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Britons flock to eastern Europe

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  • Britons flock to eastern Europe

    The Telegraph, UK
    April 3 2005

    Britons flock to eastern Europe
    (Filed: 03/05/2005)


    A growing number of British travellers are taking holidays in eastern
    Europe, with the former Communist bloc countries that joined the
    European Union a year ago proving particularly popular.


    According to statistics released this week by the Civil Aviation
    Authority, the number of Britons visiting the Czech Republic alone
    rose by 59 per cent (an additional 770,000) last year. The increase
    in visits to other newcomers to the EU - including Hungary, Poland,
    Slovakia and the Baltic States - almost doubled.

    Tour operators to the region have also recorded significant rises,
    with bookings to Hungary this year soaring by 150 per cent, and those
    to Poland rising by 96 per cent. Although actual traveller numbers
    remain modest compared with those to countries such as France and
    Italy, the trend has been more pronounced than many predicted.

    "Until last year, much of eastern Europe was still uncharted territory
    for most British travellers and people wanted to go and have a look
    at it," said Frances Tuke, spokeswoman for the Association of British
    Travel Agents (Abta).

    "I think people had the idea that it was grey and miserable behind
    the Iron Curtain and they have been really surprised to discover
    beautiful cities and landscapes, and a thriving cultural scene."

    Historic cities such as Prague and Budapest have long been on
    the tourist map, but the accession to the EU on May 1 last year of
    Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech and Slovak Republics and Estonia,
    Lithuania and Latvia has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number
    of air links to the region, bringing many previously unexplored spots
    within reach.

    As our map shows (above right), in addition to rapidly emerging
    favourites such as Krakow and Ljubljana, adventurous travellers can now
    take weekend breaks in destinations as far flung as Wroclaw, Rzeszow
    and Gdansk. No-frills airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair, SkyEurope and
    Wizz have led the expansion, but they have been joined by traditional
    carriers such as British Airways, which now offers services to a host
    of eastern destinations including Vilnius and Riga. BA is also looking
    beyond the EU, with competitively priced services to Dubrovnik already
    under way, a new route to Bucharest starting tomorrow and, from June,
    regular flights to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

    The German national carrier, Lufthansa, is looking even farther
    afield. This week it announced an extension of its eastern network
    to include Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Yerevan, the capital of
    Armenia, and Timisoara in Romanian Transylvania - all reachable from
    the UK via Munich.

    In addition to cheap flights, British visitors are attracted to the
    east partly out of a sense of adventure and partly because hotel
    rooms and meals are still very reasonably priced.

    Many of the countries - in particular the Czech Republic - are also
    famous for the high quality (and low price) of their beers. Prague,
    Tallinn and Vilnius are already well established on the stag-party
    network.

    According to Neil Taylor, director of Regent Holidays, a specialist
    in trips to eastern Europe, many travellers are also beginning to
    venture beyond the capitals to discover relatively unspoilt areas
    of countryside.

    "Undoubtedly the fact that these countries are now part of the EU has
    given people confidence to explore, and when they do, they find that
    standards have really risen in the region," he said.

    "In the old days, when you travelled behind the Iron Curtain you took
    everything you might need with you; now if you run out of toothpaste
    you can buy more, as you would in France or Germany. For those that
    want it, you could say that you're never more than 50 miles away from
    a four-star hotel."
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