Top Deck #19

Stage II/Issue 19

Locally written, globally distributed

City Sightseeing Annual Conference

Reaching For New Heights Together & Rotterdam o v je ra a S , le tt a e S s n / Destinatio SA & more U W IP i, a b u D M T A / Trade Shows

In this issue. DubaiSeattleSarajevoRotterdamMoscowSt. PetersburgKazanAmsterdamPalma de MallorcaGlasgowBelfastSharjahSantanderCape Town

TopDeck Magazine | nº18 | Enero 2018

Message from Enrique Ybarra President & CEO City Sightseeing Worldwide

Seville, Spain. The home of the first ever City Sightseeing operation which started on the 31st of March 1999

Dear friends, As we move past the mid point of 2018 it is time to test some of the valuable topics we had a chance to discuss in Dubai. We enjoyed quality time together but also went through some key aspects of our business that we organized in four sections – Connectivity, Digital Communication, Customer Journey, and Sustainability. You can read more about how we plan to “Reach New Heights Together” –as we entitled our conference– on pages 12 / 15.

I want also to seize the opportunity to the welcome new members to the City Sightseeing family. Seattle, in the USA, and Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, bring diversity and exciting new attractions to our international portfolio. In addition, City Sightseeing Rotterdam has a new management team that we are sure will contribute fresh ideas in this important destination.

As our international network is expanding, the same happens with brand recognition. As an example, City Sightseeing was, in April, among some of the biggest brands in the Buenos Aires Declaration. You can discover more on pages 08 / 09.

An update to our presence in the most important travel trade shows and other relevant stories are also awaiting you in this new edition of Top Deck, which took on a new feel and design in March 2018. You will have the opportunity to discover and enjoy this publication both in a printed and interactive digital version.

Yours sincerely,

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Stage II/Issue 19

Locally written, globally distributed

City Sightseeing Annual Conference

Reaching For New Heights Together dam e, Sarajevo & Rotter / Destinations Seattl Dubai, IPW USA & more / Trade Shows ATM

In this issue. DubaiSeattleSarajevoRotterdamMoscowSt. PetersburgKazanAmsterdamPalma de MallorcaGlasgowBelfastSharjahSantanderCape Town

/ Staff Editor Antonio M. Ortega. press@city-ss.com Contributing writers Lauren Mogannam, Szabolcs Székely, Sergei Lavrentyev, Rosana Pajaron, Mensur Peljto, Sharon Morrison, George Grimley, Christoffel Wielders, Edmund Hinks, Henrik Bendix, Jane Marshall, Mohamed Mouhadda, Cedric Scherer, Andy Lawrence.

Production Antonio M. Ortega.

Publisher City Sightseeing Worldwide

Dubai & Sharjah Hospitality to the City Sightseeing family 06/07

16/17

28/29

We welcome your views about TOP DECK and any stories you might have. Please send any suitable items for inclusion to: topdeck@city-sightseeing.com

Report: WTTC Global Summit

Destination: Seattle

08/09

18/19

Special Feature: Our Partners in the Industry

Printed by: Egondi Artes Gráficas This edition of Top Deck has been printed on CREATOR STAR FSC® paper, where the virgin fibre comes from forests with strict criteria towards environmental protection. This FSC® certified paper also incorporates other environmental standards such as chlorine-free bleaching. The FSC® logo identifies products from well managed forests which are certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council.

Report: The Buenos Aires Declaration

Destination: Sarajevo

10/11

The World of City Sightseeing

20/21

Inverview: Natalia Bayona – UNWTO Innovation and Digital Transformation

12/15 Views expressed in the pages of TOP DECK are not necessarily those of City Sightseeing Worldwide, their Franchisees, Associates and Partners or the Editors.

Front Page: 2018 City Sightseeing Annual Conference

22/23 Destination: Rotterdam

24/25 Special Feature: Q2 Trade Shows

30/31 Gallery / Corporate News

32/33 Gallery / Tour News

34/35 Gallery / Staff stories

36/37

26/27

Gallery / The Best of Social Media

Suppliers: Latest News

38 The Wall

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TopDeck Magazine | nยบ18 | Enero 2018

Now interactive!

How to enjoy the new Top Deck?

The digital version of Top Deck is available at our own kiosk you can visit by downloading the new Top Deck App, available both in the Apple Store and Play Store:

https://apple.co/2K8d46q

topdeck@city-sightseeing.com

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http://bit.ly/2tDzcO0

WTTC KEY MESSAGES

10% TRAVEL & TOURISM CONTRIBUTES OVER 10% OF GLOBAL GDP, equivalent to US$8.3 trillion.

WTTC Global Summit 2018

FUTURE GROWTH PROSPECTS REMAIN STRONG - 2018 forecast: T&T’s contribution to global GDP will grow by 4.0% and at an average of 3.8% over each of the next 10 years.

