NEWS IN BRIEF


JERSEY Visit Jersey says visitor numbers grew for the third year running, by 2.6%, with 356,000 arrivals in 2016. Holidaymakers from the UK increased by 7%. jersey.com


EL SALVADOR The 11th Central America Travel Market will take place in El Salvador in October 2017, with 100 companies promoting the region. elsalvador.travel


TENERIFE A record-breaking two million UK visi- tors were welcomed to the island in 2016, an increase of 16.1% compared to 2015. webtenerife.co.uk


UPDATES


Santorini, Greece. Left: Entrance to St Pancras International


DESTINATION NEWS Demand rises for Greece


Tourism in Greece is witnessing a significant increase in British visitors as the country recovers from an economic downturn. Around 2.6 million British visitors travelled to the country in 2016, its third consecutive rise and a year-on-year increase of 20.8%. Christina Kalogera, outgoing director, GNTO


UK & Ireland Office at the Greek National Tourism Organisation, commented: “This summer will see a number of new routes to Greece, including flights from Aegean Airlines, British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Thomas Cook and Thomson, with new destinations including Skiathos, Mykonos, Chania in Crete and Halkidiki in northern mainland Greece.” Kalogera expects more good news for Greek tourism in the year ahead: “Many of our trade partners are reporting an increase of more than 10% for 2017 bookings.” Thomas Cook is expanding its Greece


portfolio aſter a 40% year-on-year increase across the group. In summer 2018, the operator will launch a new trip to the mainland region of Paralia, known as the ‘Olympic Riviera’,


which will include its new beachfront SENTIDO Mediterranean Village Hotel & Spa, which has views of Mount Olympus. The travel agent will also be launching direct flights from Manchester to Mykonos from May 2017. Chris Motershead, managing director of


Thomas Cook UK & Ireland, said: “Greece is popular with our customers this summer, and we’ve added more flights and holidays to keep up with demand. From authentic Greek island hideaways to sophisticated summer hotspots, Greece is even more in favour this year than in 2016.” Luxury tour operator Kuoni named Greece


as one of its top performers in its Worldwide Trends Report 2017, with sales up 30% year- on-year. The report shows island destinations such as Santorini and Mykonos to be popular with honeymooners and luxury seekers, and also included the hike between Oia and Imerovigli on Santorini among its Top 20 Best-Kept Travel Secrets in the World for 2017. It’s best-selling hotel in Europe for families was IKOS Oceania in Halkidiki. visitgreece.gr thomascook.com


INDIA Visitors to India with an e-Tourist visa can now stay in the country for up to 60 days, thanks to visa guidelines introduced in April. This will include double entry for those on a business and tourist e-Visa, and triple entry for those on a medical e-Visa. This entitles visitors to explore neighbouring countries before returning to India within a specified time. The window to apply for the visa scheme has also increased from 30 days to 120 days. incredibleindia.org


LITHUANIA Lithuania saw a 7.6% increase in British visitors in 2016, with more than 58,000 visiting the Baltic country. Lithuania Tourism also reports a record- breaking 1.49 million foreign visitors during the past year. lithuania.travel


SWITZERLAND The Swiss National Tourist Office is to introduce an E-Grand Tour, the world’s first official holiday route that can be completed entirely in an electric car, this summer. The 100-mile route includes 200 charging stations for the cars. It will feature over 44 points of interest for visitors,


including 12


UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 22 lakes and five Alpine passes. myswitzerland.com


countrybycountry.com | ABTA Magazine 15


IMAGES: ALAMY; REGION OF SOUTH AEGEAN WWW.AEGEANISLANDS.GR; GETTY


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