rda english newsletter january 2017

RDA English Newsletter

January 2017

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Dear RDA Members, Dear Readers,

Welcome to the January 2017 issue of our monthly RDA English Newsletter!

There is no better place in Europe for coach and group tourism suppliers and holiday destinations to present new products, services and ideas. At the RDA Exhibitions 2017 in Friedrichshafen (20th and 21st April) and in Cologne (4th and 5th July) they can strengthen commercial contacts and build industry reputations, initiate business transactions and close valuable deals. The Exhibitor Invitation and Booking Documents are now available to download online at http://www.rda-workshop.de/en.html.

Investment in tour guiding and in qualified tour guides is a valuable investment in our industry’s future. The upcoming RDA Academy Qualified Tour Guides Seminar from 10th to 12st January 2016 in Bremen is highly beneficial to RDA member companies and partner federation members based outside Germany (e.g. CTA, CPT UK, CTTC, EACT and ETOA member companies) – for their German-speaking tour guides and for their coach tour operations staff in particular. We strongly recommend that you participate, as this investment in your staff is a strategic investment in your business future.

We look forward to meeting you in person in 2017, either at the Day of Coach Tourism 2017 in Bremen (8th – 9th January 2017), 66th RDA Annual General Meeting in Friedrichshafen (19th April 2017), RDA Exhibition in Friedrichshafen (20th and 21st April 2017) and RDA Exhibition in Cologne (4th to 5th July 2017) or at one of the many RDA regional get-togethers and valuable RDA Academy seminars being organised for your benefit.

On behalf of the RDA, we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2017!

Wishing you an informative and enjoyable read! Richard Eberhardt Dieter Gauf President CEO Editor Contact: Dr. Patrick Patridge E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.patrick-patridge.com Phone: +49-69-97840206 Twitter: @DrPatridge Hashtag: #RDAMessen17


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CONTENTS Select RDA Dates in 2017 35th Day of Coach Tourism - “Upheaval in the coach tourism market – Challenges & Opportunities” 9th January 2017 in Bremen and Bremerhaven, with informal B2B networking get-together on the evening of Sunday, 8th January 2017, Hashtag: #tagderbustouristik

66th RDA Annual General Meeting 19th April 2017 (afternoon) in Friedrichshafen, Germany

RDA Exhibitions 20th and 21st April 2017 in Friedrichshafen, Germany 4th – 5th July 2017 in Cologne, Germany

RDA Academy Seminars RDA Academy Seminar Programme 2016/2017 http://www.rda.de/fileadmin/content/rda/Dateiordner/akademie/RDA_Akademie_Seminarkalender_2016_17.pdf Ms. Claudia Schnackerz, +49 221 91 27 72 16, E-mail: [email protected]

Qualified Tour Guides Seminar 10th to 12th February 2017

RDA Exhibitions Preparation - Coach Tourism Partnership Seminar

Federation News RDA Board visits Shell Technology Center in Hamburg

RDA Exhibitions 2017 RDA Exhibitions 2017 - Exhibitor Invitation and Booking Documents published

Industry News Screen tourism helps boost 2016 visitors to Ireland to record levels Online marketing trends for coach & group tourism operators

New RDA Members


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RDA Academy Seminars

Qualified Tour Guides Seminar from 10th to 12th February 2017

If you enjoyed your Day of Coach Tourism stay in Bremen, then the RDA also offers you another opportunity to visit the beautiful Hanseatic city: the RDA Academy “Qualified Tour Guides” seminar takes place there from 10th to 12th February 2017.

Tour guides, coach drivers, sales and service personnel are all important channels of communication, service touch-points and nodes of interaction in the group and coach tourism sector. These colleagues, their motivation and professionalism in delivering services can influence customers’ perceptions of quality and service. They can tell a story and help establish the right atmosphere, and add value to the overall coach and group holiday experience. To use modern marketing terminology, they are a branding opportunity and a branded experience with memorable storylines: calling cards for coach operators, for incomers and for destinations alike.

The quality of coach and group holidays are dependent upon many factors. A sure guarantee for well-organised and well-received group tours and coach holidays are professional tour guides. Qualified tour guides are a key not only for successful but also for safe group and coach holidays. They are important image bearers for the coach and group tourism sector as a whole. Investment in tour guiding and in qualified tour guides is, therefore, a valuable investment in the industry’s future success. The “Qualified Tour Guides” seminar will focus on the following subjects and themes:

o Guest and tour operator needs and requirements o Organisation: standard situations such as check-in, departure, breaks, hotel

arrival and excursions, office procedures o Dealing with emergencies o Methodology-didactics-social competence: guest types, holiday information, on-

the-road commentaries and guided tours o Psychology basics: conflict situations (coach driver, guests) o Travel law and qualified procedures for dealing with complaints o Tourism knowledge: basics of working with the tourism supply chain o Geography: what tour guides should impart to guests; templates for

summarizing information on destinations, culture and people o Caring for, dealing with and motivating guests o Tour guiding and self-employment o Guiding combined coach-flight-cruise trips


