Belgian innovation goes beyond chocolate. Through a series of initiatives led by IRU member the Belgian Federation of Bus and Coach Operators (FBAA), the sector is helping destinations manage visitor flows, improve accessibility and develop new tourism products.
Coaches can help destinations welcome more visitors, improve access to rural and lesser-known areas and reduce pressure on popular tourism hotspots. But their contribution depends on destinations taking coach transport into account when planning access, infrastructure and visitor flows.
FBAA is working with tourism organisations, cities and local authorities to put this approach into practice. Its initiatives show how closer cooperation between the tourism and transport sectors can support the objectives of the European Commission’s upcoming Sustainable Tourism Strategy.
Thinking together
FBAA’s Eductours programme brings coach operators together with regional tourism organisations to discover destinations and develop new travel products. Recent editions have taken operators to Saarland, Saxony, the Opal Coast, Champagne and the Belgian Ardennes.
The visits allow operators to assess routes, attractions and facilities before including a destination in their programmes. Tourism organisations can also better understand what coach groups need, from suitable stopping points and parking facilities to realistic itineraries and easy access to local attractions.
Since 2017, the programme has helped operators develop new routes, establish partnerships with tourism organisations, and test innovations. These have included battery-electric coaches, discussions on renewable fuels like HVO and wireless audio guide headsets that improve visitors’ experience by allowing quieter guided tours, greater flexibility for groups, and even simultaneous multilingual interpretation.
FBAA is also working with cities through its Coach Cities initiative. The programme encourages local authorities and coach operators to jointly address access, parking, passenger facilities and visitor management.
This cooperation helps cities make better use of collective passenger transport while improving the experience for visitors and residents. Experience shows that destinations achieve better visitor management when coach operators are involved from the earliest planning stages rather than being consulted only after tourism or mobility plans have been finalised.
Appropriate access and parking are essential if coaches are to bring visitors close to attractions without adding to congestion. Clear information for operators and suitable facilities for drivers and passengers are equally important.
FBAA also promotes organised coach travel through BusFan, a non-commercial digital inspiration platform that promotes organised coach travel and connects travellers with Belgian coach operators. In 2025, the platform recorded more than 566,000 visits, 544,000 unique visitors, and 1.6 million page views.
Its Fun Coachdays initiative gives more people the opportunity to experience coach travel through affordable day trips to popular attractions. In 2025, 30 coaches transported 1,350 visitors to Efteling. In 2026, 27 coaches took 1,025 visitors to Parc Astérix.
These initiatives show what coaches can offer when transport and tourism are planned together. By transporting large groups in a single vehicle, coaches reduce congestion, parking pressure and emissions per passenger compared with individual car travel.
Coaches also make destinations accessible to travellers who cannot drive or prefer not to and help visitors discover destinations beyond the traditional tourism hotspots, supporting local businesses in smaller towns and rural regions.
The right conditions
The sector needs the right operating conditions. Destinations should include coach access, parking and passenger facilities in their tourism plans. Authorities should involve operators when developing local mobility measures and ensure that the transition to zero-emission mobility reflects the operational and infrastructure needs of coach services.
“Coaches have an important role to play in the future of sustainable tourism. They connect visitors with destinations that are often difficult to reach by other modes, help spread tourism beyond traditional hotspots, and provide an efficient, low-impact way to travel in groups,” said FBAA CEO Pieter Van Bastelaere.
“To unlock that potential, coaches need to be recognised as partners in tourism planning from the very beginning. That means ensuring destinations are designed with coach access, parking and passenger facilities in mind, while supporting the decarbonisation of coach transport,” he added.
Belgium's experience shows that sustainable tourism depends on sustainable access. Giving coaches a stronger role in the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy would encourage closer cooperation between transport and tourism authorities, improve access to destinations, support local economies and help visitors travel more sustainably across Europe.