Bridge adds nine cities in move to boost sales

2001 programme

Bridge adds nine cities in move to boost sales

Report by STEVEJONES

BRIDGE Travel has added nine cities to its 2001 programme in a bid to take passengers numbers to more than 40,000.

Cairo, Moscow, St Petersburg, Tunis, Marrakesh, Sorrento, Madeira, Niagara and Quebec are all new, bringing the total cities featured to 128.

The operator is also offering packages to 11 destinations which previously featured as accommodation-only, including Las Vegas, Montreal, Verona, Valencia, Turin and Pisa.

City-breaks general manager Jackie Osborne said growth of 10% is planned next year after carryings hit 39,000 this year.

“A lot of people don’t realise that cities such as Cairo and Moscow are only four hours flying time away, which is not much different from Spanish or Italian cities,” she said.

Bridge is featuring two hotels in the Egyptian capital. Elsewhere, the operator has doubled its capacity in Barcelona, Rome, Florence and Venice after demand outstripped supply this year.

Barcelona city-breaks start at £269 for two nights in a two-star hotel.

New excursions have been added to the programme including a dinner cruise on the Vlatva River in Prague and a helicopter tour of New York.

Offers include 10% savings on packages booked before the end of next month to Cairo, Moscow, St Petersburg and Verona .

The brochure itself has been redesigned with clearer price panels, more city information, a special events calendar and a guide to the cost of living,.

The changes are also included in Bridge’s new Eurostar brochure which features the main destinations of Paris, Brussels and Lille along with Bruges, Antwerp, Amsterdam and Ghent.

Offers include £89 for one night in Lille. It is looking to increase this year’s 10,000 carryings to 11,000.