Rail tourism is gaining momentum in 2026 as travellers increasingly seek premium multi-country journeys and slower travel experiences beyond traditional air-based tourism.

The trend is creating opportunities for specialist operators as travel agents struggle to manage fragmented international rail systems with different ticketing rules, booking timelines, seating formats, and overnight services.

Frank Marini, President and CEO of Railbookers Group, said growing demand for flexible rail holidays and cross-border train journeys is contributing to what the industry describes as a “renaissance of rail.”

“For Railbookers Holidays, all of our itineraries on our website are customisable, but they'll have rail, hotel, sightseeing activities, transfers, and more,” Marini said.

According to Marini, demand for rail-based holidays is expanding beyond traditional European routes as travellers look for premium tourism combining transportation, accommodation, and sightseeing within one itinerary. The interview also highlighted how increasing rail complexity is making specialist coordination more valuable for travel advisors.

Rail systems across Europe, North America, and Asia operate under different booking windows, seating structures, ticketing systems, and onboard service models, making multi-country train itineraries harder to coordinate than standard flight bookings.

“For a travel agent, they don't have to be an expert on all the different rail systems throughout Europe, the US, Canada, you name it, all over the world,” Marini said. “That's what we do.”

The discussion also focused on Railbookers’ expansion into Southeast Asia through its Singapore office. According to Marini, several rail operators, including Swiss Rail, encouraged the company to establish a regional presence after seeing strong outbound demand from Southeast Asian travellers booking international rail holidays.

“They had asked us if we would open up in Southeast Asia, because the amount of business that they saw in the area was extraordinary,” Marini said.

He added that Singapore’s position as a regional aviation and business hub aligned with the company’s strategy to move closer to Asia’s growing outbound travel market.

“Second is we knew long term we wanted to be closer to 60% of the world's population,” Marini said.