ETC looks to attract Chinese tourists to Europe’s World Heritage Journeys by rail

Leading ecommerce travel platform Travelport announces it has joined the European Travel Commission (ETC) consortium for a marketing campaign designed to attract tens of thousands of tourists from China to Europe in 2018 and 2019.

Travelport’s role in the project is to deliver a programmatic media solution, which utilizes the company’s partnerships in mainland China to promote campaign content to over six million people in the country that fit the desired audience profile.

The ETC consortium, which includes the likes of Travelport, Eurail Group, and National Geographic, will work in close cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Its aim is to promote the World Heritage Journeys of the European Union platform by rail, which features unique itineraries and experiences developed by UNESCO and National Geographic. The platform is co-funded by the European Union and promotes sustainable travel to some of the most remarkable World Heritage sites in Europe.

Frank Biasi

“Through these rail journeys, Chinese travelers can experience Europe’s World Heritage easily and sustainably, through the EU’s exceptional transnational rail network. We’re thrilled to share these new World Heritage Journeys with the growing Chinese travel market,” said Frank Biasi, Director of Digital Development and Travel, Maps Division at National Geographic.

As part of the campaign, National Geographic will create a short form campaign video showcasing the sites and heritage journeys by rail, which will be shared on National Geographic social platforms in China.

The consortium was initiated as part of 2018 EU-China Tourism Year, which is being led by the European Commission and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China in collaboration with the ETC. It is supported by member countries of the European Union and the ETC.

Anna Au-Yeung

“We are proud to have been selected by the European Travel Commission, along with our partners, to deliver a project of this scale and importance,” said Anna Au-Yeung, Global Head of Destination Marketing at Travelport in a statement.

“We believe this reflects the value our team, technology, and partnerships provide in reaching targeted audiences in China. We look forward to working with all those involved to set a new benchmark for transnational destination marketing,” she added.

China is a key source market for the initiative, and the World Heritage Journeys have been designed to reflect four themes:

1. Ancient
2. Romantic
3. Royal
4. Underground Europe.

Carlo Boselli

All these Journeys are fully accessible using the Eurail Pass, a single Pass that allows travel between over 40,000 railway stations across 10,000 destinations in 28 different countries in Europe.

“Together with our consortium members, we are truly committed to this new and exciting project to engage Chinese travellers in experiential, cultural travel,” said Carlo Boselli, General Manager for Eurail Group.

“Synonymous with borderless rail travel throughout Europe, Eurail has become the passport to the geographical, historical, and cultural richness of Europe, through one of the most environmentally sustainable ways to explore it – rail,” he added.