The RDA Board of Directors was unanimously acquitted by the membership. Elections were held: Konrad Behringer was confirmed as RDA Vice-President, Hannes Staggl and Heinrich Marti were re-elected as members of the RDA Board of Directors for another three-year term as well. The first day ended with a pleasant evening in a sunset panorama restaurant situated in the grounds of the Schlossberg castle high above the world-famous red rooftops of Graz.
Day two was dominated by three central themes: personnel management, professional development and European perspectives. The over 200 participants were officially greeted by Mr. Othmar Karas, Vice-President of the European Parliament. He promised to continue looking after coach tourism interests. Only in the past week had tax increases on diesel fuel been rejected by the European Parliament. Coach tourism, he said, brought people in Europe together and in doing so made a valuable contribution to European identity and cohesion.

RDA President Richard Eberhardt stated that we could no longer conceive of daily life and work in Europe without consideration of this year’s conference motto “Steps towards Europe”. Europe was a natural home for all involved in coach and group tourism. Europe, however, was both a chance and a risk. Brussels was currently a synonym for additional burdens, excessive bureaucracy and over-regulation. Instead, Brussels should provide impulses for progress, prosperity and innovations. Special coach tourism concerns included additional charges for coach access, barriers to free access to city centres and visitor attractions and undifferentiated treatment of coaches in EU legislative processes, especially vis-à-vis goods transport vehicles. Chances were available everywhere where companies could freely operate, in places where fresh ideas and positive energy was appreciated and well received.

Future personnel shortages and how to make our industry more attractive to young people was a major theme discussed by Prof. Dr. Volker Stein, Siegen University Commerce Dept., and Martin Wendlandt, coach business consultant for forty years and industry expert . Prof. Stein stated that major challenges for the tourism sector still lay ahead. The crux of the matter was to recruit, motivate and retain qualified staff. Personnel should not be reduced to a simple cost factor but viewed as capital and human assets – the very basis of future business success.

Martin Wendlandt illustrated how coach companies were being hit by current demographic changes. The number of coach drivers over 55 years of age had increased rapidly – and drivers were essential for this particular business. Coach operators should employ more females and migrants and take-pro-active measures to actively recruit and train necessary personnel, e.g. via online advertising and banners on coaches. Training and further development were crucial areas that had hitherto been largely ignored – especially by smaller enterprises. A positive image of the sector in the public realm is essential and of utmost importance in attracting new people. There is no shortage of competition in Europe for potential employees and clever individuals. Given the familial and flexible nature of medium-sized coach holiday enterprises, this is a challenge that was by no means insurmountable. Young people, in particular, should also be actively spoken to via their social media networks.

This highly topical subject was followed by the whole issue of dismantling bureaucracy and bureaucratic hurdles to carrying out coach holiday business in Europe, e.g. environment zones and coach lockouts. Speakers included Prof. Dr. Tim Sterzenbach from Worms University of Applied Sciences Tourism Dept. In order to effect solutions, it was important that the RDA continue with its lobbying initiatives at all levels and that a positive image of our branch be inculcated into the hearts and minds of officials who made decisions which directly affected the operations of our industry and its business effectiveness. The former Minister-President of the Federal German State of Thuringia, Mr. Dieter Althaus, elucidated upon the political dimensions of dismantling bureaucratic hindrances and the importance of citizens and bureaucracies working together – from local to EU levels – to communicate with each other to solve problems and realize future opportunities.
Ms. Mag. Beate Appinger-Ziegler explained the workings of Austrian road toll ASFINAG while Mr. Mag. Paul Blachnik re-iterated the position of coach companies. Mr. Christian Leetz, from the editorial team of the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitungsgruppe WAZ and Mr. Sepp Zotter, owner of Zotter chocolate factory in Riegersburg, discoursed upon the more pleasant and culinary aspects of travelling by coach. The second evening was rounded off in the heart of old Graz with an absolutely splendid gala dinner in the aula of the historic University of Graz, accompanied by excellently under-stated, highly humorous and wonderfully delivered live entertainment.

