The Development and Significance of Intraregional Youth Travel in Europe

― Learning from the DiscoverEU action ―

Abstract

This study analyzes the mechanism and support tools of DiscoverEU action, which is one of the EU initiatives to help young people aged 18 by offering intra-regional rail travel. The aim of this paper is to investigate into how DiscoverEU action supports participants to make their travel greener and more effective in line with the programme objectives to provide some implications for enhancing youth mobility and inclusive youth travel development in Japan. As a result, the 3 characteristics were confirmed （1） proactive support for the ‘process' of individual itinerary design, （2） active support for the formation of youth travel communities both online and offline, and （3） consecutive and comprehensive support to bridge their experiences to further mobility opportunities and youth participation. This study demonstrated the need for further research and discussions regarding youth travel support in Japan in the end.