Our insider argues that, despite everything, coach tourism could continue to develop and thrive in the UK, but the industry needs to make its voice heard
With so called ‘Brexit’ resulting in a weaker exchange rate against the Euro and a general sense of depression about reduced economic activity, you may wonder why you get up in the morning to kick start your coach business at the moment. The fact is that markets are depressed and inflation is rising, not least because of higher fuel prices.
It is arguable that the increasing cost of fuel acts as a further deterrent to the small minded and sometimes stupid people who have come to believe that fossil fuels are no longer viable. They think we should be ditching our hard earned and purchased diesel and petrol cars in favour of ‘mugging’ the local dairy for their Lewis Electruk or Morrison-Electricar milk floats that were originally developed as a follow-on from the horse and carts we associate with the old Express Dairy.
A press release distributed in August 1967 by the UK Electric Vehicle Association stated that Britain had more battery-electric vehicles on its roads than the rest of the world put together. It is not clear what research the association had undertaken into the electric vehicle populations of other countries, but closer inspection disclosed that almost all of the battery driven vehicles licensed for UK road use were milk floats.[wlm_nonmember][…]
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Now we find ourselves facing an influx of new generation electric vehicles, people are wondering for how much longer they will be able to use what they have already bought – and what they know they can rely on. There is also some media discussion that the UK will not have sufficient power resources to maintain the demand that will be placed on the National Grid and that’s certainly an additional ‘can of worms’ that probably hasn’t been thought through properly.
We coach boys are still struggling to find a suitable solution to be compliant with the ULEZ in London, while at the same time hoping there will be some value left in our apparently worthless coaches. At some point very soon there needs to be some clear and categorical decisions made on ULEZ Euro 6 compliance, or, of course the start date could be moved back to 2020 which is what was originally set by the previous mayor, Boris Johnson. The continued stick beating can’t be allowed to continue without some kind of subsidy to encourage operators to comply.
Everybody welcomes what Irizar has done launching its hybrid i4 and it seems likely other manufacturers are not far behind with similar announcements. However, the reality for most coach operators is that there’s little change in their market options. Not many are in the position of the ‘new and shiny’ boys who have been able to bring their fleets up to Euro 6 standards by spending millions of pounds. Industry hire rates are generally just not strong enough to go out and buy vehicles like that – assuming you were able to finance them in the first place.
Everywhere has its own challenges. Take a tourism-led island like Majorca that has a lot of coaches. Obviously the majority are supplied by Spanish manufacturers and, interestingly, operators there are able to buy Irizar-bodied Mercedes-Benz vehicles, which I think would also go down very well here, if they were available. Doubtless there would be obstacles imposed to importing and distributing them even if it was possible to have them built in right-hand drive.
What’s interesting is the Majorca parliament has just announced a doubling of its tourist tax. The General Secretary of the Podemos party said at the beginning of September that it wanted to raise it to €4 per person per day (double the current amount) in certain areas.
The reason for this is that actual tourist spend has dropped off, particularly in places where visitors are staying on ‘all inclusive’ packages. What’s more, young people tend to stay in a resort and do not spend in the wider community which could be having the potential to put livelihoods at risk.
There is almost a move in some quarters to try and reduce the number of ‘marauding Brits’ and reclaim resorts like Magaluf from young drunken men and women. That’s diametrically opposed to those with a deeper understanding of the situation who know full well that the whole island relies heavily on incoming tourists, whoever they are.
Local traders will tell you that they have more patronage in terms of actual footfall, but their takings are 40% lower, which is quite reflective. The general consensus seems to be that a raise in the tax may be necessary, but not if it cuts off the proverbial hand that feeds it.
Tourism is still a major industry in the UK and, because of all the restrictions and security conditions that are now being applied in places around the world, we still have a sporting chance to attract visitors. With some vision and governmental assistance and recognition, we could continue to develop that and thrive. Have your voice heard. Don’t let the sun go down on your business.[/wlm_ismember]