The most influential figures from the travel industry gathered again for the WTTC major annual event, including City Sightseeing representatives. Here are the main conclusions.

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he WTTC Global Summit held in Buenos Aires in April was a record event in many ways – the highest number of members in attendance, the most ministerial delegations (30) and included the participation of 2 heads of state, 3 former heads of state, and 3 Secretary Generals.

Every year, WTTC’s annual Global Summit brings together the most influential figures from the public and private sector to address the challenges and opportunities facing Travel & Tourism. Apart

from the presence of two heads of state – Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina, and Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente of Rwanda – other outstanding personalities attended the WTTC major event, like HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and the Oscar-winning Hollywood director, Francis Ford Coppola.

The Global Summit allowed us to see an update from the industry. As one of the world’s largest economic sectors, Travel

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

Seville, 3rd-4th April, 2019

313mill.

T&T SUPPORTS OVER 313 MILLION

T&T WAS THE FASTEST GROWING

JOBS AROUND THE WORLD,

ECONOMIC SECTOR IN 2017

which is equivalent to one in ten

and outperformed the global

jobs on the planet.

economy for the seventh consecutive year (4.6% – 3%).

100mill.

ONE IN FIVE NEW JOBS

100 MILLION JOBS WILL BE

created globally in 2017 are

CREATED

attributable to Travel & Tourism.

around the world by tourism over the next 10 years.

“We are extremely excited to bring next year’s WTTC Global Summit back to Europe for the first time since 2015, to Seville, Spain, a welcoming, diverse, and well-connected city, which topped Lonely Planet’s list of best cities to visit in 2018” Gloria Guevara President World Travel & Tourism Council

& Tourism creates jobs, drives exports, and generates prosperity across the world, accounting for 10.4% of global GDP and 9.9% of total employment in 2017. That allowed the industry to outpace the growth of the global economy (4.6% compared to 3%), and 1 in 5 new jobs were as a result of Travel & Tourism activity.

In Argentina we also saw from the future growth prospects, which both WTTC and UNWTO see strong, with a forecast of 1.8billion travellers in 2030 and IATA forecasting 7.6 billion air passengers. By 2028 Travel & Tourism will generate 11.4% of the world’s GDP and 1 in 9 jobs. Good news from the latest WTTC Global Summit.

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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announced in Buenos Aires that next year’s WTTC Global Summit will take place in Seville, Spain on 3rd-4th April 2019. The location of the 2019 Global Summit was announced at the closing ceremony of the 18th WTTC Global Summit in Argentina.

Our Role in Wildlife Awareness The ‘Buenos Aires Declaration on Travel & Tourism and Illegal Wildlife Trade’ sets out specific actions that the sector can take to address this challenge.

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n April, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) launched a new initiative for the Travel & Tourism sector to join the global fight against illegal wildlife trade. The Declaration consists of four pillars: 1.

Expression and demonstration of agreement to tackle illegal wildlife trade 2. Promotion of responsible wildlife-based tourism 3. Raising awareness among customers, staff and trade networks 4. Engaging with local communities and investing locally.

Signatories

Specific activities within the pillars include selling only wildlife products that are legal and sustainably sourced, and that meet CITES requirements; promoting only responsible wildlife-based tourism; training staff to detect, identify and report suspected illegal trade in wildlife; and educating consumers as to how they can tackle the problem, including not buying illegal or unsustainably sourced wildlife products. a f am il y of b rand s

tt c.co m

City Sightseeing is among the signatories.

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

A Global Fight

“It is fantastic to see the Travel & Tourism sector join the global fight against illegal wildlife trade. In many places where poaching takes place for illegal trade, Travel & Tourism is one of the few economic opportunities available. Maximising the opportunities for local communities and ensuring that they benefit from wildlifebased tourism is one of the best ways to stem the flow of illegal trade at its source. On the demand side, with its huge global reach and growing consumer base, Travel & Tourism has a big responsibility to help raise awareness amongst its customers about wildlife trade and the devastating impacts of illegal wildlife trade.�

Jon Scanlon Special Envoy for African Parks and former Secretary General of the International Convention in Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

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Natalia Bayona Senior Expert to the UNWTO Secretary General on Innovation and Digital Transformation Natalia Bayona is the person leading the innovation and digital transformation strategy of the World Tourism Organization, an agency of the United Nations specialized in the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. One of the main challenges they face is the creation of the first UNWTO Innovation Department

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What can you tell us about the UNWTO Innovation Dept. you are working in?

Our goal is to promote entrepreneurship within tourism and we do it in six ways. First, we created a global Innovation Hub Network among the Innovation Hub of different countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Argentina, India, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Secondly, we created innovation forums not only for discussions but to generate results. We promote general and specific start up competitions depending on the regions to which we invite entrepreneurs to present their projects. These events include high-level training for ministers and executives with specific training for entrepreneurs to help them scale their strategies and prepare a business plan.

