Coach Tourism Council advertorial 2008
TRAVEL BY COACH AND REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
Nowadays coach tourism comes in many shapes and sizes - in Britain and around the globe. Coaches don’t just do day excursions, short breaks or longer holidays. Sports superstars, pop music fans, theatre goers, conference delegates, cruise passengers – all often choose to travel by coaches. Even our Royals use coaches when there aren’t enough carriages and horses to go round!
Tours and holidays appeal to all tastes. Seaside holidays have not lost their appeal but today you can choose anything from a theatre break in London or a tour of the Scottish Highlands. On the Continent arts and culture tours of the great Italian cities and Lakes have been joined by holidays to Croatia and Slovenia, Portugal and Scandnavia. Closer to home Ireland continues to be one of our favourite destinations.
And with concerns about pollution and global warning – not to mention increased security checks at airports – there has never been a better time to think about travelling by coach.
Because coaches are environmentally friendly. A coach carrying 40 people occupies the same space in the cities and towns you tour as three cars carrying the average six people. While every gallon of fuel will take two car passengers about 30 miles, a gallon of coach fuel takes the same two people 200 miles.
Recent independent studies into carbon emissions reveal that coach travel is more environmentally friendly than travelling by air, car and even by train, with a journey by coach almost six times less pollutant than the equivalent journey in a plane.
Research for RDA, the International Coach Tourism Federation showed that travelling by coach is not only space-saving and resource-saving but that coaches use less energy than other forms of transport, making them the most eco-friendly holiday transport available for short-haul holidays. It found that coach travel uses:
- six times less energy than planes
- six times less energy than cars
- two times less energy than trains
And unlike air travel, you will not be faced by long queues for check-in, passport control or security, both before departure and on arrival at your holiday destination. And you won’t be sat crammed between two total strangers on the plane.
A coach is not a bus. A typical modern coach is double-glazed, air conditioned, and has reclining seats for supreme comfort. It rides on air suspension, cosseting its passengers. The driver has the benefits of a luxury car – traction control, anti-lock brakes and even electronic stability control.
While not all coaches are new, all get a maintenance check every day, and a thorough examination every four to six weeks, and pass an MOT with four times as many safety checks as a family car. Your safety is absolutely paramount to a coach operator, which is why coaches have the best safety record of any form of transport.
There are lots of other compelling reasons to choose a coach for a day trip, short break or holiday. When you take a coach holiday, there’s no driving stress – many tour operators will even arrange a taxi from your home to the coach. When you join your tour, the driver takes over, packing your suitcases safely, while you relax in your seat. No worrying about lost luggage.
You can doze or look at the passing scenery, chat to new-found friends or partners, enjoy a coffee and simply relax Even at your hotel, your luggage is usually carried for you, at least as far as the lobby. And you can go straight to the bar for a drink without even thinking about driving!
In the UK, the Coach Tourism Council promotes travel and tourism by coach on behalf of more than 150 national, regional and local coach tour operators who are all featured on its website www.coachtourismcouncil.co.uk. Its aim is to make it easy for people from across the UK to find an operator near their home.
...(from this point insert your own promotional copy with brief details of where you operate from and to and types of tours).
