Some, but not all, South African travellers are joining a global trend to actively seek out rail journeys as alternatives to short-haul flights when travelling in Europe.
The choices of the local travelling public are shown in the results of two polls conducted by Travel News. In August 2022, 53% of travel agents said their clients’ offsetting of their carbon footprint was no more important to them than in 2019. However, in April this year, 51% of agents confirmed in a poll that their clients were now in fact asking for train trips instead of short-distance flights in Europe.
The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) says environmental pressure is causing a drop in EU domestic flights and its data shows that 38% fewer domestic flights took off in Germany and Lithuania last year than in 2019. In Finland, domestic flights dipped by 35%, in Sweden by 27%, Switzerland by 20%, the UK by 25%, Croatia by 19%, France by 15%, Portugal by 7% and Spain 6%.
And, according to euronews.green, France and Austria have banned short-haul flights, while Spain plans to do away with them by 2050. Belgium and Germany have increased taxes on short-haul air routes. Germany has also introduced a heavily discounted public transport pass, giving travellers unlimited use of local and regional public-service networks, while Spain has invested over €700 million (R14,28bn) in a ticket scheme, offering travellers free long- and short-haul train tickets.
Mary Goslin, Director of Penzance Travel in Alberton, Johannesburg, tells Travel News she is getting lots of enquiries from people who want to travel by rail and boat in Europe, often specifically in Eastern Europe.
Flight Centre Travel Group SA General Manager: Supply, Pricing and Marketing, Sue Garrett, says the group frequently receives rail quotation requests for Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
“Germany has released a Rail Pass for €50 (R1 020) that entitles a traveller to use all railways in the country for a month. Initiatives such as these will encourage customers to opt for rail instead of short-haul flights,” she says.
Sure Travel CEO, Vanya Lessing, stresses that sustainability is the big subject at every meeting and conference she attends. She says in the corporate environment, reducing your carbon footprint is a given, along with the use of technology to analyse it. “Everywhere you go for conference you’re asked to log your journeys to set your carbon footprint.”
Lessing says with the threat of strikes while in Switzerland, she opted to do the journey from Zurich to Frankfurt by rail. “Europe has a very good and affordable rail system compared to SA.”
However, World Travel Rail Specialist, Penny McAslin, says her rail bookings for Europe during the first five months of this year were down by 35%, compared with the same period in 2019.
“With the Rugby World Cup in France this year, I am sure that trains will be the preferred method of transport, therefore I suspect that I will be busy from August through to October,” McAslin adds. She also warns that because of the ban on short-distance flights in France, the trains were selling out very fast.
“What also needs to be noted is that a lot of clients are booking directly online for these trains, vs going through their travel agent,” observed McAslin.
What then would be viable alternatives to flights here in South Africa?
Both Garrett and Lessing identify road journeys as the only viable method of getting around. Garrett says car hire and self-drive options would be most popular among leisure travellers. “Alternatively, transfer companies for point-to-point transfers, as well as bus services, however this is often determined by the budget-conscious traveller as the number of hours to travel long-distance is often a deterrent.”
Garrett says local consumers are largely price-conscious and value-for-money and convenience are their top priorities. “Flight-shaming is not something being reported by our leisure travel experts at this time. South Africa is slightly behind global consumers on sustainability trends and initiatives; we foresee that, in time, rail will be a key consideration in terms of sustainable travel.”
