After the good result of the TopRail workshop held on 8 June at Paris UIC Headquarters, it was agreed to organise a steering committee to address the challenges of the project.
Despite the difficulty of coordinating schedules, it was set as an objective to hold the meeting with those members interested in participating before the summer holiday season in order not to momentum.
The meeting focused on what can be done in the short term and what actions will be prioritised depending on the different interests of members belonging to the group (visibility, business performance, exchange of experiences and best practices...)
The committee agreed on an update of the logo regarding typography and colour and on the use of the slogan “World Rail Tourism” to be used with the logo.
Regarding the group tasks it was agreed to establish an annual theme that should result in a publication useful for TopRail members. The objective is the creation of a complete library on the issue “World Rail Tourism” at an international level with different approaches and studies. A library with different studies will encourage the creation of new studies fostering the improvement of the knowledge regarding Tourism and Railway issues. A better knowledge of the market will give the opportunity of improving the services and identifying potential business.
The meeting strategy was agreed upon, in which TopRail short-term meetings and events will coincide with other events to facilitate attendance. The aim would be to hold the first TopRail independent congress in 2018.
For 2016-2017 the topic will be “sustainable tourism” to take advantage of two events: 13th UIC Conference on sustainability to be held in Vienna on 12, 13 and 14 October and the fact that 2017 has been declared as the year of sustainable tourism.
To this end a two-hour workshop on sustainable tourism will be held during the 13th UIC Sustainability Conference. This workshop will set the basis for a guideline publication on Sustainable Tourism for Railway Companies to be finished in a year’s period.
The Vienna Conference will also be the perfect moment to present the TopRail’s website before becoming public and will be enough time to collect the information from the interested companies.
Next TopRail meetings: 13 October 2016 in Vienna, March 2017.
