Travelport, a leading travel commerce platform, is part of a consortium picked by the European Travel Commission (ETC) to deliver a major new campaign designed to attract tens of thousands of tourists from China to Europe in 2018 and 2019.

 In addition to Travelport, the winning consortium includes Eurail Group and National Geographic and will work in close cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO).

The project 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 European Travel Commission (ETC). It is supported by member countries of the European Union and the ETC.

The scope of the project 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.

China is a key source market for the initiative, and the Journeys have been designed to reflect four themes: Ancient, Romantic, Royal and Underground Europe. 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.

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 6 million people in the country that fit the desired audience profile.

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.

Eduardo Santander, CEO at the ETC said: “We felt the approach that  Eurail Group, UNESCO, Travelport and National Geographic put forward was unique, innovative and more than capable of convincing tens of thousands of tourists from China to come to Europe and immerse themselves in our culture and heritage. We are looking forward to working with the team to make the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year an initiative to remember.”

Anna Au-Yeung, global head of Destination Marketing at Travelport, added: “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. 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.”

 Carlo Boselli, general manager for Eurail Group, the company behind the Eurail Pass, said: “Together with our consortium members, we are truly committed to this new and exciting project to engage Chinese travellers in experiential, cultural travel. 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.”

Frank Biasi, director of Digital Development and Travel, Maps Division at National Geographic, said: “National Geographic strives to take its audience deeper into the culture and history of the places we visit. Our audience is curious and wants to go further, exploring the world in new and surprising ways that reveal the richness and diversity of our amazing planet. Through these rail journeys, Chinese travellers 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.” – TradeArabia News Service