During his visit to Switzerland, Olympic gold medallist and ST ambassador Neeraj Chopra  experienced skydiving and jet boating in Interlaken (BE), paragliding and dirt scootering in Zermatt (VS) and river rafting and city running in Geneva (GE).

Three things are certain about Indian Neeraj Chopra: he knows how to throw a javelin, he loves Switzerland, and he likes to immerse himself in adventurous outdoor activities surrounded by nature while on holiday. Switzerland Tourism (ST)’s ambassador for the Indian market is a world champion and Olympic gold medallist in javelin throwing. And almost everything in the life of a top athlete revolves around training and preparing for upcoming tournaments. In 2024, for example, the Summer Olympics will be held in Paris. But even a professional needs time to relax from time to time. This is exactly why Neeraj Chopra opted for Switzerland after winning the Diamond League, the most important athletics series, in 2022.

Legendary status in India

Together with his family and close friends, he spent a week’s holiday here. His seven million followers on Instagram (as at the end of 2023) joined him virtually, and the Indian media also showed a keen interest. In his home country, Chopra is regarded as a living legend and a symbol of what can be achieved through hard work, commitment and humility. For young people in India in particular, the fastest growing segment of Indian travellers, he is a real inspiration. The pictures and videos taken from his holidays in Switzerland were used for the 2023 summer campaign. This consisted of outdoor, print, digital and social media advertising, as well as a specially created microsite. The focus target group was millennials and Generation Z, who are very interested in outdoor activities.

Neeraj Chopra’s holidays did not consist of lazing around for hours on a deckchair. During his visit to Switzerland, he experienced skydiving and jet boating in Interlaken (BE), paragliding and dirt scootering in Zermatt (VS) and river rafting and city running in Geneva (GE).

Millions of fans were along for the ride

A target of 450 million media contacts was set for the 2023 summer campaign. This milestone was met and even exceeded back in October, with 600 million media contacts. What’s more: Neeraj Chopra has by no means had enough of Switzerland. Following on from his world championship title win in Budapest, he returned to his favourite holiday destination once again in September 2023.