Frost & Sullivan, in collaboration with LeadLeo Research, has released the 'Global and Chinese Tourism Train Industry White Paper 2025'

Tourist trains evolved from traditional railway passenger and freight services, focusing on a special passenger service product that integrates 'railway + tourism'. They are usually jointly operated by railway transportation enterprises, third-party operating companies, or cultural and tourism institutions. They not only provide transportation functions but also incorporate sightseeing, accommodation, and personalized services into the itinerary, achieving a transformation from a 'displacement tool' to a 'mobile tourist destination'.

Currently, with the recovery of the tourism market and the increasing diversification of consumer demand, the development of tourism trains increasingly emphasizes the coordination of the entire industrial chain. It focuses on diverse needs such as privacy, accessibility, and adaptability for the elderly, promoting products to deepen into luxury travel, theme-based, and scenario-based directions. This echoes tourists' new expectations for in-depth, comfortable, and immersive travel.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis

Tourism trains are mainly divided into land-based cruise ships,tourist trainIn addition to other types, under the experience economy, consumers pursue emotional resonance and self-actualization. The diversified classification precisely corresponds to the value demands of different customer groups. Land cruises position themselves as 'mobile hotels', offering full-service packages such as independent bathrooms and butlers to meet the top-tier experience needs for luxury, privacy, and exclusivity; sightseeing trains include landscape and theme sightseeing to satisfy tourists' needs for natural sightseeing, cultural identification, or emotional connection; other trains focus on meeting the security needs of specific customer groups and serve the mass inclusive market.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis

The upstream of the tourism train industry chain is based on railway lines, vehicle equipment, and natural cultural resources along the route as core supply; the midstream is the core operational link, driven jointly by investors and operators. Currently, the investment and operation entities in the midstream are relatively concentrated. The State Railway Group and provincial cultural and tourism investment groups usually assume both roles of investor and operator, serving as the main carriers for product development and implementation. There are relatively few third-party tourism train operation companies that participate in investment and operate independently in the market; travel agencies and cultural and tourism service providers mainly engage in operations; the downstream provides multi-level consumer services including sightseeing, vacationing, and cultural experiences to domestic and international tourists through online and offline channels, forming a complete industrial ecosystem of 'resources - products - market'.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis

●Changes in residents' consumption concepts

Moving from 'heavy material' to 'heavy experience', tourism is no longer a scarce commodity but has become an integral part of the pursuit of quality of life, becoming more frequent and routine. This value orientation towards 'heavy experience' has given rise to an upgraded demand for traditional sightseeing tours.

●Diversified customer needs

The market customer base is exhibiting distinct generational and niche characteristics, driving products from extensive to precise offerings. The Z generation and younger customers pursue the social attributes of trains, narrative experiences combined with cultural IPs; silver-haired individuals focus on the comfort and safety of the journey; high-net-worth individuals seek privacy, security, and ultimate service, which has promoted the popularization of all-inclusive services, independent suites, butler services, and other train services.

●Deepening of integration of transportation and tourism

The train has transformed from a transportation carrier into a 'mobile cultural and tourism complex', becoming a mobile space that integrates high-quality accommodation, local cuisine, cultural performances, and themed social activities. By effectively connecting scattered scenic spots and cultural sites along the route, it has constructed a complete vacation loop featuring 'integrated in-car and off-car experiences', greatly enhancing the added value of the journey and tourist satisfaction.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis

The global land cruise product matrix is dominated by the high-end market, forming a diversified price system and regional characteristic route network. High-end products with a per capita daily consumption of over 5,000 yuan occupy the mainstream position. At the same time, countries rely on their own resource endowments to form differentiated product characteristics. India's trains highlight the royal vintage style, Canada features the natural landscapes of the Rocky Mountains, the British Golden Eagle focuses on the cross-cultural long-distance routes between Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and Japan emphasizes detailed design and immersive local culture. Since 2025, Italy, the UK, the Middle East, and other places have successively launched new-generation luxury products, with prices generally rising above 10,000 yuan, further intensifying the competition in the luxury tourism train market.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis

The global sightseeing train product matrix is centered around natural landscapes and thematic experiences, with cost-effectiveness as the overall orientation. It enhances attractiveness through localized experiences (such as intangible cultural heritage performances and special dining) to become a mobile tourism carrier connecting nature and culture. Only a few high-end products (such as the Canadian Rockies Explorer costing about 5,000 yuan or the British Royal Express costing about 9,400 yuan) are more expensive due to comprehensive service prices including accommodation and dining. Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and New Zealand are the main distribution areas. Relying on world-class landscapes such as the Rocky Mountains, Alps, and Pacific coastlines, they design all-encompassing panoramic carriages to create immersive viewing experiences. For example, the Swiss Glacier Express crosses snow-capped mountains, and the New Zealand Alpine View Train connects lakes and forests.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis

The scale of the Chinese land cruise market is showing rapid growth, reaching 2.96 billion yuan in 2023. Driven by policy support, relaxed inbound tourism policies, and increasingly diversified consumer demands, it is expected to grow to 4.08 billion yuan by 2025, and reach 11.25 billion yuan by 2030. The average annual compound growth rate between 2025 and 2030 is expected to be 22.5%. The vigorous development of the land cruise market also benefits from the overall recovery of China's inbound tourism market and continuous optimization of the policy environment. With the continuous release of visa facilitation policies such as China's 240-hour transit visa exemption, the inbound tourism market is showing strong growth momentum, with an average annual compound growth rate of 22.1% for market contributions from inbound tourists between 2025 and 2030.

Data source: Analysis by Frost & Sullivan

In the early days, China's land-based cruise products were mainly priced at an affordable level. With the continuous promotion of national policies and the maturation of tourism special train operation models, the overall price level of land-based cruise products has gradually increased. A series of tourism trains with prices generally around 4,000 yuan have gradually emerged in the market, enriching the price matrix and covering more niche customer groups. At the same time, tourism trains that focus on luxury experiences and high-quality services have also risen rapidly, mainly covering medium to long-distance deep travel. For example”Silk Road Dream Express"Moreover, luxury products such as the newly launched 'Jinxiu Tianfu' in 2026 are expected to have pricing exceeding 5,000 yuan per person per day, benchmarking against international land cruises."

China's sightseeing train products are centered around an integrated design of transportation and experience, with an average consumption per person of about 200 yuan. They feature high cost-effectiveness and are mostly short-distance routes suitable for families with children, the Z-generation, and weekend travelers.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis

Looking ahead, the tourism train industry will further develop towards service orientation, experientialization, and luxury. The focus of competition will extend from route design to the construction of an overall experience, mainly revolving around diversification of passenger groups, upgrading of full-chain services, and integration of distinctive cultural IPs. Train hardware and services will continue to benchmark against high-end hotel and cruise standards, introducing butler-style service systems; operational models will focus on the differentiated needs of silver-haired individuals, high-net-worth families, and young passengers, creating tailored products. At the same time, through deep integration with regional cultural IPs, carriages will become immersive mobile cultural spaces, with some top-tier train products even integratingMichelin restaurantsLuxury facilities and private viewing carriages create a new high-end consumption scenario, leading the industry towards a deeper and more scenario-based vacation experience.

Data source: Public information, Frost & Sullivan analysis