Switzerland Tourism’s advertising campaign with Roger Federer is a great success. Too big of a success? Now critics are asking why so much money is being invested to attract even more tourists from all over the world.
Published: December 10, 2025 at 11:59 p.m
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Updated: 01:09 am
- Autumn campaign with Federer and Halle Berry achieves great success
- Video has been viewed over 125 million times on YouTube
- SP National Councilor Roth warns of even more tourists
Blick’s artificial intelligence is still learning and may make mistakes.
Christian KolbeEditor of Economics
Since Roger Federer (44) became a brand ambassador, Swiss tourism has been on the rise. The tennis legend has been in the employ of the marketing organization Switzerland Tourism since 2021 – and since then more and more tourists have been coming to Switzerland summer after summer.
The Corona dent back then has long since been overcome. The whole world has caught the travel bug again, and Switzerland as a tourist destination is also feeling it. The summer of 2025 was the best ever in this country – over 25 million tourists from all over the world visited Switzerland between May and October.
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The tourism organization spares no effort, expense and expense for the annual advertising campaign. This year, alongside Roger Federer, Hollywood star Halle Berry (59) was also in front of the camera, staged by Swiss star director Marc Forster (56).
Overtourism threatens the most beautiful destinations
The advertising video is a resounding success: it has already been viewed over 125 million times worldwide on YouTube – twice as many as last year’s campaign with Federer and Mads Mikkelsen (60).
The aim of the advertising campaign with Roger Federer: to direct part of the tourist flow to the supposed off-season of autumn. But success also has its downsides, as Blick recently observed in Grindelwald BE. The residents there would be happy to have a tourist break between the high seasons in summer and winter.
The so-called overtourism is not only an issue in Grindelwald. In Lauterbrunnen BE everyone wants to see the Staubbach Falls. The community suffers from mountains of waste and traffic chaos. A footbridge in Iseltwald BE is the secret star of a South Korean TV series, everyone wants to take a selfie there. Or in Ticino: In summer, the picturesque river valleys of the Maggia and Verzasca are a hotspot for domestic and foreign tourists.
Tax money for even more tourists
That’s why the voices are getting louder asking: Do we still need a magnet like Roger Federer to attract even more tourists? One of the critics is SP National Councilor David Roth (40). The Lucerne resident has long been denouncing the masses of tourists from distant countries and their negative consequences. In 2024, for example, he asked in an interpellation to the Federal Council: “Is state-subsidized tourism advertising compatible with the sustainability goals?”
Roth also questions the current Roger Federer campaign: “Was tax money used to generate additional traffic?” By this, the National Council means that Switzerland Tourism is paying money to get Federer’s video better placement on the social media channel. He adds: “Does it really make sense to use an expensive advertising campaign to attract tourists from all over the world to Switzerland?” In Roth’s eyes, it would be more important to focus on sustainability instead of long-distance tourists.
The tourism promoters are keeping quiet about how many tax francs – next year Switzerland Tourism will receive 50 million francs from the federal government – that flowed into the campaign. “We do not provide any information about individual project budgets,” said Blick when asked. When it comes to doubling the number of clicks, the following is said: YouTube rewards content that is viewed for a long time and with pleasure with additional reach. “38 percent watched the advertising film, which was over two minutes long, to the end.”
Switzerland Tourism is trying to steer things
This probably attracted a few additional tourists to Switzerland, which was already well visited. “Switzerland tourism is overloading the public infrastructure with the help of taxpayers’ money,” criticizes Roth.
The Swiss marketers are increasingly trying to direct the flow of tourists to less well-known places in Switzerland and to distribute them throughout the year. “This helps to make better use of the tourism infrastructure and better cushion fluctuations in demand,” says Switzerland Tourism.
A big challenge: The tourists who come to Switzerland for the first time thanks to the campaign probably first want to see the top sights such as the Chapel Bridge, the Jungfrau or the Matterhorn.
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