The German capital is the most coach-friendly metropolis in Europe – 531 parking bays are available at 75 locations…
The German capital is the most coach-friendly metropolis in Europe – 531 parking bays are available at 75 locations. Almost all are free of charge. In addition, there are 90 parking bays at bus terminuses for which a fee is charged.
In the inner city area Mitte and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf there are 350 parking bays for coaches at 37 various locations.
According Hanns Peter Nerger, Managing Director of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM), Berlin is an extremely attractive city for coach tourists. In most European metropolises coaches are not even allowed to enter the city centre. On the Spree, by contrast, the city is accessible for coaches – guests can even travel with this transport mode directly to the tourist attractions.
In addition to the very good offering of parking spaces for coaches, four completely new locations with ten parking bays at important sites were opened in Berlin last year – for instance close to Charlottenburg Palace or in the entertainment centre KulturBrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg.
The German capital is a very popular destination for coach tourists. Every year more than 10 million travellers use this transport mode to travel to the Spree. This means that one in five hotel guests and one in seven day-trippers come to Berlin by coach. Since many travellers switched to earth-based transport modes after the events of 11 September, further growth in this segment is to be expected. A working group of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce, in which BTM plays an active role, is endeavouring to bring about an ongoing improvement and further simplifications for coach travel in Berlin as a response to its growing importance.
As a survey by BTM and the Chamber of Commerce recently showed, hotel guests who travel to Berlin by coach, spend one day longer in the city on the river Spree than other visitors. BTM`s Managing Director described them as an economic factor that should not be underestimated. According to a recent study by the dwif (German Economics Institute for Tourism), overnight guests in Berlin spend on average EUR183.30 every day on accommodation, food, entertainment and other services.
An updated version of the well-received `BusStopp` Berlin is now available as a guidance aid for coach drivers in the German capital. The fold-out map, which is published by BTM together with the Chamber of Commerce and the Senat Administration for Urban Development, consists of an inner-city map containing all the relevant details for coach travel. Furthermore, the practical overview lists all coach parking bays and provides information on speed monitoring cameras, heights of bridges or bus lanes. One new feature in this ninth issue is the designation of all public toilets on the map.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
