Piccard touches down after Latin American tour

Piccard described the seven-nation tour as a success swissinfo.ch

The record-breaking Swiss balloonist, Bertrand Piccard, has returned home after his first trip to Latin America, where he set out to prove that there is more to Switzerland than cheese, chocolate, cows and banks.

Piccard visited seven countries as an ambassador for “Presence Switzerland”, which is charged with promoting the country abroad. The government’s aim is to persuade people that Switzerland is a modern and innovative nation.

Johannes Matyassy, the head of Presence Switzerland, told swissinfo that Piccard’s role was to show that his country is a home for the high-tech industry and actively promotes entrepreneurship.

This is not the first time Piccard has assumed this ambassadorial role for the organisation. He has already made similar trips to the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Germany.

There were some fears that Piccard would not be a recognisable face to the South American public. Matyassy said these fears were shown to be unfounded.

“Our embassies were able to take advantage of his presence to give an extra dimension to Switzerland’s image. Our work is to increase awareness about Switzerland and lay the groundwork for specialised agencies.”

Piccard himself believes his tour has been a success. “People know Switzerland is a dynamic country,” he told swissinfo.

“I think the idea was to create more relationships, to understand each other better. I worked at different levels, speaking with the main actors of financial, political and social life.”

Piccard didn’t just talk to VIPs, though. “I was also able to spread my message effectively through the local media, rather than just have confidential meetings with a few people.”

Along with his British co-pilot, Brian Jones, Piccard became the first person to fly non-stop around the world in a hot-air balloon, when their Breitling Orbiter 3 touched down in the Egyptian desert in March 1999, almost 20 days after they had taken off from the Swiss resort of Chateau d’Oex.

Nine months after his epic journey, Piccard was appointed goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and a spokesperson in Switzerland for the Face to Face campaign, which aims to promote women’s rights around the world.

While touring South America as an unofficial ambassador of Switzerland, the balloonist also spent time talking with UN officials in the countries he visited. “I was able to give their local work a heightened profile by talking about it during my press conferences,” said Piccard.

The Swiss adventurer’s tour took him to Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.

Piccard, a psychiatrist by profession, has become a much sought-after speaker at conferences and seminars. He estimates that he gives around 200 speeches a year, his specialist topics being life management and how to cope with stress and crises.

swissinfo with agencies