In addition, we work with large companies that are already innovating, such as Expedia, Booking, Amadeus, MasterCard, Google, as well as venture capital, so that start-ups have two opportunities: innovation hubs and interviews with investors.

This materializes in different events throughout the year, starting in Budapest on World Tourism Day, as well as in November in Bahrain, and in December in Buenos Aires.

Another tasks of ours is to work with the states on creating policies that allow generating investment and putting them in contact with a network of venture capital investors interested in tourism.

In terms of digital transformation, we generate very clear guidelines to promote smart destinations.

And we encourage smart destinations to help with good practices in other states.

Finally, we help member states to train in new technologies through Private-Public Partnerships.

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How do you see the experience of travelling in 5/10 years time?

Technology is changing the world, what’s next?

The tourist experience has to be much more friendly. As we are more connected every day, it is important that we use the data in an intelligent manner. When 10

working with so much information, operators, airlines and tourism companies in general know the traveller better, and this allows for more segmented tourist intelligence and more focus on what the tourist wants.

On the other hand, I am convinced that technology does not take away jobs, rather it helps. In the tourism industry, a machine will not replace a human being, but it will help. The jobs will not disappear, but they will change and everything will be much more professional.

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From your point of view, focused in innovation, what are the main challenges of the travel industry?

We must be connected. Nowadays part of the challenge is that the tourist chain is not so well articulated in terms of tourism technology, and since it is not articulated, information is lost.

If we articulate and have all the information of the chain in one place, on a single level, this would be quite valuable. Metasearch engines have a portion of the chain, but they do not reach the end user.

TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

Smart Cities The 2nd UNWTO World Conference on Smart Destinations was held in Oviedo, Spain from the 25th – 27th of June 2018.

The event gathered international tourism experts to lead and shape new tourism models for the 21st century based on innovation, technology, sustainability and accessibility.

Natalia Bayona –UNWTO 11

Reaching For New Heights Together O ur Annual Conference in Dubai was truly a spectacular event where we were able to share our valuable experiences from the past year and learn from some of the industry’s key players.

From 27th April to 1st May, the City Sightseeing Annual Conference took place in Dubai

On 30th April and 1st May, the conference Business Days, we had a chance to catch up and go through the initiatives for boosting the global brand and the City Sightseeing operations around the World. Apart from the corporate presentations, the operators had an opportunity to participate in workshops and conclusion panels.

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In addition to this, we were honored to witness of some of the most valuable personalities of the travel industry in the Middle East, including Iain Andrew, Divisional Senior Vice President of dnata Travel / Emirates Group, Marwan Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman at Shurooq, Julia Randow, Regional Director Sales and Supply, APAC and GCC at GetYourGuide, and Mahender Tanwar, Global Director Supply Partnerships and Expedia Local Expert at Expedia.

This year’s conference also let us discover two exciting destinations, Dubai and Sharjah, and the

TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

Full Gallery The 2018 Annual Conference was full of wonderful moments throughout five intense days in two of the United Arab Emirates – Dubai and Sharjah.

If you would like to relive some of the great memories from our major event in Dubai, take a look at the full image gallery and summary video in the event site: http:// annualconference. city-sightseeing.com

Topics excellent service provided by the City Sightseeing operations in these two Emirates. In fact, they were two of the awarded operations in the much expected Awards Ceremony during the Gala Dinner.

This year’s conference marked a turning point with two important additions: workshops on specific themes where the operators could discuss and ask for information, and a closer presence of our partners in the industry (read more in pages 28/29).

Connectivity- The benefits of the whole network being connected through the CS Marketplace.

Digital CommunicationThe need for having a unified communication strategy in order to send a clear message to customers.

Customer Journey- The ways a customer interacts with City Sightseeing in the pre-arrival stage, during the service, and the post-service stage.

Sustainability- The importance of protecting the world we live in.

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3

4

5

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7 1 Excursion to the Heart of Sharjah in the neighbouring Emirate. 2 Boat dinner. 3 City Sightseeing Dubai tour.

4 Desert safari. 5 Workshop on Connectivity. 6 Marwan Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman at Shurooq. 7 Awarded City Sightseeing operators in the Gala Dinner at Pier 7.

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

CS Awards

Best Operator: CS Dubai

Brand Ambassador: Zakarya Hamdan

Best New Operator: CS Corfu

“It is very rewarding to go from Best New Operator in 2015 to Best Operator this year after a lot of hard work from our dedicated Dubai team!”

