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to navigate their way around the 1,000-plusexhibitors representing over 40 countries.

The opening session saw the regular

line-up of regional and national officials

backing the coach tourism sector, withone of the principal guests being Heike

Brehmer the new chair of the committee on

tourism at the German Bundestag.

Brehmer offered strong backing for the

contribution of coach and group tourismand her message was welcomed bY

delegates, especially a commitment tovote against a toll on long-distance coachservices,

One of the key themes of this Year'sRDA-Workshop was concerned withcapturing the growing interest in cycle

tourism. This was the focus of one of

the workshop seminars and it was clear

in speaking to coach operators fromGermany and Switzerland that the idea of

the 'active tourist' - who likes to combtnehiking and cycling with the benefits of

coach travel and group accommodation -

is not just a passing fad.

Oliver Gröpper is a third-generationcoach operator based in Flensburg, iustl Okm from the Danish border in the northof the German state of Schleswig-Holstein,He is a regular attendee at the RDA-

Workshop. "We always gather many ideas

here," says Gropper. "We have a team offour product managers at the show. We

have almost finished our programme for2015 but always pick up something new."

The company. Vagabund Feisen.

was established by his grandfather and

today operates a fleet of lB coaches, all

wlth a 4-star rating from the BuskomfortGBK quality scheme. The company has

been involved in offering bicycle toursfor many years and now operates three

special trailers to carry bikes, offeringpackages across Germany, the Baltic and

Scandinavia.Flexibility is a core part of the bicycle

tours oJfered by Vagabund Reisen: "Not

only can you choose your own pace, but

also determine the daily mileage itself by

allowing you to cover part of stages or the

total trip distance by bus".And hikers have a wide range of choice

8 coachtourismprofessional.co.uk

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as well with tours incLuding Provence and

the Camargue, Germany's Harz National

Park, Liguria, Sardinia and Cyprus. The

Vagabund Reisen also operates a numberof air-coach options with vehicles sited in

Andalusia Lo recetve '^corning groups over

the summer months.Visitors to the Cologne show could

inspect a number of options for bicycle

trailers with bespoke trailers of{ered to

carry bicycles safely and efficiently. Amongthem was Switzerland-based manufacturerKläsi which offers a range of bespoketrailers including a fully-enclosed twin-racked system in a 4.4m-long trailer with

hydraulic lift for 30,000, The company also

offers trailers with capacities from 10 to 50

bikes with sliding tarpaulin doors, priced

from 10,500.Another coach oPerator who has

seen the potential of the 'active tourist'is Heinrich Marti who runs one of

Swltzerland's premier coach operationsthat traces its history back 111 years to

1903. As an RDA board member, Marti

is clearly a big supporter of the RDA-

Workshop, but he is first and foremost a

businessman and sees the great potential

that the event offers. "The number one

benefit of the RDA-WorkshoP is as a

networking platform," says Marti, "it is

the best for coach tours. There are otherbig tourism fairs but none like this one."

He is accompanied at the show bY twoemployees who are actively looking for new

tour ideas for 2016 and beYond,

The company's long historY means it

has built up a loyal customer base acrossthe German-and French-speaking parts

of Switzerland and around twothirdsof its turnover is on the coach toursside. 'Aktivreisen' is now a core part of

the company's offering and Marti says

that developing tours specially focusedon hikers and cyclists has enabled the

company to increase its customer baseyear-on-year.

lnterestingly, the age profile of the 'actjve

tourists' he has recruited is only two orthree years younger on average than the 66years of his typical coach tour passenger.

"lt is the same demographic that we are

1 5 August 201 4

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targeting," says l\,4arti, demonstrat ng thereality of today's coach traveller, "Our

customers today in their 60s have lots oftravelling experience and can often speakother languages," says N,4arti,

He points out that this age group wouldhave been much less well{ravei ed inthe past and that may have been oneof the reasons why they used collective

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forms of transport, Nowadays, they wantthe flexibility of an individua yta oredprogramme without having to do all theorganising and drving, accord ng to Martl."ln our concept, the guest can decldeexactly how much they want to cycleor hike each day," he says. "Our coachcrosses the route two or three times a dayto allow them to be p cked up."