The 62nd RDA AGM and joint RDA / gbk Conference will take place from 11th to 13th April 2013 in the southern German and medieval city of Augsburg.

The coach of each team will be marked with colors of the country and will serve to support the transfers from the airport to the hotel and for trainings as well, to the stadiums and players after matches. Pictures from official coaches presentation in teams national colors will be posted after 16 May 2012.

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=9b76d3e5ffaac50f4ed5a2545&id=0532e3f0db&e=ab8b1775e1

Where is the Spring?

Soon its May and still cool mornings and rainy afternoon. We had four weeks ago temperatures up to 24 and people were running around in shorts, T-shirt and beach shoes. Maybe that was the summer and we have now autumn. Time to think about Christmas presents !!

Forgetting the temperatures, we see that the high season is coming.

Emile Weber had a big movement this week due to the ANZAC days out in Flanders, the Floriade tours have started, the preparations for the Olympics are at high pressure as well as for the Europiade – a happing for walkers where we expect 5000 people to come.

Emile Weber is happy to make the arrangement for Les Freres, a Japanese duo playing piano in a spectacular way – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKrghudvqKU – visiting Paris, Amsterdam and Luxembourg on their concert tour of Europe.

Mid May Emile Weber is also doing a Road Show in China together with Ministry of Tourism to promote Luxembourg.

For those that don’t know Luxembourg – Here is a promotion film over Luxembourg – http://www.promoteluxembourg.com/content/holidays

Finally – Here is a pioneer in the area of environmental protection. Maybe something for our coaches.

We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new media partner based in Israel, the magazine Olam Ha’autobusim – Bus World in Hebrew – and our new industry partner, the New Zealand Bus & Coach Association, both of which will help promote the Smart Move message.

http://busandcoach.travel/en/latest_news/newsletters/newsletter_april2012

Egypt, much more to see, much more to live…

us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=9b76d3e5ffaac50f4ed5a2545&id=e575e41900&e=ab8b1775e1

http://www.ferrari.com/English/about_ferrari/Corporate/Pages/120222_COR_Two-new-buses-for-Ferrari.aspx

First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus -
Crocus.

All over town yellow and purple crocuses are struggling upwards to greet springtime in Iceland. The air temperature in Reykjavík when this is written is 2°C.

This is however not a letter of complaint – at Kynnisferdir – Reykjavik Excursions we are enjoying daylight again and soon all the snow in the surrounding mountains will melt and they will become blue once more. We are optimistic and hope that the summer will be a good one – bringing flocks of tourists to enjoy themselves here in the far north. We have lots of prebooked tours and we are also hopeful that our special programme of highland tours will be a success once again.

The first three months of the year have proved to be fruitful for us. In spite of snowfall, occasional blizzards and icing on streets – we have had no serious accidents or mishaps. Indeed we have had an unbelievable amount of tours, the highlight being evening tours to spot the mysterious and breathtaking Northern Lights. The Northern Lights have been visible almost all winter long, but the tours will stop in mid April due to the light nights we have the good fortune to enjoy all summer and early autumn.

To serve our passengers better Kynnisferdir – Reykjavik Excursions have bought six new VDL Futura 129-365 coaches that seat 53-57 passengers each. These types of coaches are perfect for their intended purpose – bringing travellers to and from Keflavík Airport and on all sorts of sightseeing tours in the capital and in Iceland´s South-West.

In the summertime our coaches can be seen all over Iceland with small and large groups. To serve smaller groups we have also bought three new Mercedes Benz Sprinters 519 Cdi, each seating 19 passengers. All nine vehicles are rated Euro 5 which is the best emission standard available for busses and coaches sold in EU member states. The emission standards are defined in a series of European Union directives staging the progressive introduction of increasingly stringent standards.

