| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 01/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 35 |
| Copyright: Other |
Coach trippers travel further
Russia and Poland experience a surge in popularity
Capacity boost by brian richards
Sales of Central and Eastern European coach holidays are booming this year as more adventurous clients seek out new destinations to explore.Leger Holidays reports strong early sales and has added capacity across its European programme from capital city itineraries to the 16-day Great Russian Spectacular.
Managing director Ian Henry said: “We tested the Russian market for the first time this year in partnership with tour operator Skills of Nottingham but have filled most dates on our own.
“We added two departure dates to the five in the brochure and they’ve sold out already.” The tour, priced from £899, overnights in Warsaw, Minsk, Moscow, Novgorod, St Petersburg and Copenhagen.
Leger has also added departures to its nine-day Imperial Highlights tour to Prague, Vienna and Budapest, making it a weekly operation from Easter to late October. The tour leads in at £299.
Shearings’ 14-day Polish Highlander is out-selling the operator’s nine-day tours to eastern Europe, according to commercial director Brian Hawe.
“It’s a well paced tour that’s done far better than expected,” said Hawe. The tour, which includes seven nights in the mountain resort of Zakopane, costs from £532.
Hawe confirmed that Shearings is considering eastern European expansion next year, adding tours of nine to 14 days. “Air coach is now far more popular for tours of this distance,” he said. Trafalgar may introduce its international brochure, at 190 pages twice the size of its current volume, to the UK market for next year, said director of sales Matthew Lepisto.
“That would provide new itineraries and combinations for eastern Europe, including Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia,” he said. The current best seller is the nine-day fly/coach tour to Vienna, Prague and Budapest, priced from £750.
“This is one of our new Europe at Leisure itineraries, which particularly suits the UK market,” said Lepisto. “Clients have all the benefits of group travel but with time to explore on their own.”
Wallace Arnold’s biggest Eastern Europe sales increase – by 35% – reflects the popularity of the 10-day Baltic Capitals fly/coach tour of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. It was added last year and costs £829.
Meanwhile, the 12-day Imperial Cities tour to Budapest, Prague and Vienna has retained its place in Wallace Arnold’s top five. Also solidly booked, according to Wallace Arnold, is the 16-day Magnificent Russian Experience retailing at £999.
Cosmos reports that sales of its Jewels of Poland tour, added last year, have doubled for 2000. The 10-day fly/coach tour, which overnights in Cracow, Warsaw and Poznan, leads in at £498. Cosmos Coach Tours managing director Paul Jolliffe said: “We feel Poland has benefited from the decrease in popularity of the Russian tours, which may be the result of recent leadership instability.”
On the tourist map: Lithuania is one of the Eastern European countries enjoying the limelight