And the tours are conducted with a highquality fleet of 35 vehicles from l6-seatminibuses to uxury S-star Buskomfort-rated Setras with 9Ocm seat spacing,and double-deck coaches. Marti is aoyal buyer of Setra coaches. "Our drivershave a different vehlcle for every trrp, so astandard vehicle is a benefit as it ensuresthe same environment," he says. "Fewmanufacturers can provide the same high

Sirycle ira#er fro,n .Si,r'rss r';;nufi;*i*rer i{lesi.

standard for 1Om, full-size and double-deck coaches." Martl's fleet has anmpressive average age of just over threeyears.

Mart's tours are not really for the Tourde France level of cyclist, being designedfor those who are reasonab y confidentcyclists and a range of Sw ss-built Flyerelectric b kes make the going easy uphillas well, Among the current destinatlons forcoach cycling tours are the Bavarian lakes,Venlce, Normandy, Piedmont and theSouth Tirol,

Some operators may have steered awayfrom longer tours, but Mart finds that theextended tour is still ihe most successfulfor him. He finds the short trip market is

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too competitive and price-sensitive. He hasexperimented with alr-coach options butnot continued with it. "We seem to attractpeople who don't want to fly," he remarks.

Whilst his customers value coachtourism highly, Marti is not as sure aboutsupport and recognition from politiciansaround Europe, He points to the strongerposition of air and rail sectors when it

comes to lobbying politicians. "They makea distinction between public transport(buses) and individual transport (cars),"says Marti. "We are neither, but we arecolleciive transport."

Another operator who is a regularattender of the RDA Workshop is

Hänschen Reisedienst's Rolf Wieneke whohas been a member of the associationsince the 1970s. "lt is important to be hereto meet everyone," he says reinforcing thenetworking opporiunities of the Workshop."There really is no other event like this inEurope."

Wieneke operates in Detmold, NorthRhine Westphalia and heads the family-owned coach business with 60 years'history.

Although there are often distinctionsbetween German and UK operations, onecommon theme is clearly succession in

family businesses, or more accurately thelack of a clear successron process.

Wieneke points to the challenge forGerman coach operators of getting thenext generations involved in the business.'Young peopie are often well educated andmay want other careers," he says. "ln ourbusiness lots of investment is needed," hepoints out and not just in term of money."You need to love this business," he adds,"lf you are working with the heart, then youwill be a success."

It is a sentiment echoed by Marti whosedaughter works parttime in the businesswhilst continuing to study ln Zurich: "Thereare lots of sunny sides to the fcoach tour]

business, but it is tough, with a lot ofresponsibility."

While the main attractron of the RDA-Workshop is the huge range of exhlbitors -imagine the scale of a World Travel marketentireiy focused on the coach and groupsmarket - there are also great opportun t esto meet and discuss strategy with fellowoperators from across Europe and beyond,Whether it is hotels that specialise ingroups in the south Trrol, incorning groupspecialists in growing markets in easternEuropean countries, or a myriad of ideasfor culinary, cultural and theatrical themedtours, there is no better place to seeeverything under one roof.

British-based exhibitors include agrowing contingent from Kent who havebeen benefiting from regular attendanceat the RDA-Workshop for many years.Among thern is wholesaler Albatross whichwas named runner-up in the innovationcategory in the show's Red Bus awards forits door2tour.com website.

Next year's RDA-Workshop takes placeat its regular venue, Cologne Messe, from21-23 July.

www.rda-workshop.dewww.v ag ab u n d - re i se n. d e

www.marti.chwww.klaesi.chwww.haenschen.de

www.door2tour.com

Swrss operaforand RDA

board member

Heinrich Marti.

Kenl's group sfand, a regular fixture at the RDA-Workshop,

As if we needed reminding wha won the foatball world cup ...

1 O coachtourismprofessional.co.uk 1 5 August 201 4