Who chose to take the train to enjoy their summer vacation? If, logically, your neighbor in the TGV is probably French, you may well be sitting next to an American traveler. The Trainline booking platform has indeed seen an explosion in ticket sales to this traveler profile, on the order of 93%.
Most trains that will run on the French rail network this summer are already full. For example, about 6.5 million tickets were sold for the months of July and August, an even larger quota than before the crisis, according to the SNCF. While many French people preferred to take the train so as not to burden their holiday budget with excessive fuel costs given the rise in the price of petrol, the Americans are also back in Europe and they are planning to travel this year.
According to Trainline, which allows you to book train tickets by combining tickets from different rail companies, the proportion of American travelers who chose the train for their visit to Europe has increased by 50%, all destinations combined, compared to 2019, the reference year before the health crisis. And for France alone, the sales increase is 93%.
Americans will visit Paris, but not alone. Trips to Nice booked on Trainline by US internet users increased by 182% compared to 2019. The effect is even more convincing for Monaco (240%). In order, the Americans have planned to visit Paris, Nice and Bordeaux this year.
France will not be their only base as the Americans will also go to Italy. Indeed, reservations for train tickets to the boat have increased by 137%. They mainly programmed a voyage of discovery to Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice.
ETX Daily Up