Indian travellers up by 20% in VIA Rail
Canada’s most cost effective way of travel, VIA Rail, plans to work closely with India’s travel trade and offer great deals. It also plans to visit India in 2013 for discussing packaging options and marketing initiatives.
VIA Rail will continue to work on a consultative basis with India’s travel trade to provide extensive product knowledge and destination information
Pierre Santoni, Senior Director, Domestic and International Sales, VIA Rail Canada Inc, says, “VIA Rail is a popular choice among Indian travelers. It’s difficult to determine the exact number of passengers due to the various booking channels VIA Rail is available on, however India continues to be an emerging market. From 2011, our Indian passenger count has been increasing at approximately 20 per cent.”
VIA offers a variety of pricing options to best suit a company’s business model. They provide web-based or net fares and handle group block space requests from their Vancouver International Trade office. Discussing their initiatives for the Indian market, Santoni says, “VIA Rail will continue to work on a consultative basis with India’s travel trade to provide extensive product knowledge and destination information. We plan to partner closely with the Canadian Tourism Commission to promote activities and engage the industry in familiarisation trips. A meeting is planned for spring 2013 in Jaipur, where we hope to discuss future packaging options and specific marketing initiatives.”
VIA Rail’s touring class allows passengers to experience the best of Canadian cuisine and enjoy a comfort- able social atmosphere while savoring the breathtaking scenery outside their window. Addressing concerns of vegetarian food and excess luggage faced by many Indian travellers, the company assures that their policies are well suited for the Indians and such issues will not arise.
“Baggage need not be a concern when travelling on any of VIA Rail’s long-haul routes as all trains are equipped with baggage cars. It is recommended that due to the limited cabin space that large item be checked and smaller carry- on items accompany the passenger into their cabin. Passengers using our inter-city trains can take advantage of our new carry- on baggage policy, which allows a two-piece, 50 pound allowance,” explains Santoni. He also assures that vegetarian food options are usually available on the menu but special requests can be made with an advance notice.
VIA Rail, the national passenger rail service on behalf of the Government of Canada, provides efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation. Every week, they link 450 communities across their 12,500 km route network.