Rail Europe, Swiss Travel System put the personal back at the heart of travel    

Rail Europe and Swiss Travel System have launched the second edition of Swiss Bliss, their strategic marketing partnership campaign inviting travellers to discover Switzerland more slowly, and more personally, by rail.

The campaign follows the success of the first Swiss Bliss initiative, named Best National Campaign at the 2025 Rail Tourism Awards, presented by Eurail and the European Travel Commission. It was recognized for its creative approach to encouraging travel beyond Switzerland’s busiest destinations and during quieter times of the year.

This year, Swiss Bliss starts with a simple question: when planning a trip to Switzerland, whose recommendation would you trust?

Rather than relying on generic “must-see” lists or algorithm-shaped itineraries, the campaign introduces four journeys chosen by people with a close connection to Switzerland and rail travel.

Rail Europe CEO Björn Bender, Rail Europe CTO Ilgün Ilgün, Swiss Travel System expert Thomas Hoffmann and railway writers Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries were each asked to recommend a journey to a friend. The routes are not necessarily Switzerland’s most famous, but places and experiences they genuinely know, value and would return to themselves.

The participating creators did not receive a conventional travel briefing or digital itinerary. Instead, each journey arrived as a hand-illustrated postcard, complete with a handwritten recommendation from the person behind the itinerary – a small but deliberate detail that captures the spirit of the campaign.