“All aboard” with the Transilvania Train!

“Book a seat in the adventure of Transilvania Train!”, says a commercial that pops-up on Facebook. I clicked on it and was amazed: a real train adventure in Romania, in Transylvania region.

“The journey we highlight here is not just a move from point A to point B, but rather an incursion into a new world and implicitly a widening of cultural horizons. In other words, you are traveling, discovering and equally rediscovering yourself”, the organisers say. But who’s behind the project? Business Review talked with Cristi Pitulice, Transilvania Train co-founder & Globe 365 Travel Agency managing partner.

How did you come up with the idea?

The idea of creating a tourist train concept such as Transilvania Train was born first of all due to my passion for traveling by train. Over the years I got to experience tourist train travel concepts all across Europe such as the Classic Courier or The Flying Scotsman, for example. Talking about these experiences we concluded that there is potential in Romania for such a project – we have the appropriate infrastructure, we have beautiful culture and traditions, we have astonishing landscapes. Why not proudly promote them into an complete experience that could include educational and recreational activities, and sightseeing into historical cities, Transylvanian traditional cuisine experiences, wine tasting and even classical music concerts at Sebes and Sibiu.

How did you select the train stations/regions to depart?

Transylvania is full of interesting places and cities; it was actually pretty hard to narrow the list in order to create a full 4-day experience. Brasov was the starting and ending point to this round track journey and we chose it because it is right in the heart of Transylvania and easy to access from any point of the country. All cities we chose for this experience have impressive stories and historical backgrounds and most of all, enormous touristic potential.

What was the most difficult part of the project so far?

Due to the fact that the Transilvania Train concept is fairly new for Romania and this will be the first Transilvania Train edition, I think getting people on board is the main challenge, this year. Spreading the news, educating the public and explaining the main benefits for this personalized approach takes time. We also had to overcome certain biases about the Romanian tourism.

But, as we took this project really seriously and confided that it will eventually be perceived as a good opportunity for the world to see the authentic side of Transylvania, people have also started to understand its potential. At the same time, we were surprised to discover the enthusiasm of our public and of our customers for this idea and how easy they managed to become the first ambassadors of Transilvania Train.

What is the feedback so far?

The project booking rate is, so far 50 percent at this moment and 15 percent of our customers are foreign.

Why should we do this trip?

Transylvania is one of the most captivating destinations for people all around the world and famous for its cultural, historical and natural heritage. Walking through certain landscapes and villages will make you feel like the time stood still, as so many artifacts and customs have been preserved intact.

Transilvania Train is an event that anyone should experience at least once in a lifetime because the concept has been created in order to tell the true story of this fairytale land.

The program has also a personalized approach, each participant can choose from a large number of workshops and activities such as the traditional Transylvanian-Saxon architecture, carpentry handcraft, the famous hand-made traditional tiles craft and even equitation, all organized in order for the clients to feel as part of this vast and ancient cultural and educational experience.

And last but not least, the participants will take part to unique uplifting concerts like the rare organ concert in Sebeș city or the classic concert in the Sibiu city square.

You also declared that some of the profit goes to the fortified churches of Transylvania. How did you decide on this cause?

It came naturally, the program and the route are created around certain important medieval citadels in Transylvania and we wanted to highlight the need to preserve the artifacts and sights of these regions, some of them even included in the UNESCO world heritage.

The journey will take place from August 31 to September 3, 2017. The train will start from Brasov, you will board in the sound of the fanfare and you will cross the heart of Transylvania, passing through cities like Brasov, Saschiz, Sighisoara, Medias, Alba Iulia, Sebes, Sibiu and Fagaras. You will take part in rare and exclusive events such as the concert of Philharmonic Orchestra of Sibiu or the organ concert of the Church in Sebes, where the hearing will be delighted with exceptional interpretations of Brahms and Wagner areas. At the same time, a tour is prepared for you to visit the renowned Haferland region, also called the “Land of the Oats”, a Saxon region formed by the Saxon villages of Fiser, Rupea, Viscri, Saschiz, Roades, Crit, Cloasterf and Mesendorf.