TRANSPORT for London has confirmed the coach parking arrangements and dedicated set-down and pick-up points for coaches bringing spectators to the renowned Tour de France event.

One of the biggest annual sporting events will make its starting debut – the Grand Départ – in London from 6 to 8 July.

The confirmed locations for Saturday 7 July include Prince Consort Road, Strand, Hanover Square and Eaton Square. For Sunday only, locations include Park Lane, Hanover Square, Berkeley Square, Tower Gateway.

TfL has also secured further parking for up to 150 coaches at Battersea Power Station. For those wanting to park here, drivers will need to register for a separate permit for each day. The permits will also allow drivers to set-down and pick-up passengers at the mentioned points, located near key viewing points along the route.

The permits are free and available directly by contacting TfL at coaches@tfl.gov.uk; or fax requests to 020 7027 9796. Separate applications are required for each day.

www.tfl.gov.uk

VISITBRITAIN has launched a new initiative designed to encourage England’s 6,000 visitor attractions to sign up to a new national Code of Practice.

From 1 April 2008, only attractions committed to the Code of Practice or participants in the Visitor Attractions Quality Assurance Service (VAQAS) will be promoted by VisitBritain.

Registration to the code costs £25 and is valid until 2010. A total of 15 principles make up the code, which is supported by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the Historic Houses Association and Heritage Railways as well as the National Trust and English Heritage.

Participants will receive a copy of the Code which they can display at point of entry, access to a benchmarking and best practice guide, and regular newsletters. VisitBritain general manager for quality Jeremy Brinkworth says: “Britain’s tourism industry must do all it can to keep its visitors returning year after year.”

www.visitbritain.com

THE RDA Workshop which takes place in Cologne from 7-9 August 2007 promises to be a unique opportunity for professional tourism buyers with more than 1,300 exhibi-tors from 36 countries.

This year’s show is the 33rd RDA Workshop and the event provides a unique busi-ness and networking opportunity for UK inbound and outbound coach tour operators.

The show organisers have launched a web portal system - www.rda-messe.de - which enables visitors to plan their time at the show and includes contact details and information about the show exhibitors. A simple online registration system means that visitors can arrive at the show, collect their coloured badge for speedy identification - green for buyers, red for press and media and bright blue for RDA Workshop staff and RDA office holders - and get straight down to busi-ness.

The RDA - International Coach Tourism Federation – based in Cologne, Germany, is Europe’s largest umbrella organisation for the coach tourism industry. It currently boasts a membership of 3,000 companies from 35 countries including UK and Ireland and 70 tourism sectors and provides a forum for business to business networking, further training and political lobbying at both national and European Union levels.

Operators are invited to join the special trip to the RDA Workshop in Cologne, organised by Coach Tourism Professional and ICT. The three-day package costs from £159 per person including low-cost flight, accommodation at the Hotel Kos-mos and VIP tour of the show. For details see www.busandcoach.com – or call ICT on 020 7510 2929.

www.busandcoach.com