“It is an honour and gives us great pleasure to be among those who want to expand the Worldwide map of the City Sightseeing family”

Cedric Scherer

Zakarya Hamdan

“When our nomination was announced, winning one of the two award categories, we felt the importance of being a member of such a big ‘family’ and the real meaning of teamwork” Manolis Papadogiorgiakis

Best Quality Service: CS Belfast

Best Social Media: CS Glasgow

Best Brand Image: CS Sharjah

“This is a testament to all the staff in Belfast who have put in all the hard work looking after our customers to achieve this award”

“We are very proud of what we do and are thrilled to be recognised in this way. Social media is such a powerful communication tool”

“The unification of the brand is key for customer recognition. We really appreciate to being honored with this award”

George Grimley

Sharon Morrison

Mohamed Mouhadda

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Seattle CS Seattle is the 12th American operation within the global brand’s network. How does it fit with the City Sightseeing portfolio? Seattle is always a place with monuments to discover.

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How do you see your operation benefiting from the brand exposure in the US and working together with your colleagues in the country?

Anders Nielsen CEO CS Seattle

We have had a very positive response from various hospitality and tourism stakeholders in Seattle who have expressed great satisfaction that the highly recognizable City Sightseeing buses are now present in Seattle as they view this brand as a “badge of respect” for the market.

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Sustainability is one of the biggest challenges in the industry. What are your plans to reduce your carbon footprint?

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We have a vision about electrically powered buses and were close to making it happen for this, our first season. There is no doubt that our industry must contribute to reduce our carbon footprint. Seattle has already committed to lowering emission standards as they are very focused on sustainable solutions for pedestrians and bike riders as they see themselves as pioneers and innovators in environmentally-friendly practices.

This is evidenced by their use of hybrid public buses. It seems only logical then, that they would want to lead the way in introducing an open top, City Sightseeing doubledecker bus that is 100% electrically powered.

TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

The operation The CS Seattle bus tour consists of one route with 14 different stops and operates from 10:00 to 16:00h. Travellers can either purchase a one-day or twoday hop-on hop-off bus pass. Interesting commentary about the city’s history and culture is available in English and the ticket comes with a digital self-walking tour along the history of early Seattle and Pioneer Square Historic District.

S

eattle is a buzzing destination in many aspects, from economy to music, to technology, and to gastronomy. Once in the city, the visitor finds so many things to see and do that it is difficult to decide where to begin –the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, Chinatown, Occidental Park, the Monorail, the gum wall, Puget Sound waterfront and the original Starbucks café are among the different options to enjoy the city.

A busy seaport, natural scenery with incredible sights, a vibrant city both in terms of business and art, with plenty of world-class attractions, major sport teams... A destination you have to discover.

Highlights The largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of North America The cradle of macrobrands like Microsoft and Amazon, and also birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the bands Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters and the alternative rock movement grunge.

A seaport city with significant growth in the cruise industry since the mid 1990s, especially as a departure point for Alaska cruises

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Sarajevo The first City Sightseeing operation in the Balkans discovers an emerging destination with plenty of history and a whole region with much to offer to visitors.

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Without a doubt Sarajevo is one of the most complex and diverse cities where City Sightseeing is currently present. Firstly, due to its history and the variety of cultures. It is especially interesting taking into consideration how the city was “reborn� and how strong it has become after the civil war at the end of the 90’s. Sarajevo and its surroundings give tourists the chance to breath in the history of the city and at the same time, enjoy the nature and the special landscapes.

As a complete new tourist service, the operation is providing new challenges every single day. It is very important to be the first mover in an environment which is not stable yet but is already attracting tourists from all around the world serving as a booming destination.

What do you think Sarajevo is bringing to the CS international portfolio?

Zakarya Hamdan President CS Sarajevo

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How was launching in Sarajevo after embracing the brand in Budapest?

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As our Brand Ambassador what do you see next within the global brand?

City Sightseeing has the right potential even for introducing something revolutionary.

TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

The operation The first CS operation in the Balkans offers visitors a 27-stop tour with two routes that take the visitors through the main attractions situated in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In addition to the most exciting sights of the city, the tour provides an interesting commentary in 15 languages. The ticket is available with 24, 48, or 72 hours validity.

S

arajevo is an emerging destination that stands out for its cultural diversity and rich history. With the coexistence of the Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish religions, Sarajevo is now known as the “Jerusalem of Europe”. The neo-Gothic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, which is the largest mosque in the country, and other emblematic monuments, such as the Sebilj Fountain or the streets of Old Sarajevo, are a testament to this coexistence. In fact, the Bosnian capital is the only major European city which has a mosque, Catholic church, Orthodox church and synagogue within the same neighbourhood. Furthermore, the city also gathers some impressive new buildings from the post-war reconstruction.

