Europeans seem to be taking the lead in the creation of new travel paradigms. In Germany, DB, the German Railway Operator, has taken advantage of new attitudes towards responsible travel by promoting their discounted train tickets. Still, 72% of Germans prefer to fly to foreign lands during their holidays. Partnering with advertising agency Ogilvy, DB was able to offer comparable tourist trips in Germany as inexpensively as €19 and offering an alternative to flying.
Because of cheap flights, globalization, and the demand for instagrammable moments, tourism is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Compared to air travel, taking the train is the more sustainable mode of transportation . Comparison ads were created with an algorithm that searched for images with similar locations around Germany. It also personalized the search by adding real-time data such as the closest airport and flight price.
Originally begun as a ticket-promotion campaign, DB has demonstrated that discovering Germany by train can be fun for Germans and better for the environment. As well as showcasing local travel, the rail company is also doing their part in offsetting large carbon emissions caused by air travel by incentivizing train travel.