Train travel across Europe, led by Eurostar, is rapidly approaching pre-pandemic levels, according to Rail Europe.
Rail Europe, Eurostar, Atout France and Visit Britain hosted an intimate event with around 30 consultants at the Langham Hotel in Sydney last night to share exciting industry news and announced that European rail travel will return to 2019 figures by 2023.
Eurostar’s Australian sales figures are currently 175 percent above budget, while Rail Europe’s Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific, Richard Leonard, said the correlation between increased airline capacity to Europe and high-performance sales figures is strong.
Overall, Australian sales for European rail travel sit at just over 140 percent of budget, while global sales hit 60 percent of the year’s target at the end of September compared to the same period in 2019 – an impressive return looking at Japan and China still closed .
As 2023 is shaping up to be a strong year for Rail Europe, Leonard said the team’s priority is to continue assisting consultants and accelerating them with advanced booking technologies; and increasing sales, he added, a number of exciting incentives and offers will begin to roll out in the new year.
Advisors were also reminded that the merger between Eurostar and Thalys, forming the Eurostar Group in May 2022, will result in increased ticket and route options.
Tuesday-Ann Castle, Eurostar’s senior manager for international strategy and B2B partnerships, pointed out that with the target of transporting 30 million passengers a year between Europe’s largest cities by 2030, the combined network allows passengers to switch comfortably from car or plane to train.
“With four direct return services daily to the UK, for example from Rotterdam and Amsterdam, travelers can enjoy an incredibly sustainable travel option that not only has greater flexibility but also saves time,” he said.
Castle noted that a passenger’s carbon footprint from a flight is roughly equivalent to 13 Eurostar journeys (based on 2019 CO2e emissions), which equates to almost two weeks of daily travel on the service.
In other updates, agencies helping sports fans travel around the Rugby World Cup in France are advised to start planning ahead.
The sporting event will take place from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in 10 host cities, namely Lille, Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Paris and Saint-Denis.
And in the United Kingdom, representatives, His Majesty King III. It should also pay attention to various milestones and events, including Charles’s Coronation on 6 May 2023 and the 67th Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Liverpool later that month.
Image: LR: Amelia Robertson and Kirsten Angus Visit England; James Hooper, Railroad Europe; Tuesday-Ann Castle, Eurostar; and Clelie Collas, Atout France