Highlights The capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina is known as the “Jerusalem of the Balkans” due to its long and rich history of religious and cultural diversity Bullet holes remain in the façades of many buildings from the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, from April 1992 to February 1996 The fastest growing city in Bosnia and Herzegovina is already a destination recommended by some of the most popular travel guides

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CANADA Toronto

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Chicago Los Angeles & Hollywood Natchez New Orleans New York Orlando Philadelphia* San Antonio San Francisco Seattle Washington DC

PANAMA Panama City

ICELAND Reykjavik

PORTUGAL Albufeira Aveiro Funchal Lisbon Porto Sintra

COLOMBIA Cartagena PERU Lima

THE WORLD OF

CITY SIGHTSEEING 20

SPAIN Antequera Arrecife Barcelona* Benalmadena Cadiz Cordoba Jerez Las Palmas Gran Canaria Lleida Malaga Nerja Palma de Mallo rca Santander Seville Toledo

U B B B B C C C D D E

UNITED KINGDOM & IRELAND Galway Bath Glasgow Belfast Inverness Bournemouth Llandudno & Conwy Brighton London Cambridge Newcastle/Gateshead Cardiff Norwich Chester Oxford Derry/Londonderry Stratford upon Avon Dublin Windsor Edinburgh York

TopDeck Magazine | nยบ18 | Enero 2018 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Sarajevo

BELGIUM Brussels CYPRUS Ayia Napa (Coming Soon) Larnaca (Coming Soon) Limassol (Coming Soon)

RUSSIA Kazan Moscow St. Petersburg

CZECH REPUBLIC Prague DENMARK Aarhus

Copenhagen

ESTONIA Tallinn FINLAND Helsinki FRANCE Paris GEORGIA Tbilisi GERMANY Berlin Kiel GREECE Athens & Piraeus Corfu

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Dubai Sharjah SAUDI ARABIA Al Madinah

HUNGARY Budapest SINGAPORE Singapore

LUXEMBOURG Luxembourg MALTA Gozo

ITALY Florence Genoa Livorno Messina Milan Naples Padova Palermo Rome Sorrento Turin Verona

Potsdam Trier

SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Johannesburg & Soweto

AUSTRALIA Melbourne

NETHERLANDS Rotterdam Amsterdam NORWAY Alesund Bergen Geiranger

Oslo Stavanger

POLAND Gdansk Warsaw

Krakรณw

SWEDEN Gothenburg UKRAINE Kiev 21

Malta

Stockholm

Rotterdam There is a new management team in City Sightseeing Rotterdam and the operation is now connecting the dots between some of the most popular attractions in the city.

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We changed a couple of things. As Rotterdam tourists are increasing we constantly drive with two buses on more days and we added our app to see the location of the buses in real time so tourists don’t get frustrated and can visit nice highlights and other ventures. In the app we add other Rotterdam attractions and points of interest so we can attract tourists to visit these places, win win situation. In the future we will change to open top buses and we are now figuring out to add boats to make the HoHo tour more interesting.

We see the HoHo operation connecting the dots between other ventures like Splashtours and the Pancakeboat (and many more). We can easily make it more attractive for our guests, they can discover what’s really going on in Rotterdam.

How is the new CS Rotterdam since the takeover of the operation?

Christoffel Wielders General Manager CS Rotterdam

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You already operate other attractions, how does CS fit in your portfolio?

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What opportunities do you see in the development of City Sightseeing brand?

We are going to form better combinations between river Maas attractions and both northern and southern parts of the city.

TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

The operation CS Rotterdam operates two buses on one tour with 6 stops. The route visits the highlights of the city, from the Central Station to the museum Park with all the nice architecture, the Willemsplein and the Erasmusbridge (called the Swan), the Kop van Zuid (South side of the river), the Rotterdam Building and the cruise terminal and the Market Hall.

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otterdam was founded in 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river, after which people settled around it for safety.

Today, the so-called ‘Manhattan on the Maas’ is a hub for trading and, increasingly, for the travel industry. A simple boat tour through the harbour allows visitors to get impressive views of the Rotterdam’s dynamic skyline, with lots of new high-end buildings popping out of the streets, high in the air. Some of the most outstanding monuments are the brand new Central Station – nicknamed the Shark Mouth due to its remarkable looks – and the Market Hall, a sleek building every tourist has to visit. Rotterdam also has a lively cultural life thanks to Erasmus University.

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Highlights The largest port in Europe, located 30 km from the sea Also known as the ‘Gateway to Europe’ and ‘Gateway to the World’ “Every year Rotterdam develops more and more as a hotspot for tourist.

Rotterdam is cool, we make things happen” says Christoffel Wielders

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Trade Shows Second-Quarter Events

Promotion of the City Sightseeing operations at the most important events of the tourism sector.

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rom April to June the City Sightseeing brand was again present in the most important travel trade events.

In this quarter, two trade shows stand out from the rest – ATM in Dubai and IPW in the USA. From East to West, the whole tourism industry was able to discover all the novelties from the CS network, including new destinations and products.

Apr-Jun 2018 ATM Dubai IPW USA

From 22nd to 25th April, right before the Annual Conference, City Sightseeing attended Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. In its 25th edition, the show featured the latest trends and technology in the travel industry, especially 24

those in the hospitality and aviation sectors. With more than 40,000 visitors, ATM was again a fantastic showcase for City Sightseeing.

