On behalf of the Presidency, the Board of Management and the Management of the BZP, we would like to welcome you to the ninth European Taxi Fair – the worlds’ largest trade exhibition for the worlds’ most mobile trade. We extend a special welcome to guests from the neighbouring European countries, to those who have come from further afield and to the delegates of the national taxi association which traditionally uses the days before the fair for its autumn meeting.

Your visit makes the European Taxi Fair a really special event. The IRU-symposium, held for the second time in Cologne, is expecting over a 100 delegates from all over the world to discuss burning questions regarding the taxi trade. This symposium also underlines the fair’s importance on the international taxi calendar.

This years’ motto, Taxi: “Everything under one roof“, has a great many facets. It not only signifies the move into one large exhibition hall with more exhibition space than the three halls used previously, but more importantly the multi-faceted aspects of our transport services, which have not been recognised everywhere.

Through the continuous promotional activities of the BZP – especially via its quality models of ’Service-Taxi’ and ’PlusTaxi’ – a very important trend was started towards more service and more visible quality. We should not only focus on the core activity of our trade, transporting people, but we should also use many of its previously under-used possibilities.

The opportunities an omnipresent trade offers, operating a 24 hour and 365 days-a-year service, are often underestimated, not only by the trade itself but also by its customers. That’s why we would like to promote a competition for more creativity. ’Taxi” – synonymous with a trade full of innovative potential.

As the fair’s organisers, the Fachvereinigung Personenverkehr Nord­rhein-Taxi und Mietwagen e. V. guarantees a very interesting, well-organised fair full of variety. We would like to thank its management and staff-members for the – as usual – very polished organisation.

Special thanks also go to the exhibitors for their engagement and their generous support, which will again in 2008 make the fair a success. Last, but not least, we would like to extend a word of thanks to our national and international guests for showing so much interest in the worlds’ most mobile trade.

Kind regards,