Case Study: Rail Tourism

Case Study: Rail Tourism

Summary

Rail tourism encompasses various forms of tourism centered around train travel. It can be separated into two categories: interrailing and rail experience. This case study looks at both of those forms and it analyzes the rail tourism industry and assesses its future prospects.

Key Highlights

• Rail tourism encompasses various forms of tourism centered around train travel. It can be separated into two categories: interrailing and rail experience.
• Rail tourism offers the opportunity to visit multiple locations in one holiday, which appeals to both the people suffering from the “fear of missing out”, who wants to see and experience as much as they can, and the proponents of slow tourism, who advocate a relaxed and responsible approach to travel. In that sense, it can be compared to a cruise. It is actually not rare to see luxury trains described as “cruise trains”.
• Once a rite of passage for young Europeans, interrailing has been pushed aside since the beginning of the noughties by the development of low cost airlines, which made other countries easier and cheaper to reach. However, the current context offers a perfect breeding ground for train tourism. Indeed, as travelers become increasingly conscious of their impact on the environment, a greener travel alternative has the potential to develop into more than a simple mode of transport to become, if not the main focus, at least a central point of their holidays.

Scope

• Rail tourism encompasses various forms of tourism centered around train travel.
• It can be separated into two categories: interrailing and rail experience.
• This case study looks at both of those forms and it analyzes the rail tourism industry and assesses its future prospects.

Reasons to buy

• Gain an insight into the rail tourism industry
• Understand how rail serves as both a mode of transport and an experience holiday
• Analyze examples of industry-leading players and their offerings