooms, 800 beds, 68 residence suites and 12 restaurants and bars – all set in a mountainous landscape.

Those who wish to escape the mainstream may head to the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps and visit the town of Gstaad, famous for its surrounding nature and ski slopes, such as Wispile and Rinderberg, and traditional Swiss culture. “Madonna is now going there every winter for her vacation,” said Beamish-Mader. Enough said.

But you don’t need to have a Madonna-sized wallet to enjoy Switzerland’s various restaurants and exertions. Now available is the Swiss Coupon Pass, a two-for-one deal that allows two people to enjoy experiences in 11 destinations for the price of one. The passes, coordinated by Switzerland Travel Centre, can be picked up at service centres in Geneva and Basel or can be delivered to hotels at no extra cost.

And a trip to breathtaking Switzerland will no doubt garner its fair share of selfies, so be sure to use the hashtag #INLOVEWITHSWITZERLAND when posting fab moments on social media. Switzerland Tourism will collect your stories and pictures and compile them on MySwitzerland.com/yourstory. The new campaign will even give participants a chance to win a trip back to their favourite Swiss destination.

For more on touring Switzerland, go to www.myswitzerland.com.

PHOTO: Sabine Foehn, Switzerland Travel Centre; Eric Bacon, Rail Europe; Beat Waelti, Lucerne Tourism; Mirjam Wolf, Gstaad Saanenland Tourism; Ursula Beamish-Mader, Switzerland Tourism; Lionel Ansermet, Switzerland Tourism.