Great Rail Journeys welcomed customers last week onto its first escorted tours of the summer, departing from London St Pancras International.
Customers travelled to two of Great Rail Journeys? most popular destinations, transiting through France and Belgium to explore Switzerland and Germany. Pre-COVID this was a daily occurrence, as the escorted rail holiday provider ordinarily accompanies more than 33,000 passengers via Eurostar on their tours each year. However, following the latest government announcement that banned all non-essential travel to France and the Netherlands, the company has been forced to cancel holidays travelling via Eurostar until at least the first week of September.
Peter Liney, CEO of Great Rail Journeys, said, ?We were absolutely delighted to be able to recommence our Summer 2020 programme, albeit in a reduced capacity. We are passionate about providing holidaymakers with incredible rail experiences, and it is our pleasure to host people on the holidays that they have been waiting for."
The escorted rail holiday provider conducted a consumer survey involving more than 4,500 people, investigating travel preferences in response to the pandemic. The findings reveal holidaymakers feel more confident travelling by rail ? and are more than twice as likely to feel concerned about travelling through an airport and by plane (57%) than they would through a railway station and by train (22%).
Commenting on the findings, Mr Liney said, ?Our research has shown that holidaymakers feel safer travelling by rail than other modes of transport, and with more consumers also considering their environmental impact, no-fly holidays have an important role to play."
In light of the survey findings and customer desire to travel by rail, the operator is calling for the government to make allowances for safe travel. It is seeking for guidelines to compensate for the safe passage of rail travellers through countries where a travel ban is in place, in instances where they do not spend any time in that destination, something that is already in place for passengers transiting through airports.
Monitoring government updates closely, Great Rail Journeys will recommence travel into Europe as quarantine allows. The company has launched its 2021 Europe & UK holidays itineraries.
