Eurostar to Promote The Da Vinci Code Tourism as Film's Partner; Train Connects Locations in UK/France
White Plains, NY, January 10, 2005 -- Eurostar, the high-speed train connecting the UK with France and Belgium, will lead an international campaign to promote tourism to London, Paris and Edinburgh in conjunction with the May 19 release of the Columbia Pictures' movie based on Dan Brown's best-seller, "The Da Vinci Code". Eurostar was today named the first global partner of the eagerly awaited film.
With most of the film/book scenes taking place in London and Paris, the Eurostar train is the most convenient way for fans to follow "The Da Vinci Code" plot themselves. In fact, the book's popularity has already helped boost Eurostar sales, and the film is expected to accelerate "The Da Vinci Code" effect on train ticket sales, according to both UK-based Eurostar and New York-based Rail Europe, Eurostar's official North American representative and leading North American distributor of European rail travel. Eurostar ticket sales in North America were up 7% for 2005 compared to 2004.
"An increasing number of our leisure travelers are on The Da Vinci Code trail," notes Paul Charles, Director of Communications for Eurostar. "The book is one of the most common items in our lost property office these days."
Eurostar and Rail Europe together with tourism officials in the England, France and Scotland will soon launch a series of TV, online and in-rail station marketing and promotional programs in the US, France, the UK and Belgium in support of the film's May release.
In addition to Eurostar, Rail Europe's product line includes France Railpasses, BritRail Passes and point-to-point tickets throughout Europe, so that travelers taking a Da Vinci Code vacation can use the trains to connect other locations in the mystery, such as Edinburgh in Scotland and Amboise in France.
Traveling at speeds up to 186 mph, Eurostar makes the London-Paris journey in an astonishing 2 hrs 35 min, London-Brussels in 2 hrs 15 minutes on the fastest schedules. Travel times will shrink by another 20 minutes in 2007 when the last segment of high-speed track is completed in England. Fares start at just $90 US roundtrip between London-Paris (or London-Brussels). More than 65 million travelers have ridden Eurostar since the launch of service in 1994.
For more information visit www.eurostar.com or contact Rail Europe, Eurostar's official North American representative at www.raileurope.com or call 1-800-EUROSTAR (1-800-387-6782).
About The Da Vinci Code movie:
From director, Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar®-winning team of A Beautiful Mind, and producer John Calley (the Oscar®-nominated The Remains of the Day), comes the film version of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, one of the most popular and talked about novels of our time, with a cast headed by two-time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, J ü rgen Prochnow, Paul Bettany and Jean Reno.
Produced by Grazer and Calley, The Da Vinci Code begins with a spectacular murder in the Louvre Museum. All clues point to a covert religious organization that will stop at nothing to protect a secret that threatens to overturn 2,000 years of accepted dogma.
More details about The Da Vinci Code can be found on the Internet at www.TheDaVinciCode-Movie.com
About Columbia Pictures:
Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.
Photos: members of the press may download high-res photos of Eurostar and other European trains at www.raileurope.com/presspix
