generalnews the travel news that's turning heads Trade turns to Dertour


Specialist tour operator, Dertour, has reported an upsurge in city breaks booked through travel agents for Prague, Budapest and Paris. Bookings to all three cities were up 40%. The increase is being attributed to a


signifi cant technology upgrade which has expanded the product range and improved the operator's buying power. Head of marketing, Tim Locke,


All-inclusives buck trend


Independent research commissioned on behalf of Club Med has confi rmed a fi rm shift in the UK market towards all-inclusive premium holidays. The survey conducted by YouGov


asked 2,000 people about their holiday purchasing decisions during recession. Almost 60 per cent said they were set


to spend the same amount or more on holidays in 2011 as in 2010. Over 40 per cent asserted that they felt


Jet2holidays expands


Jet2holidays has expanded its 2011 brochure by 25 per cent with 70 new hotels, two new destinations and a range of money-saving offers, from new infant luggage allowances and low deposits to free show tickets. Krakow and Costa Calida have been


added from Newcastle and Costa Calida breaks are also available from Belfast, Blackpool, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh airports. Holiday prices start from just £219pp and low deposits of £60pp are available. Family savings can add up to £150 and upgrades to half-board are available from just £1pppn. The company has a new departure airport of Glasgow for the Costa Blanca, Algarve, Majorca, Tenerife, Paphos, Nice and Turkey. Prices start at just £279pp all-inclusive.


www.jet2holidays.com


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going on an all-inclusive holiday was a less stressful option. The results are backed up by Club


Med’s all-inclusive sales fi gures which show a double-digit increase in sales at many of its European resorts for summer 2011. Turkey bookings are up 59 per cent, Portugal is up 54 per cent, Italy up 49 per cent, whilst Club Med Opio in Provence, France is up 26 per cent. www.clubmed.co.uk


comments, “Many travel agents only associate the Dertour name with Germany, Switzerland and Austria, but a large part of our business is tailor- made city breaks across Europe. We have great buying power because of our parent company, REWE Touristik, and we want more agents to recognise that we can help them.”


Dertour is currently offering packages


to the Prague Beer Festival, May 13-30. This is the largest culinary event in the Czech Republic. Dertour has two-night packages priced from £200 pp to including return fl ights from London and B&B accommodation. www.dertour.co.uk


Alentejo positions itself as Portugal's rising star


theround-up EBritish Airways has moved its Malaga


fl ights back to Gatwick from Heathrow and will increase them to 27 fl ights a week from June, with up to four fl ghts per day. The airline is also increasing London City to Palma fl ights from three to six times weekly in July and August. Friday and Sunday fl ights continue to october 31. www.ba.com


E Iceland Express is encouraging spring


visitors to Reykjavik to coincide with the city’s annual Arts Festival. As a main sponsor of the event, the airline is encouraging visitors to go with fl ights from £89 one-way, including taxes, fl ying daily from Gatwick to Reykjavik. Edinburgh/Reykjavik services will launch in June. The 17-day festival will include events in the new Harpa Concert Hall, in the city’s old harbour.There will also be outdoor performances and activities for all art lovers. www.icelandexpress.com


ESpecialist rail tour operator Erail has launched its largest ever Train Tour


Holidays brochure. The new programme has been designed to suit both discerning and adventurous independent travellers and combines the operator's most popular tours with a number of new ones including Lake Garda from just £553 pp and an 18-day Grand Tour of Europe which starts from Paris and visits barcelona, nice, Italy, Lucerne, Cologne and Amsterdam. Priced from £1495pp. www.erail.co.uk


E Travelsphere is pushing a new


By Julie Baxter Alentejo is set to become the rising star of Portugal following the opening of a new regional airport and the launch of the fi rst charters from the UK. Investment in Beja Airport, formerly


only for military use, has opened the way to a Sunvil charter operated by bmi for this summer.


The region offers sleepy villages and hilltop towns as well as beautiful


beaches and is priced by Sunvil from £420 for seven nights. The fl ight will also give access to


Pestana's portfolio of Pousadas – 25 per cent of which are in the Alentejo region and are popular with those looking for properties with distinct character. The fast-emerging Troia Resort area is


also expected to gain popularity from the UK market.


www.realalentejo.co.uk


range of 'Extraordinary Experiences'. From a private nYPD escort to the Times Square new Year celebrations and the chance to stay at the Ice hotel in Sweden to an exclusive tour of the Vatican enclave and a visit through the Knesset led by an Israeli Member of Parliament, these tours have been designed to help customers fulfi l a lifetime’s ambition. Packages start from just £499pp. www.travelsphere.co.uk


EVisitors to Spain can now travel


by AVE high-speed train from Madrid to Valencia in the time it takes Valencia CF to play a football match against Real Madrid! With 15 daily departures between 07.10 and 21.40, tickets start at 31.60 euros for Economy and 143.70 euros for First Class. www.renfe.com


04 May/June 2011 • www.shortbreaksholidays.com


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