Recently a group of Kynnisferdir – Reykjavik Excursions´ drivers participated in a Mobile assisted English course, a novelty that we will certainly see more of in the future. This was a pilot project in Iceland, directed by the Austrian firm BEST, specializing in adult education and life-long learning. Both participants and teachers were equally enthusiastic and even though the course only took five weeks, the skills of the learners improved dramatically.

The ISO-14001 Environmental Management Standard has over the last 12 months been implemented into the daily tasks at Kynnisferdir – Reykjavik Excursions. The standard has been used to minimize how our operation negatively affects the environment, comply with the applicable laws and regulations and continually improve. Kynnisferdir – Reykjavik Excursions has already been through the first of two assessments which are required by the the standard. The second assessment will take place towards the end of April 2012.

We at Kynnisferdir – Reykjavik Excursions wish you all a happy and prosperous summer.

Citea XLE

A low-floor design, a high degree of modularity and a great manoeuvrability make the Citea Low Entry suitable for both city and regional transport. The various lengths available and the versatility
due to the options of the single leaf and double leaf doors enables this vehicle to meet the wishes of any carrier. The low-floor design between the entrance and first exit door makes the Citea Low Entry a means of transport with the best possible accessibility for wheelchair users and
passengers with baby carriages.

The order for Arriva consists of 21 Citeas of type XLE-137 with a length of 13.7 metres and 56 Citeas of type XLE-145 with a length of 14.5 metres. These will be constructed as class 2 buses.

All the buses will be used for public transport in the greater Stockholm area.

Strength through co-operation

“This new, large order once again confirms our strategy for lightweight concepts, with a focus on the European public transport segment. Our Citea range, with the SLF as Bus of the Year 2011,demonstrates that with our public transport buses we belong to the top tier in Europe. We are
especially proud that our knowledge and skill in this field are being recognized by more and more passenger transport companies. Moreover, the order for 77 new Citeas in combination with the conversion order for 85 articulated buses is also a fine example of ‘Strength through co-operation’.

After all, the articulated buses that are to be converted come from Arriva in the Netherlands. With the modifications that we will carry out, these buses will then be perfectly suited for public transport in Stockholm. In this manner both Arriva and VDL demonstrate the benefits offered by larger international companies and the strength of true co-operation”, explains Rémi Henkemans, managing director VDL Bus & Coach.

Arriva

Arriva is one of the largest transport service organisations in Europe. The company is active in the area of passenger transport in Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Malta and United Kingdom.
By winning the E20 tender in Stockholm, Arriva in Sweden is currently undergoing significant growth. The company’s passenger transport activities, which until now have been concentrated in the province of Skåne and particularly in the city of Malmö, will double as a result of this contract.

VDL Bus & Coach

The core activities of VDL Bus & Coach consist of the development, manufacturing, sales and after-sales of a wide range of buses, coaches and chassis modules and the purchase and sales of second-hand buses. Manufacturing takes place in the Netherlands and Belgium. VDL Bus & Coach
places high value on quality, safety, durability, comfort, low maintenance costs, low fuel consumption and the environment. Sales of VDL Bus & Coach products take place through a worldwide network consisting of corporate-owned sales offices, importers and agents in more than
30 countries. This makes it possible to offer custom-made transport solutions. For after-sales and maintenance, the client can count on rapid, hassle-free assistance from VDL Bus & Coach employees in any of the many service locations. An extensive distribution network ensures that
spare parts and accessories are delivered to the requested destination as quickly as possible.
VDL Bus & Coach is one of the largest bus producers in Europe.

VDL Groep

VDL Bus & Coach is part of the VDL Groep. VDL Groep, with its head office in Eindhoven, is an international company focused on the development, production and sales of semi-manufactured products, buses & coaches and finished products. In total, the group, with more than 7,100 employees, consists of 79 subsidiaries spread over 16 countries. The strength of the VDL lies in the mutual co-operation between the companies.