Now, travel companies of all sizes can expand their product offerings, providing railway passes as an additional service for customers.

“The platform simplifies the way we do business while allowing new and established partners a turnkey way to become sales agents of our commissionable products,” said Yi Ding, Business and Growth Manager at Eurail.

Ding adds: “While our passes have always been a popular choice for savvy travellers, the current demand for flexibility, coupled with the continuous growth of sustainable travel, leads us to project very strong demand in 2022 and beyond as Europe travel bounces back.”

Currently Eurail offers competitive commission, paying advisors monthly.

There are several lures to tempt clients to explore Europe by rail, such as the Global Pass with unlimited travel in multiple countries, available as a Flexi pass, with four to 15 days, or the Continuous Travel pass, available for 15 or 22 days, or one, two or three months of rail travel.

For clients wanting to focus on one destination, the One Country pass offers three to eight days of travel within a month. With the Global or One Country Passes, clients have the option to select first or second class, with senior, adult and youth fares; children under 11 always travel free.

In addition, the Greek Islands Pass provides clients an incentive to stay and explore the 53 islands of Greece, with a four or six day pass which includes fuel surcharge, port fees and a 30 per cent discount on additional domestic ferry trips.

Eurail Passes come with several added benefits for customers.  The passes can be used within 11 months after purchase, with full flexibility on itinerary and starting date of the trip. Eurail Passes also includes discounts from over 100 partners across Europe including Europe Famous Hostels, Hard Rock Café, City Sightseeing entrance tickets and 50% off city cards and ferry travel.

Travellers can manage their trips independently with the Rail Planner app, which includes the ability to change or postpone travel plans at a limited cost as part of Eurail’s flexible refund and exchange policy, as well as receive extra discounts, dependent on destination.

In 2020, Eurail had a highly successful launch of the Eurail Mobile Pass (mPass). This digital version of the pass provided click-of-the-button booking and activation for consumers, in addition to a safe and efficient centralized system for carriers with enhanced sales and customer insights. A welcome security bonus for clients: mPass customers who lose their phone while travelling are eligible for a free pass replacement.

Eurail has seen growth in sales of passes, beginning in summer 2021. “After June we saw the numbers of travellers from Canada grow month over month. And since we launched the mobile pass in 2020, we have seen that the adoption rate of mobile pass has also increased,” said Ding. “The mobile pass provides a lot more security, convenience and extra features.”

For travel advisors not familiar with the booking options or wanting to brush up their skills, Eurail offers sales manuals, quarterly webinar training and provides a discount for agents wanting to purchase rail passes for themselves.

Ding shared additional tips for travel advisors to remember regarding Eurail. Most importantly, the website doesn’t provide any training assistance. Also important to note, Eurail is a train service provider, and is not in control of the train schedules. And Ding recommends making seat reservations for clients, required for high speed, night and some scenic trains and especially necessary if they’re travelling during a holiday time period.

“If you need to change plans at the last minute, it’s quite easy to exchange or get a refund with the affordable cancellation insurance,” said Ding. In these uncertain times, Eurail provides peace of mind and welcome incentives for advisors and their customers to plan for their European adventure.