UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Sept. 28, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great news for students looking to see Europe on a dime -- the unprecedented partnership of the Eurail Group GIE and the International Student Identity Card Association (ISIC), which has already resulted in a dramatic increase of young rail riders, is continuing into the end of 2009 with more exciting savings.
Year after year, students have flocked to explore Europe by train. And this past summer, even the depressed economy couldn't stop eager youth from finding culture, romance and adventure along the railways of Europe. Due to the special promotions offered by the Eurail - ISIC joint campaign, the number of students utilizing the Eurail Select Pass actually increased by 6 percent, while specialized Eurail Pass distributors even reported increases of 18 percent.
Excited by these results, the Eurail Group and ISIC have extended an off-peak offer to welcome more travelers from all over the world, valid from October through December. Over the summer, students traveling on an 8 Day Select Pass were offered 2 days of free rail travel. To close out the year, this offer will apply to all students traveling on a 21 Day Eurail Global Pass. Besides these 2 extra free travel days, students can journey to Italy or Greece via the popular ATTICA Group (ferry service), a GIE member, and can upgrade their tickets from the deck seating to a bed in a shared cabin during the overnight crossing.
This new off-peak promotion promises to be just the beginning of more jointly promoted global ISIC-GIE offerings to students. "We aim to reinforce the global reach of the Eurail Pass offer to the youth and student market," stated Ana Dias e Seixas, Eurail Group's marketing director.
Last year, 30.9 percent of all Eurail Passes sold were Youth passes, a slight increase compared to the 30.4 percent in the year prior. However, the share of youth passengers from North America increased from 30.8 percent to 33 percent and from Central America youth ridership increased from 27.9 percent to 32.3 percent. These numbers underline the growing popularity of exploring Europe by train among students from these regions.
The new campaign marks the 50th anniversary of the Eurail Pass. In 1959 railway companies in 13 European countries started issuing 1st class rail passes. In 1971 they started issuing 2nd class passes, and in doing so, opened up an entirely new market consisting of young railway travelers. GIE started managing the Eurail Pass in 2001 and currently, 21 countries participate in the program. The ISIC is accepted in over 100 countries and offers over 40,000 discounts, making it extremely popular with students.
As Ana Dias e Seixas put it, "After 50 successful years, traveling by train remains a popular way to explore the diverse cultures, folklore, music, history and landscapes of Europe. The 21 day Eurail Global Pass is the ideal pass for daily travel and or covering a lot of ground." And now with the 21 Day Eurail Global pass offering better value than ever before, the final months of 2009 may prove to be the most exciting yet for students around the world,
More information: www.eurailgroup.com or www.eurailtravel.com