Eurail's Silvia Goerlach & Clarissa Mattos
Charming attraction: a busy little train
Longtime friends and colleagues Henny Groenendijk of Netherlands Tourism & Eurail's Brigitta Koon
Juergen Wuenschenmeyer of Germany's Romantic Road & Anne-Greth Paulus of Baden-Baden
For generations, travelling by train through Europe has been relaxing and scenic!
It’s generally accepted that Thomas Cook was the grandaddy of group tourism, thanks to his decision in 1841 to charter a train to move a group 12 miles to a temperance (read: anti-alcohol) meeting in Leicester, England.
Well almost 175 years later, rail travel is still going strong across the pond, and Eurail and its 30 rail and sea partners are continuing to fine tune and improve their services and offerings. Such was the message last Friday evening at a cocktail party hosted by Eurail in downtown Toronto.
The star of the show (apart from the many cosmopolitan Europeans present) was a charming electric tabletop train wending its cheerful way through an Alpine “landscape”.
Certainly one of Europe’s biggest train buffs has to be Silvia Görlach, Eurail’s new Sales & Marketing Manager, based in Utrecht, Holland. “Eurail passes aren’t just for backpackers and retirees!” she exclaimed. And when you think about it, the train makes huge sense in Europe: with gas at up to €1.80 ($2.54) per litre – gulp – and parking in many towns and cities tricky and expensive, the train becomes even more attractive. Everyone gets to admire the scenery, there’s food on board (or bring a picnic), and many rail stations are centrally located architectural wonders.
“North America is the biggest market for us, representing 40% of all sales,” she told the group, adding that the most popular countries for rail travel are Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. And the #1 route? Florence to Rome.
And for clients who appreciate the value and fewer crowds of off season Europe, recommend the 20% off “Off Peak” sale, valid on all Eurail product. Book by 31 December and travel by 31 March next year and soak up all that gorgeous scenery for less!
