The 1st UIC TopRail Forum, jointly organised by UIC and FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) under the theme “The Business of Rail Tourism”, will be held at the Fira de Barcelona congress centre within the framework of the B-Travel Fair http://www.b-travel.com/en/.
TopRail is a project of UIC dedicated to the field of Rail&Tourism at international level. It intends to put together all the stakeholders in order to raise awareness of this market potential and contribute to the growth of existing and new tourist offers. The approach is very broad encompassing different areas: train-cruises, panoramic trains, railway heritage, etc.
The TopRail Forum was created with the aim of establishing itself as the ultimate benchmark for professionals in the area of Railway Tourism in its broadest sense. The business vision will be very present and is intended to be the meeting point of all the stakeholders involved: from the railway industry (operators, manufacturers) and the tourism industry (tour operators, wholesalers) to international, national and regional policy makers, international organisations and academia, to the final customer.
Welcome and opening delivered by:
- Pere Calvet, CEO of FGC and President of UITP
- Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, UIC Director General
Presentations by the following guest speakers, among others:
- Peter Haxton, Policy Analyst, Regional Development and Tourism Division, OECD
- Tim Fairhurst, Director of Policy, ETOA
- Supinder Singh, President, Palace Tours
- Jordi Tresserras, Director, LABPATC, Barcelona University and Advisor for UNESCO
- Urs Wieser, Sales Manager, Stadler Rail
- Fares Ben Cheikh, Head of the Business Unit for Mainline Services, SNCFT
With the collaboration of our partners and sponsors:
Renfe; Stadler; OECD; ETOA; OBB; Rodalies; Fundación de Ferrocarriles Españoles
With the participation of:
- Orient Express
- Belmond
- Mauro Moretti, former CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and current Chair of Fondazione FS, among others
Website: http://toprail.org/
Register online until 16 April: https://events.uic.org/1st-toprail-forum
