Get a load of the Swiss views, girls

Switzerland is trying to tempt women away from neighbouring countries’ snowy slopes with a bare-chested male ski instructor and a competition for lessons with the country’s sexiest men.

Toni “the Body” Betschart, a ski and fitness instructor for four years, has found fame by posing topless for the Swiss tourist board on a sunny mountainside. An advertisement showing him in just ski trousers and sunglasses has been displayed across Europe, with a giant billboard in the centre of Amsterdam.

“Our message is that Switzerland has much more to offer than beautiful winter landscapes,” said Veronique Kanel, from the tourist board.



The £8m campaign includes a television advertisement to be broadcast in Britain, Germany, France and Italy, which shows another ski instructor being pursued down a mountain by hundreds of women.

The tourist board’s website also features a male beauty contest in which members of the public can vote for the sexiest ski instructor.

The prize, to be announced in a draw next month, is a weekend of private tuition with one of nine instructors.