In a humorous and inspiring new film shot amid the breath taking scenery of Lake Lucerne, tennis legend Roger Federer meets Hollywood star Halle Berry while travelling on some of the country’s most iconic public transport routes.
Once again, the campaign highlights the tourism potential of this colourful season and its growing significance for the travel industry.
For the second time, Roger Federer teams up with Switzerland Tourism to highlight the beauty of autumn in Switzerland, in what marks their fifth campaign together. This year, Federer invites an internationally renowned American actor to join him in celebrating the beauty of autumn in Switzerland. Halle Berry, who won an Oscar in 2002 for Monster’s Ball, first rose to fame through her acting career, later starring in blockbusters such as Die Another Day, the X-Men franchise and Catwoman.
In this short film – entitled ‘Beautiful Autumn’ and created especially for distribution in Switzerland Tourism’s priority markets (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, South-East Asia and Japan) – Berry continuously makes clever attempts to delay the shoot. She’s fallen so deeply in love with Switzerland that she’s trying everything she can to secretly extend her stay there.
Travel better, stay longer
This humorous ‘making of’-style short film was directed by German/Swiss filmmaker Marc Forster and alternates between interview segments with Federer and scenes filmed in extraordinary locations such as a panoramic cable car, a vintage postbus and a boat. ‘The film showcases the strengths of spending autumn in Switzerland: longer, higher-quality stays and more mindful travel – the essence of Travel Better’, explains André Hefti, Chief Marketing Officer at Switzerland Tourism.
To further enhance the appeal of autumn, Switzerland Tourism has partnered with the Swiss national transport network Travel Switzerland throughout the campaign to offer special promotions on the Swiss Travel Pass, the ticket available exclusively to international visitors which enables them to travel comfortably and without limits in first class across Switzerland’s public transport network.
A season on the rise
Switzerland hotel statistics confirm that autumn is becoming an increasingly important season for travel in Switzerland, thanks to its mild climate and vibrant landscapes. Between September and November, hotel overnight stays have risen by 10.3% over the past five years (2019–2024) – a stronger growth rate than that seen across all months in the same period (+7.1%).
All regions in Switzerland have benefited from this growth, especially mountain areas, with overnight stays increasing by 8.2% in Graubünden (+66,729) and 8.5% in Valais (+60,762).
Swiss domestic travellers remain the driving force, with a 17% increase in overnights across five years (+707,970). However, international visitors have also contributed to the trend – overnights attributed to foreign guests have also risen by 4.3%, and by 4% among guests visiting from the Eurozone specifically. The most significant growth has come from visitors from the United States, with a 34.8% increase (+213,005 overnight stays).