From 19th to 23rd May, the City Sightseeing team together with the CS American operations attended IPW, held this year in Denver. International Pow Wow (IPW) is the US Travel Association’s main event, one of the travel industry’s premier international marketplaces, and the largest generator of travel to the United States with more than 1,000 US Travel Organizations and 1,300 domestic and international buyers.

TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

CS On Tour

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Apart from the two main trade shows of the second quarter of the year, the City Sightseeing Global Sales team also attended other important events where promoting the CS destinations, including City Fair in London (10-12th June) and Destination Britain South East Asia (1st-3rd May), among others. On 18th and 19th April, the City Sightseeing brand was also present in the WTTC Global Summit – read more in pages 06/07.

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1 View of the City Sightseeing stand at ATM Dubai. 2 Jeronimo Cardenas with our partners from Al Hokair, in Saudi Arabia. 3 Lightboxes in the CS stand. 4 Iain Andrew, from our partner dnata / Emirates Group in the UAE. 5 & 6 Cedric Scherer, Oliver Nicholls and Amy Sykes meeting our visitors in Dubai. 7 New booth in IPW, in Denver.

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News Discover the latest product, services and novelties from the travel industry through our providers’ innovations.

Allowing IT Solutions to Monitor Your Fleet’s Productivity

K

nown for the last 10 years as one of the world leaders in commentary systems – GreatGuide launched their new Productivity toolkit at the City Sightseeing Conference in Dubai.

Set to revolutionise the industry – this Integrated Productivity toolkit allows you in one system to monitor you GPS live tracking, Bus arrival times, schedule monitoring, language listened to, driver behaviour, as well as when and where the audio commentary played.

By using these tools any fleet of any size can effectively monitor how their service is living up to their promise, and thus help dramatically improve your customers’ satisfaction levels.

It is no wonder that City Sightseeing Dubai, the winners of the 2018 Best Operator of the year award, and City Sightseeing Los Angeles have already decided to implement the GreatGuide Productivity toolkit in their fleet.

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

New Unvi Compa CNG, DESIC Awards the Al Electric Double Decker, Madinah Operation at Hybryd Double Decker Annual Conference

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D

or Unvi, Urbis Double Decker Open Top continues being a successful product. This vehicle stands out for its design, quality and innovation and is already operating in more than 34 countries.

ESIC participated again in the City Sightseeing Annual Conference featuring the services of Bus Operative, the real-time smart travel system of our IT partner, which currently is available in more than 10 operators from different parts of the world.

Although diesel version is still available, new solutions are becoming more popular and their demand is rising rapidly. These new solutions are in line with global trends and policies for making public transportation environmentally friendly.

An example of the above are Urbis Hybrid Double Decker Open Top and Urbis Electric Double Decker Open Top. More than 10 of these vehicles are already operating and the company is receiving new purchasing orders.

During the conference, DESIC raffled an iPad and a free three-month pilot of the Bus Operative system for the winning operation, which in this case was the city of Al Madinah, in Saudi Arabia.

In the photograph above, Sayed Shafey of City Sightseeing Al Madinah with the DESIC team attending the conference, David León, Bibiana Boros and Miguel A. García.

In addition, there are Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) 30 seats vehicles, also Open Top, that were recently delivered to their customer.

Unvi is always flexible and tries to adapt to their customer’s needs.

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City Sightseeing Annual Conference Market Place in the Sheraton Grand Hotel Dubai.

Meet the City Sightseeing Partners In the City Sightseeing Purchasing Department, we are always looking for the best suppliers and providers for your operation. We select the companies that are able offer the best solutions and create strong partnerships. At our latest Annual Conference, some of our partners attended to share their knowledge of the travel industry with regards to this year’s main topics: Connectivity, Customer Service, Sustainability, and Safety.

UNVI is a leading manufacturer of passenger transport vehicles and special vehicles. Since the launch of a new hybrid and electric opentop double-decker bus, UNVI participated in the Conference Sustainability panel (1st May).

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

Past View offers a unique experience - virtual guided tours that allow you to step back in time. Literally, as you wear special glasses to see what buildings and people looked like at in the past. They shared their experience on 1st May.

The IT consulting company offers the best solutions in IT systems management. In Dubai, You also had the chance to test DESIC’s smart travel system “Bus Operative” which was functioning during the conference.

Well known for their reliable and robust multilingual tour-guide systems and solutions for tour operators of all kinds, Great Guide was one of the experts speaking in the Digital Communication panel on Monday, 30th April.

Our partnership with PrioTicket allowed us to develop the new City Sightseeing Marketplace. Our Dutch partner presented this scanning solution and also took part in the Connectivity panel on the first business day.

