a brief but intense history

In November 1999 Fabio met Peter and asked him how he could start

the service in Italy.

It took us 4 years of hard work and endless bureaucracy before we

were able to start.

In 2003 City Sightseeing Italy Srl was born and on June 9th City Sightseeing began operating with three open top double-decker

buses not homologated and with an English licence plate; we were the first in Italy to operate this kind of service.

Finally, in 2004 we were able to obtain homologation for our double-decker buses and following Florence in 2004 the service was inaugurated in:

Padua

Finally, in 2004 we were able to obtain homologation for our double-decker buses and following Florence in 2004 the service was inaugurated in:

Naples

Finally, in 2004 we were able to obtain homologation for our double-decker buses and following Florence in 2004 the service was inaugurated in:

Rome

In 2004 the buses that operated with our brand were already 15

In 2005 we started in Palermo

In 2006 we started in Pisa, Milan, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast

In 2007 we started in Torino, Messina

In 2008 we started in Verona, Livorno, Bergamo

In 2009 we were present in 13 cities and 14 locations with 26 lines and 55

buses

In 2010 we are starting operating in another city and we are planning to

operate in other two different cities by 2011.

What are the biggest problems we encountered?• Bureaucracy, which involves

– absolute lack of certainty of timing for issuing permits;– maximum discretion of officers responsible for issuing

permits;– problems in obtaining permits for the stops;– different rules for each Italian city, despite the fact that Italy is

one country and that these services are regulated by the European Union;

• unfair competition of companies that operate in-house and without competitive tender in the local public transport and receive government grants to carry out their services: dumping and market disruption.

Can these problems be found only in Italy? Of course not!

What should we do in order to create a strong common lobby?

Are there any suggestions?Should every single country write to its own

political representative of the Transport Commission in Brussels?

Should we activate a common law firm?

Or should we create a Common Legal Found?

A small fee for each city can be a great fund for our actions aiming to

protect our companies!

I think that everyone of us, when he goes back home and has to face again

the everyday problems, will soon forget these things and will go ahead

and hope to have as few problems as possible.

But we can’t lose sight of the major issues of common interest that will determine the future and value of our companies at the

expense of current management problems every day. We should think about it and try not to forget. Each of you has to act as a promoter and reminder coordinator of the

initiatives.

We are the largest European and world group in this business; we must

have the ability to do lobbying in Europe at least.

We can’t continue to remain passive and wait for the whim of individual

officials and lose money!

Like in any business we need to guarantee certainty of our businesses and our investments and to provide

quality service as our brand requires.

Here are a few ideas to increase the business:– merchandises : CDs, hats, t-shirts, jackets, ponchos, etc.

Here are a few ideas to increase the business:– City sightseeing excursions: we

must be a global business network, we should provide not just sightseeing in the city but also trips and excursions out of town, tour packages, all “C.S. branded”. We have to become tour operators who offer not only a product but a series of brand products. This can be applied concurrently to get an advantage in certain markets that are currently closed because ultimately the only City Sightseeing Tour is a low-cost product (see World cruises).

Here are a few ideas to increase the business:– City Sightseeing BOAT.

– Others: ??? open discussion open forum