Tourism Potential of Railway Services 2

Railway activity and tourism are contemporary. The 19th century saw the birth of these two activities that have always been linked. Mobility and tourism are two practically inseparable terms. Tourist trains are attractive products that have much to contribute to the implementation of key concepts for current economies such as sustainable development, decentralization, diversification or management of tourist flows. Tourist trains allow the creation of added value at economic and social level through optimization of existing resources. However, tourist trains tend to be isolated projects with few connections with each other, which is the reason why there are opportunities to develop in relation to networking and finding synergies. In the context of steadily growing international tourism, the purpose of TOPRAIL2 is to reduce the lack of visibility of railway tourism products and to encourage train and tourism opportunities by collaboration between stakeholders. Railway tourism projects cover different dimensions:

• Development factor: the railway has always been closely linked to the regions and their development.
• Focus of social cohesion: they are attractive products for all types of customers (young people, adults whether working or retired, families, railway enthusiasts, people who are discovering railways, domestic and international tourists)
• Pedagogical and heritage dimension: in many cases these projects allow to increase knowledge of the railroad and its history, linked with economic and industrial development.

The benefits of this project would be:

• Promotion of UIC members’ products both among themselves and towards the general public
• Dissemination of best practices and the assessment of their potential portability
• Stimulation of regional development as a result of collaboration and promotion activities
• Use of existing infrastructure to the full of their potential
• Improvement of railways’ global image.