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The German national railway Deutshe Bahn has begun targeting the Europe’s young generation online by advertising rail as an attractive travelling experience as an alternative to flying – and the discussion has started online.

With the help from digital marketers 3Sixty, Deutsche Bahn is promoting train travel to Europe using Eurostar via Brussel or Paris.

This adventurous campaign has been online, where a virtual community encourages young people to chat about their favourite train travel destinations, with some being rewarded with discount vouchers for travel on the rail network.

According to railwaymarket.eu, Deutsche Bahn is not far from sealing a deal to get permission for using direct trains to Germany and the UK, which would support their online campaign.

http://www.m-travel.com/news/2009/01/german-national-rail-company-targets-young-uk-holidaymakers.html

The world’s economies may be floundering, but that hasn’t stopped China’s online tourism industry from continuing its enormous growth.

With more and more websites offering tourist information and services springing up in China, Chinese people are much more likely than ever to book and research their travel itineraries online.

It’s estimated that the revenue provided by China’s online travel service industry will reach CNY5.47 billion in 2010.

As well as being able to book a hotel or tickets in advance, Chinese people have reported being able to find a wealth of information at the simple click of a mouse. This is, of course, in spite of the country’s strict and limited web search allowances.

Many Chinese travel websites have become an information hub where people can post their travel experiences, or gain valuable insights into the places they are planning to visit.

In addition, many Chinese websites exist that allow like-minded Chinese people to meet up and to travel together, putting people in touch with one another that have similar plans.

Source: www.hdcmr.com

The EU Commission is making an attempt, through a new consumer guide, to ease online shoppers concerns about the security of online shopping.

New surveys reveal that 65 percent of customers shopping online from EU countries are not familiar with their consumer rights. Some of these consumers revealed that they have fears of the products not arriving as scheduled or arriving in a bad condition.

This has led to a call for some guidelines for rights and regulations for consumers shopping online from other EU countries. The guide states that a customer has the right to get their money back if the item has not arrived within 30 days when shopping from within the EU.

These new consumer regulations will also include tips on other computer safety issues, such as how to protect against spam.

Other reports show that Swedes are finally feeling comfortable ordering goods online from other countries, as they have become used to the idea of online retail and feel ready to see what other countries have to offer online.

A recent survey suggests that nearly two-thirds of Swedes have purchased goods from a foreign website.

http://www.idg.se/2.1085/1.219779/en-stor-potential-for-nathandel-utomlands

http://svt.se/2.109801/1.1545363/sakrare_eshopping?lid=senasteNytt_1538804&lpos=rubrik_1545363

A recent survey carried out by the Swedish Post revealed that shopping via the Internet is becoming increasingly popular; half of all retail purchases in Sweden are currently made through distance shopping. The focus in Sweden’s online sales is on fashion retail.

In 2008, distance shopping achieved a turnover of 25 billion SEK, which constituted just over four percent of the total turnover made by retail in general. In 2004, it constituted under three percent, which indicates a significant and steady increase.

The amount of people turning to their computers for shopping is also increasing, with nearly thirty percent of the population between the ages of 15-49 using the Internet for shopping at a minimum of once a month. This is an increase of seven percent over two years.

This is because Swedes are becoming more comfortable with distance shopping, reports the Swedish Post.

It’s clear that fashion is a major online shopping attraction, with half the people purchasing online primarily buying clothes and shoes.

This, the Swedish press reports, stems from the growth of online shoppers in the countryside, who are grateful to have saved themselves a trip to Stockholm to purchase their favourite brands.

http://di.se/Nyheter/?page=/Avdelningar/Artikel.aspx%3FO%3DRSS%26ArticleId%3D2009%5C04%5C08%5C332583

Now you can explore the Philippines without leaving your home. The Philippines tourism campaign “Awesome Philippines” has teamed up with MTV to create the newest addition to its 7,107 islands – a virtual island on Second Life.

Second Life is a virtual world where users can literally create an online life for themselves, chatting and exploring the online virtual world.
On this 7,108th island, which came into reality on May 8th, users can virtually explore all of the Philippines’ major attractions – including the famous beaches of Boracay, the Chocolate Hills, and Mount Mayon. Players can even dive virtually with whale sharks at the mouth of the Donsol River.

This is just one of the many techniques employed by the Awesome Philippines campaign, since it began in February. The Philippines is the first ever country to partner with MTV for online tourism promotions. The campaign has, so far, been fairly successful, with the website www.awesomephilippines.com having received one million hits in just over three months.

The campaign is currently running in 11 markets, including Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK and the US.

http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20090515-141701.html

http://www.ftnnews.com/content/view/5982/32/lang,english/