10 Tips For the contract partners of coach companies For optimal co-operation with German coach and group travel operators RDA - International Coach Tourism Federation Hohenstaufenring 47-51 50674 Cologne Germany Tel.: +49 221 91 27 72-0 Fax: +49 221 12 47 88 E-Mail: info@rda.de Internet: www.rda.de
10 Tips for optimal co-operation with German coach and group travel operators that pay off! Coach holidays and coach trips are part and parcel of German travel behaviour. What do you need to know in order to conduct successful business with German coach and group travel operators? About the market; the structure of coach companies; the nature of their customers; points of distribution and sale; efficient promotions; advertising materials and sales success at the RDA-Workshop the largest European sales and purchasing platform for the coach tourism sector. The TOP 10 Tips: 1. Market knowledge Demand side what exactly do coach holiday customers require? Offers side how are coach companies structured and organised? The pillars of coach tourism business: Coach companies: Public transport Coach rentals Tour operating Other business Coach holidaymakers knowledge about customers Important target group: seniors 20% market share; youths and young adults 12 % market share Offers side local markets, regular client potential, customer-oriented Structure of the coach tourism market: 99 % of coach tourism in Germany is organised and delivered by mediumsized companies: Ca. 50 regional and ca. 200 local market leaders Ca. 1,000 coach holiday / travel operators in total Ca. 4,000 coach companies with occasional travel business The market for package holidays in Germany is dominated by a small number of large German tour operator companies and business concerns. The three dominant companies - Thomas Cook (Neckermann), Rewe (ITS) and TUI still have only a small share of what is a highly fragmented market. The coach tourism sector has its own organisational and competitive structures which make it a market that is still very much the domain of smaller to medium-sized enterprises. 2
2. Offers analysis Offers structure: Types of trips offered by typical German coach operators in order of magnitude: 1) Round trips, culture and study tours 2) Long-haul trips 3) City and short trips 4) Day trips 5) Coach rentals 6) Winter trips, special themes and events, clubs and associations Hierarchy of goals: must/ should/ can goal defines the selection process! 3. Coach tourism season Pay attention to the seasons When do coach and group travel operators purchase services? When do their customers purchase offers? Catalogue and / or prospect Season extension is in the interests of all involved Coach Tourism Seasons Season progression 12 1st. May Whit Pentecost 10 June Holidays Easter 8 6 4 2 Summer dip 0 Lots of club and association trips, City trips, Excursions Christmas and New Year`s Eve trips Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Observe the seasonal cycle! Plan your marketing activities according to this seasonal cycle! Your goal is that your offers not only convince decision-makers but that coach companies also have sufficient quality time to carefully consider both you and your products and services! 3
4. Market-conform and usual commercial terms & conditions Competitive price, potential for added-value, branch potential, cancellations policy, minimum size of group, rebates, payments schedule, commercial terms & conditions, free place regulations, reliability, fairness with special actions, trend to smaller groups, group guests are not 2 nd class guests behind individual guests 5. Event and theme trips Early announcement, safe access to tickets, market-conform return, complementary services, exclusivity, added-value potential 6. Club and association trips There are some 579,000 clubs and organisations in Germany, 500,000 clubs and associations organize one or more coach trips per annum 7. Branch-oriented distribution Carefully reflect on coach holiday operators channels of sales and distribution (travel agency sales and commissionable rates) Structure and distribution (direct sales, own travel agency / sales office/s, sales staff, telephone sales, external travel agencies, touristic points of sale, non-touristic points of sale) 8. Coach group trips are not individual trips Group-specific offers, exclusivity (visitor magnets), internet options, separate B2C and B2B 9. Advertising aids Become an advertising and sales advisor, copywriter, marketing agency for your small and medium-sized coach companies Support with photos, text building blocks, sales materials and promotion suggestions 10. Are coaches welcome? Free tour / holiday coach access to city centres and visitor attractions Coach-friendly infrastructure 4
Last but not least: Don t ever forget: What do tour operators want? A) An attractive destination / product B) Tourism-friendly opening times Customer-friendly communication Coach and group tourism-friendly infrastructure C) Group prices D) Extra value Special offers enable you to optimize daily programmes - they increase time spent at any one place. Increase the attractiveness of your destination Please consider these points and marketing tips! Put together a coach-friendly group offer! The ultimate goal is successful co-operation with coach and group travel operators. And please remember coach holidaymakers do not relinquish on quality even in times of economic uncertainty! Contract partners of coach and group travel operators can receive additional information, tried-and-trusted know-how and up-to-date news from two popular Original RDA Partner Seminars : Partner Seminar I The German Coach Tourism Market Date: 21 th May 2014 Location: Cologne RDA Members: 100 Partner Seminar II Coach-friendly offers from initial idea to final contract Date: 22 st May 2014 Location: Cologne RDA Members: 100 5