theround-up


E Erail's summer programme of rail tours includes a new itinerary to Lake Garda, Italy,


priced from £553pp and a 10-day Grand Tour of Italy taking in the sights and architecture of Rome, Florence and Venice, from £741. Also new to the 2011/2012 programme is an 18- day Grand Tour of Europe, which starts from Paris and visits Barcelona, Nice, Italy, Lucerne, Cologne and Amsterdam, priced £1495. www.erail.co.uk


E A new museum uncovering the secrets


of the KGB's spying techniques has opened in the capital of Estonia. In Soviet times it was rumoured that the KGB had a significant base in the Viru Hotel in Tallinn, from where it eavesdropped and spied on individuals over a period of 20 years. The top floor of the hotel has now been turned into a public museum showcasing some of the espionage equipment within the very rooms that were used by the KGB. A three-night city break to Tallinn, including a visit to the new museum, costs from £310pp with Regent Holidays. www.regent-holidays.co.uk


E Eurostar is running a weekly


high-speed rail service between the UK and Avignon, France, throughout the summer. The service takes travellers to the heart of Provence every Saturday, departing London St Pancras International. Operating until September 10, fares start at £109 return in standard class. www.eurostar


E London commuters had their journey


brightened in July when 25,000 Oyster card holders promoting the cosmopolitan beach destination of Tel Aviv, Israel, were handed out across four busy London train stations. Travellers still have the chance to win a holiday to Tel Aviv simply by logging on to the dedicated micro-site: www.thinkisrael.com/beachparty


EEgypt specialist Discover Egypt has


expanded its programme to cover single- centre holidays in the Red Sea including the resorts of Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Taba, Hurghada, El Gouna, Marsa Alam and Ain Soukhna. Flights are available from Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Glasgow and many other UK regional airports in conjunction with the resorts. www.discoveregypt.co.uk


Jet2.com has added a further UK service to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from Edinburgh. The new route operates three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays through the summer, and will move to twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, for the winter scheduler. The new service is in addition to the existing direct daily schedule that operates between Budapest and Manchester. www.jet2.com


Ireland cuts costs to boost visitors


By Julie Baxter The Irish government has unveiled a raft of initiatives designed to boost tourism to the country and capitalise on the positive publicity of President Obama and the Queen’s visits to the country earlier this year. Among measures to help make


Ireland more affordable and accessible to tourists are the abolition of the country’s travel tax, a reduction of VAT charged on tourism products, a relaxation in some visa rules and incentives to support airlines operating into the country. Visitor numbers to Ireland have fallen


from nine million at their peak to six million last year and the aim of the new government’s mini budget, was to make rebuilding the tourism sector a priority. New minister, Leo Varadkar, said: “We


have lost UK tourism business because during the boom times we became a very expensive destination; now we are determined to turn that around.” He said the government hoped to


build on the momentum given to Ireland by the presidential and royal visits and was investing heavily in marketing to potential travellers in the


Jet2 Hungary for more


UK. British visitors represent 40 per cent of all visitors heading to Ireland. Varadkar added: "These recent


high-profile visits shot images of Ireland around the world and made people consider places they might not previously have thought of. The full impact will be hard to measure but these good news stories will certainly bring benefits to Ireland." A recent survey by hotels.com showed


Sunvil goes in search of the 'real Greece'


Specialist operator Sunvil Holidays is turning its attention to the 'real' Greece' by introducing 'untouched and unknown destinations'.


Its new programme includes 32


islands and mainland getaways with the addition of three remote islands in the Dodecanese and an expanded programme on eco-conscious Tilos and Ouranoupolis in Halkidiki. Dudley der Parthog, programme director, said: “2011 is shaping up to be a more fruitful year for UK tourism to Greece. Hoteliers have frozen room rates, and cafés and tavernas in resorts have realised that they must lower prices to compete with rival destinations. There is an overall feeling of increased optimism throughout the Greek tourism industry." www.sunvil.co.uk


Ireland now has some of the cheapest hotels in Western Europe and Varadkar said: “We would urge the trade to stress to their clients the fact that despite financial problems, Ireland is very much open for business; tourism is an absolute priority for the new government and the measures now introduced are really bringing costs of travel to Ireland down.” www.discoverireland.com


Club Med sales up


Club Med is celebrating a double- digit increase in sales at many of its European resorts for summer 2011. The results have been attributed in


part to the continued renaissance in all-inclusive holidays as holidaymakers seek to control their holiday budget. UK visitors to the Club Med resorts


of Beldi in Turkey are up 59 per cent, Da Balaia in Portugal up 54 per cent, Napitia in Italy up 49 per cent, whilst Club Med Opio in Provence enjoyed a 26 per cent boost in UK guests. The figures are backed up by independent research commissioned on behalf of Club Med which demonstrate the shift towards all- inclusive premium holidays. Almost 60 per cent of 2000 Brits


surveyed said they were set to spend the same amount or more on holidays in 2011 than in 2010. www.clubmed.co.uk


www.shortbreaksholidays.com • July/August 2011 05


TOURISM IRELAND


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