Hold On Productions is an advertising agency, connecting the best quality advertisers with bus operators. At their booth at the partners’ exhibition centre you could discover their vast experience in the matter.

MVT Butacas is focused on safety and comfort with a selection of products that fit with opentop vehicles: seats, seat belts, artificial intelligence video event recorders, DVR monitoring, USB chargers...

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Corporate News from the Global Brand

Top Deck now Interactive!

A new era kicks off for Top Deck, City Sightseeing’s very own corporate magazine. Download the APP from the Apple Store and Play Store and explore the new Top Deck!

Paperless Is Here

Endeavor Madrid

GDPR Adaptation

The new CS Marketplace continues developing and now allows for scanning vouchers from our partners Expedia, Viator, GetYourGuide, Civitatis, and City Sightseeing website tickets.

The success story of City Sightseeing was featured in the entrepreneurship forum Endeavor Madrid together with renowned brands like Vueling, Volotea, and Iberostar, among others.

Due to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, we are making changes in various aspects in order to comply with its newest requirements.

Please help us to continue closely connected.

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

CSR

With UNHCR Spain

Recycling Santander At Kinderbeestfeest

From 18th to 24th June, on the Refugee Week, seven Spanish cities joined together to raise funds for the UNHCR Spanish Commitee, in order to contribute to help in the humanitarian crisis.

On the International Day for Recycling, CS Santander collaborated with Urban Waste, an initiative aimed at the management and reduction of waste in tourist destinations.

CS Amsterdam took part in “Dreamnight at the Zoo”, also known as Kinderbeestfeest in the Netherlands. The private event was organised for over 5,000 chronically ill and disabled children.

Africa Month

Against Pollution

Free Tour in Sharjah

CS South Africa collaborated with Joburg Tourism to host an educational tour for the invited media and participating artists to experience the city’s tourism offerings.

The first fully electric double-decker buses in Oxford will be running under the City Sightseeing brand after a A £1.7M plan of the Oxford City Council to cut contaminating fumes.

Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services is an initiative of CS Sharjah that offers free tours around the Emirate provided for children with special needs.

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CS Operators Outstanding News from Your Operation

World Cup Celebrations Our Russian operator has been experiencing busy days during the FIFA World Cup. Every day is a celebration with fans from all over the world in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kazan.

Mallorca Open

Belfast GOT

Glasgow’s Five Star

CS Palma partnered with the Mallorca Open, a WTA tennis tournament with some of the best female players in the World, and invited two fans to discover the island.

The Game of Thrones Film Locations tour is already the most popular day tour for CS Belfast.

See above some happy customers during the visit to the popular TV series landscapes.

CS Glasgow has been awarded by Visit Scotland with five-star rating for the fourth year in a row for its exceptional service.

In the picture, historian Neil Oliver hopped on board to celebrate.

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

Athens New Tours

A truly ‘Oxperience’ ‘Second Act’ in NYC

On April 1st, CS Athens launched two new products. “The Guards, Gardens and Marathon” is their 3rd free walking tour and takes customers from Stop A1 to the First Modern Olympics Stadium of 1878, through the Syntagma Square and the National Gardens, among other exciting views. On the other hand, the “Sunset Bus” was designed specifically for visitors using CS who also wanted to see the famous Aegean sunset.

CS Oxford launched an ‘Oxperience’ ticket which offers a complete experience in the city as it links bus journeys, entry to top visitor attractions and discounts at Westgate Centre restaurants.

‘Second Act’ is the new film of the Hollywood star Jennifer Lopez based on a the dog-eat-dog world of the New York advertising industry. You will also see Vanessa Hudgens in a CS New York bus.

Miss Of Australia

...And Miss Russia

City Sightseeing Melbourne sponsored the Miss Of Australia pageant by providing a private tour of Melbourne for all the national finalists. The Miss of Australia 2018 National Finals will be celebrated in October.

In March, CS Moscow joined the program of the Miss Russia National Beauty Contest 2018 and allowed the 50 final contestants to visit the most emblematic and magnificent spots in the Russian capital.

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CS Family Staff Stories

A Boxing Legend Mensur Peljto, the Executive Manager of CS Sarajevo, is not only the owner of a local transport company but a true boxing legend!

Peljto won the IBF Cruiserweight World title in 2000.

Jan retired

Our Sarajevo Family Charity Clothes

After a long career as a driver, 15 years of them in CS Glasgow, Jan retired last May. Many of her colleagues gave her an emotional farewell after her last tour. See her in the picture with Jono.

The first City Sightseeing operation in the Balkans brought a number of lovely people to the global brand family. We are looking forward to you visiting Sarajevo and meeting our new friends.

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See in the picture the CS Dublin team with some of the bags from their Charity Clothes Drive for Enable Ireland in May. Very committed family in the Irish capital.

TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

Welcome David!

Yulia visited us!