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The RDA Academy “Qualified Tour Guides” seminar also serves as preparation for the German tour-guiding certificate examination on 13th and 14th February 2017 in Bremen. The Tour Guide Certificate has been issued jointly since 2001 by the BTW The Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry and the University of Applied Sciences Bremen. This was originally developed by a BTW Tour Guiding Project Group under the direction of RDA CEO Dieter Gauf. Students from the University of Bremen, tour guide practitioners and beginners alike are permitted to sit the examination.

The “Qualified Tour Guides” seminar is recognized by our industry and considered an essential element of tour guide training. It is presented and delivered by RDA CEO Dieter Gauf and Prof. Dr. Harald Bartl. Please note that this seminar is highly beneficial and recommendable to RDA member companies based outside Germany and for RDA partner federation members (e.g. CTA, CPT UK, CTTC, EACT and ETOA member companies) – for their German-speaking tour guides and for their coach tour operations staff in particular.

Further information: http://www.rda.de/en/rda-academy.html

RDA Exhibitions Preparation - Coach Tourism Partnership Seminar

This RDA Academy English-language seminar on 28th April 2017 at the RDA Head Office in Cologne aims at optimizing the co-operation between coach operators and their business partners. Interpretations of market research data and know-how about market structure, trade customs, marketing, joint ventures, sales promotions and best practices are presented and discussed. Seminar facilitator is RDA CEO Dieter Gauf.

Further information: [email protected]

Federation News

RDA Board visits Shell Technology Center in Hamburg

The final RDA Board meeting of 2016 took place in the Shell Technology Center in Hamburg, Germany. Issues discussed included the further development of the RDA Exhibitions and the EU Package Tours Guideline. The Board members also informed themselves about the potential of GTL Gas To Liquids fuel as an alternative to diesel for coaches. RDA President Richard Eberhardt stated that, “GTL fuels have great potential


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for reducing noise and air pollution in towns and cities, making coach holidays even more environment-friendly.”

Further information: www.rda.de and http://www.shell.de/ueber-uns/projects-and-sites/shell-technology-centre-hamburg.html

RDA Exhibitions 2017

RDA Exhibitions 2017 - Exhibitor Invitation and Booking Documents published

There is no better place in Europe for coach and group tourism suppliers and holiday destinations to present new products, services and ideas. At the RDA Exhibitions 2017 in Friedrichshafen (20th and 21st April) and in Cologne (4th and 5th July) they can strengthen commercial contacts and build industry reputations, initiate business transactions and close valuable deals.

Awaiting exhibitors in Friedrichshafen, in the Border Triangle of Germany – Austria – Switzerland, are travel and tour operator companies seeking early offers and much sought-after products and services. In Cologne - the largest international shop window for the coach and group tourism sectors - exhibitors have an excellent opportunity to present both, established and new products. At the same time, they can also explore and react to current industry fashions and changing market trends.

Both trade exhibitions are renowned for their professional trade visitors who specifically seek coach and group travel offers. And the RDA is not just any old trade fair organiser but a significant actor who for four decades has been organising successful and iconic exhibitions from our industry for our industry. Both exhibition locations offer ideal platforms, each with modern, bright, state-of-the-art exhibition centres. This is also recognized by an increasing number of trade visitors from abroad, who represent tour operators from over 40 countries covering the complete tourism industry spectrum.

The Exhibitor Invitation and Booking Documents may be downloaded at http://www.rda-workshop.de/en.html. They contain important information about new developments, enhancements, stand formats and really attractive prices. Please note that the Early Booking Rebate of 20% ends for RDA 2017 Friedrichshafen on 11th January 2017. Secure your participation now at Europe’s largest purchasing platform


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for the coach and group tourism sectors and start publicizing and promoting your participation. The RDA team looks forward to assisting you in your endeavours.

Further information: RDA-Workshop Touristik-Service GmbH Tel. +49-221-12 04 48 E-Mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.rda-workshop.de/en

Information about Friedrichshafen: http://en.friedrichshafen.info/ and https://www.messe-friedrichshafen.de/mfn-en/

Information about Cologne: http://www.cologne.de/ and http://www.conventioncologne.de/en.html

Industry News

Screen tourism helps boost 2016 visitors to Ireland to record levels

An estimated 10.5 million people will have visited Ireland by the end of 2016, making it the best year ever for Irish tourism. A review of visitor patterns over the past year was launched by Tourism Ireland. It found that there was a 10.5% increase in the number of people travelling to Ireland compared to 2015. In financial terms, this resulted in a revenue of around €5.4 billion.

