Its outrageous that fleets of mini buses with parking wardens should be waiting for coaches to stop and hit them with a £60 fine, Ashley Herman of ticket agency Encore Advance told delegates to the 2008 Bonded Coach Holidays/Coach Tourism Council Coach Holiday Conference in Harrogate last week.
The theatres and coach industry are significant opponents and together we must fight these overzealous parking attendants and unfair parking restrictions.
London theatre revenue in 2007 was nearly £500 million and was a huge contributor to the capital's economy. Coach groups played an important part in the current success of shows and it was important they should beat the threat against them operating freely. The CTC and the theatres should work together to lobby Transport for London and Councils such as Westminster.
The theatre issue was just one of the topics covered at the third joint BCH/CTC Conference held at the Holiday Inn, Harrogate from 7-9 February - which had as its theme, Threats and Opportunities.
The impressive line-up of speakers included Bob Cotton, chief executive of the 40,000 member British Hospitality Association, the UK leisure industry's most powerful lobbying and representative organisation.
He outlined the many challenges faced by the hospitality industry, not least the need for the UK to adapt to a service based culture based on a service economy. The UK would never win on price so it had to offer value, service and welcome.
While central London would continue to enjoy strong growth in hotels and restaurants with hotels continuing to achieve high volumes and good rates, the worry was that outside London and especially in rural areas, growth in the sector would stagnate if not go backwards. However he was optimistic for the long term future of the leisure sector provided all parties in the industry and Government could work together to get the domestic package right.
Speaking on behalf of coach operators, John John son of John sons Coaches in Warwickshire, said fuel costs up 18.5% in the last year low pay which meant there was a shortage of drivers and cruise holidays which attracted typical coach customers, were among the threats to coach tourism.
But unlike other holiday sectors, the coach holiday market was growing as the number of older people grew. The coach product was not just cleaner and greener but was flexible and could take people anywhere it appealed to those over 70 who were increasingly active but did not want to drive.
We have the hardware today's coaches are so much better than years ago - we have a quality product and we offer a personal and friendly service, he said.
The Conference was opened by the Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor Cliff Trotter, who highlighted the major investment made in recent years in restoring its heritage so that the town now boasted everything for a perfect coach tour great shops, restaurants, museums and attractions and an excellent choice of hotels.
Speakers also included Steven Salmon of the Confederation of Passenger Transport who highlighted the threats posed by current and future legislation both in the UK and in the EU; Mike Monk of ABTA who spoke on travel insurance issues; marketing expert Hoda Lacey who talked about how coach operators could adapt to using new technology and CTC chairman Sean Taggart of the Albatross Travel Group who said the huge size of the coach tourism industry demanded that it should be heard.
Conference moderator was Robin Wilkins of SeaFrance who also provided a fascinating overview and insight into the ferry industry.
Significant support for the Conference and a Gala Dinner was provided by Lloyds TSB Cardnet, Bus & Coach Professional, Evobus - who showed off a Mercedes Tourino midicoach - Diamond Holidays and hosts the Holiday Inn as well as many other industry suppliers. Special thanks go to Bill Wright and Neil Armstrong of the CPT/BCH for organising and running the Conference.
A key element of the Conference was the expanded CTC coach operator and supplier travel workshop attended by more than 100 and three familiarisation tours to Ripley Castle , Wensleydale Cheese factory and a walking tour of Harrogate . A race night sponsored by Towergate Chapman Stevens raised nearly £1000 for the CTC's adopted charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.
