CHRISTMAS MARKETS


year. Tallinn will also host a Christmas Bazaar, a gourmet food market and the nearby open-air museum is being turned into a Christmas village. The Poland National Tourist Office


will be promoting Christmas markets via their website and newsletter this year. Popular markets include those in Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan and Warsaw. Slovenia holds lovely markets in Ljubljana and at Lake Bled.


Xmas Markets What’s New? The Vienna Tourist Board is planning a


trees. Swedish capital, Stockholm,


will be extra-decked out this year with a series of spectacular light decorations, including seven-metre-high reindeer. In Denmark, Copenhagen, Aalborg,


Go Local, Go Rural: Many smaller towns and villages across Europe


have their own cosy markets and local or regional tourist boards can point you in the right direction


Think small: Don’t forget smaller, regional German markets like Freiburg or


Erfurt as an option to offer your clients something ‘off-the-beaten-track'


Shopping before the


holidays: Agents should target over-55s groups for Christmas market holidays: they are not tied to school term times, so can travel in November or mid-December


Aarhus and Odense will all have Xmas markets, while Oslo, Norway, will stage a 'designer Christmas market' on the fi rst weekend of December. Trondheim and Røros both have city markets, while in Bergen Torgallmenningen Square will be become ‘Gingerbread Town’. From November, Switzerland's Basel


goes festive, with 100 pine trees lining the streets. Shopping is a mixture of craft markets and specialist shops stores like the Johann Wanner Christmas House. Other markets at Strasbourg, Colmar and Freiburg are close too, making it a good start point for a tour. Estonian capital, Tallinn, will again stage its magical old town market this


sales promotion together with Thomas Cook/Cresta Holidays. Cresta Holidays is now featuring Helsinki in its Christmas market programme. Grand UK Holidays' biggest-ever range of festive tours includes the Dutch town of Valkenburg and a UK-based Dickensian Christmas. Norwegian.no now fl ies direct to


Rygge in Norway from London-Gatwick. Ffestiniog Travel has launched new rail-themed Christmas market tours to Europe. Sunvil Discovery is running a three-day trip to Gothenburg’s Christmas markets during December. Dertour has a new Winter in the City brochure. Treyn has added a Yorkshire Christmas market tour. Superbreak has a Christmas and New Year breaks brochure, with UK and European breaks.


tourismtalk


Klaus Lohmann director, German Tourist Board. “Christmas markets feature


prominently on our new website, www.


Left: Pretty lights and festive colours in Ljubljana, Slovenia Bottom: Luxembourg


germany.travel/en. “Germany’s most popular markets are


those in Nuremberg and Cologne. The latter has no less than eight different Christmas markets, the biggest right next to Cologne Cathedral. My own personal favourite is in Goslar, where 40 trees from the surrounding woods are relocated to the town centre and set up as an artifi cial forest.”


asktheoperators


Gemma Smith product manager, Ramblers Worldwide Holidays “We have two Christmas


markets for 2011, Berlin and Innsbruck, but hope to extend our range for 2012. “Christmas markets can be combined with all sorts of other interests. Berlin is a great city for seeing the sights, and on Innsbruck’s doorstep is super walking among beautiful winter scenery.”


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