Orient express also popular in North America

The perception of the typical Orient Express traveler: older, rich and sophisticated. Not necessarily, says Annette Kishon-Pines, director of sales in North America for Orient Express Trains and Cruises. “We very much appeal to very middle-of-the-road persons. It’s often people who have dreamed of riding the Orient Express all their lives and are now celebrating a retirement or an anniversary,” she said. The average age of riders is about 55. Up to one third of the North American passengers buying the Orient Express trip in Europe are tour operators, she said. All train and cruise ships offered can be customized for individual client needs, added Ms Kishon-Pines. “We work very closely with tour operators — developing products, helping to create brochures for them, working with copy, giving them educational trips where they act as co-hosts,” she said. Orient-Express Hotels last year for the first time did its own brochure, World of Distinction, to step up its branding efforts, Ms Kishon-Pines said. Travel agents get 10% commissions, while tour operators start at 18%, which can go higher, according to Ms Kishon-Pines. The average price of a trip is about $4600, though it can go much higher. A 12-day “Journey to the Ottoman Empire,” for example, costs $8350. The train — made famous in movies and in books — does have an elegance associated with it. Some riders dress in formal attire for dinner, for example, while it’s not unusual for women to wear flapper dresses and feather boas, ala 1920, during the journey. –Report by David Wilkening