The tourism agency stated there was particularly strong growth in the US, German and French markets. It pointed to a range of promotional initiatives like Ireland's Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way and the year of Food and Drink in Northern Ireland as contributory factors.

Screen tourism, generated by the Star Wars movies and the Game of Thrones TV series, is also being credited for attracting visitors. Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said that screen tourism would remain a priority in the coming year in order to maximise the potential leading box office productions can bring to tourism.

Mr. Gibbons mentioned that extensive advertising campaigns, increased access as a result of new flights and targeted sales missions to new markets had all helped bring more visitors to the country. Figures from the Central Statistics Office of Ireland showed visitor numbers from Britain jumped by 18% in the first nine months of the year.


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While those involved in the hospitality sector have expressed concern at the impact the Brexit vote might have on 2017 figures, there is also confidence that the market is robust enough to withstand any such pressure.

‘The Anglers Rest in Springtime’, The Strawberry Beds, Dublin, Ireland © Dr. Patrick Patridge 2016

Online marketing trends for coach & group tourism operators

Here are some online marketing trends RDA members should watch out for, consider and adapt in 2017 in their diverse social media, marketing, RDA Exhibitions 2017 participation and advertising measures:

1. Augmented and virtual reality – perfect fit for the coach & group travel sectors

Many customers are quite ready for augmented reality (AR) experiences. More brands are in general expected to come out with AR games and AR advertisements. Expensive as they currently are, technologies are already becoming more readily available at competitive prices. AR is a perfect fit for illuminating and illustrating the positives of coach and group travel experiences. AR offers lots of interesting possibilities for co-operative marketing ventures between tour operators, wholesalers, suppliers and holiday destinations. Suppliers and tour operators can also offer virtual reality 360° videos to make users feel like they are travelling in a particular moment, or host live webinars, workshops and presentations to get clients to further client and customer engagement. The key is to provide some level of interaction in a way that makes people feel like they are a part of something much bigger.


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2. Live video streaming for followers and potential customers For coach and group holiday operators, YouTube video channels offer plenty of opportunities to broadcast tour highlights to followers and potential customers. Here it is important to consider that people now mainly consume video on their smartphones in the vertical mode so this means that the ideal dimensions are 1080px wide x 1920px tall for vertical videos for HD quality. Social media users are also now beginning to demand more live video content, giving them insights into destinations or events they had previously been unable to access. Thanks to faster Internet and the ubiquity of mobile devices, live videos have become something of a trend on its own right, with more and more apps and live video platforms such as Instagram Stories, SnapChat, Twitter and Periscope offering “live streaming” functionality.

3. Data visualization for effective marketing and sales analysis

Targeted and relevant data is essential nowadays for successful tourism marketing and sales. RDA members require quantitative information to tell who is buying what, when, where, why and what advertising and sales messages are most effective. Data analysts themselves often have difficulties understanding exactly what their data is saying. Technology is, however, catching up to the interpretation aspect of data analysis with many useful data visualisation tools available on the market. See for example, http://www.creativebloq.com/design-tools/data-visualization-712402. In 2017 most companies are going to want to start using them – the ones who do not will, end up being left behind and at a significant competitive disadvantage.

4. Dense content is now essential to cut through all the noise

Client and customer attention spans are falling quickly and people are growing more impatient and demanding as technology develops and progresses. The potentially infinite scrolls of social media news feeds and endless streams of content from almost every brand and individual we follow force us to filter out the majority of messages we experience as “white noise”, i.e. random content and messages with no immediate attraction or personal appeal. We skim articles and skip posts. That is why so-called ‘dense content’ is now the key to effective online marketing and sales, we have to ensure that every line and every word counts. A good exercise is to “Say it in a Tweet” – condensing your core sales message / USP to 140 characters …

Further information: http://www.patrick-patridge.com


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New RDA Members

A big and warm welcome to the following new RDA members:

Traventis GmbH & Co. KG DE 73249 Wernau 0049 .800 .7238580 www.traventis.de [email protected] Landesgartenschau Bad Schwalbach 2018 GmbH DE 65307 Bad Schwalbach 0049 .6124 .500500 www.landesgartenschau.bad-schalbach.de [email protected] Der Sonnenhof GmbH DE 70378 Stuttgart 0049 .711 .5074620 www.dersonnenhof.com [email protected] Top Ausflugsziele Bodensee und Oberschwaben DE 88326 Aulendorf 0049 .7525 .7892 www.rimmele-tourismus.de [email protected] Hotel Post-Hönigwirt AT 2860 Kirchschlag i.d.B.W. 0043 .2646 .2216 www.hotel-post-hoenig.at [email protected]