Live at the HQ

We love to have our CS operators visiting us in the City Sightseeing office in Seville. David Strainge from San Antonio was one of our latest guests. Welcome home David!

Thanks to Sergei Lavrentyev, from CS Russia, the TV presenter Yulia Shapovalova is a good friend of the City Sightseeing Family.

That’s why we loved her visit to Seville in June.

The CS Head Quarters in Seville surprisingly became a concert hall with the visit of Plato Band, from Manchester, who played popular songs from Radiohead, Coldplay and other bands.

At City Tour Show

Love Is In the Air

Stand Recognition

The CS Global Sales Team is continuously attending the most important trade shows in the World. See above Charlotte Mander, Chelsey Smith and Amy Sykes at City Tour in London.

The Awards Ceremony is always one of the most awaited moments in the CS Conference. In Dubai, the perfect ending came with a true declaration of love from Dorottya and Itsvan, from Budapest.

Mandi Jarman, Marketing Manager at CS South Africa, holds the “Most Extraordinary Stand Festival Experience” award in WTM Africa in Cape Town.

Congratulations!

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SuperPosts Best of Social Media

W

ith billions of people around the world using social media on a daily basis, a company’s presence on various platforms is a must. At City Sightseeing we have stressed the importance of maintaining various social media profiles for your operations.

We are proud to introduce the “Best of Social Media� where we showcase the great things operators throughout the network are doing on different social media platforms.

Lauren Mogannam Online Communications Manager

Super Post!

From Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, there are constantly great posts published throughout the City Sightseeing network to promote the global brand, give information, and inspire those to hop-on and discover a city with City Sightseeing.

Here are a few posts that we have selected that have done just that.

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TopDeck Magazine | #19 | June 2018

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The Wall

Social stories

Twitter | Facebook | TripAdvisor | TrustPilot | Viator | GetYourGuide Jane — Toronto. Great route through Toronto covering all main tourist attractions. Buses ran frequently - never waited for more than 15 minutes and harbour tour which was included was excellent Louise Shaw – Belfast. It My husband and I did this trip yesterday.I can honestly say it was superb.The tour guides are so informative and you get to see so much more by going on the bus.Our tour guide was Brendan and the driver was Darren and I have to say that they made it extra special with their wit and Irish charm and a few songs thrown in for good measure :) Belfast sightseeing tours you should be very proud of these two lovely men.

Evan B – Cape Town. What a nice way to see Capetown without the hassles of traffic. Looking down from the top of the bus gives you views few have seen. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and even made a few new friends. Remember to bring along enough water, pack your own lunch to save some money and don’t forget the sunscreen. A hat and sunglasses are also strongly recommended

@CitySSWorldwide. Today is commemorated the #WorldRefugeeDay. This week you can help this vulnerable group to have a better life. Hop on buses in @CitySSEspana and you will be collaborating with @ eACNUR #ASafePlace #solidarity #volunteers

Philip D – Oslo. Great way of seeing the city. Stops at all the popular attraction - Viking and Fram museums etc. @d0ug7a5. Absolute highlight of Dublin so far - brilliant singing tour guide Linda. Some lovely renditions even without a microphone! :) Michelle B – Berlin. Great way to see lots of places in Berlin in a short space of time. Love the HOHOs and use them whenever possible when travelling. @CSDublin. *Announcement* We at City Sightseeing Dublin are delighted to announce that we have finally launched our new Three Day Deluxe Ticket! This ticket offers savings of almost 50 and is available to book today! citysightseeingdublin.ie/72h-deluxe-tic… #citysightseeingdublin #weshowyoutheworld Laura C – Athens. Ero di passaggio ad Atene con degli amici non più giovanissimi e ho trovato veramente interessante questo tour della parte antica di Atene. In due orette circa ho visitato i punti di interesse potendo scendere e prendere il successivo autobus del sightseeing Lesley — Verona. Excellent! Good price. Easy to exchange the voucher. Two routes. Comfortable buses. Pleasant staff. Recommended Dr G. – Chicago. Wir haben in Juni in Chicago eine Stadtbesichtigung mit dem Hop on Hop off Bus durchgeführt. Hatten nacheinander drei Reiseleiterinnen. Davon waren zwei super, eine mittelmäßig die Erklärungen und die humorvolle Darstellung betreffend.

Empfehlenswert!

Social media really is the new phenomenon so on this page we hope to feature the best feeds from our Franchisees, some of our customer comments and also from leading industry ‘tweeters’. Send your social media namTe to topdeck@city-sightseeing.com and we’ll follow you. You can start with following us @CitySSWorldwide

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The travel of Peter When Peter passes near the Museum of History, an alert arrives on his cell phone.

Peter is doing the bus tour...

Hey Peter, The Museum of History is near you where you can enjoy a 30% discount!

Buy now

History Museum Your purchase has been successful!

Peter is visiting the History Museum to enjoy the experience he has just bought.

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