Although it’s becoming easier and cheaper to get to Poland by air, it’s not the only way to visit one of central Europe’s most popular countries.

To really see the country up close and personal, coach holidays are proving to be one of the best ways to get to know Poland, its cities and wonderful countryside.

Escorted trips that take in Krakow, Warsaw and many stops along the way are on offer from a number of tour operators based in the UK including Insight Vacations and Trafalgar Tours.

Giving holidaymakers the chance to see much more of the country than on offer with a flight to a major city, the operators offer a range of tours that combine Poland with trips to the Baltic states as well as eastern, bohemian and ‘new’ Europe.

Acting Director of the Polish National Tourist Office Bogdan Becla said: “Escorted coach tours are an ever-popular way to see Poland and some of our neighbouring countries. They’re a great way to see out-of-the-way places you probably wouldn’t visit if you just flew in to Krakow or Warsaw for a short break.

“Poland is a wonderfully diverse country with some beautiful countryside and impressive landscapes, as well as exciting cities. I’d encourage people who are thinking of visiting us to consider a coach trip before they start looking for flights.”

• For further information contact Ewa Binkin on 020 8991 7074 or ewa.binkin@poland.travel

Specialist tour operator, Just Slovenia, has teamed up with a company of award-winning professional photographers to offer short breaks including two-day photographic workshops and excursions.

Based in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s fascinating and highly photogenic capital, participants benefit from expert photographer guides and small groups, which allow flexibility to adjust itineraries according to weather and lighting conditions.

A guided tour of the capital with plenty of opportunity to take photographs, dinner with the photographer and time to discuss and view images, plus a half-day excursion are all part of the itinerary.

Prices start from £549 per person based on two people sharing and include flights from Stansted, three nights’ bed and breakfast at the Central Hotel in Ljubljana, one evening meal, plus airport transfers.

For further information, telephone 01373 814230 or visit www.justslovenia.co.uk.

The campaign has been organised by three european aquariums: the Genoa Aquarium, the Aquarium Finisterrae from A Coruña, Spain, and NAUSICAA and is backed by the European Commission.

The aim of the Mr Goodfsih campaign is to encourage good practice along the entire supply chain, from fishermen to consumers. It will also promote sustainable marine resources and the world’s fishing industry.

The Mr Goodfish campaign is based on the pooling of industry and consumer knowledge and experience with a shared objective of spreading good practice as widely as possible including seasonal fishing. The campaign will generate new activities and tools for the promotion of sustainable, seasonal seafood consumption.

At present the fishing industry and private sector such as restaurants are showing more interest in this subject than the public authorities.

Please RSVP to Greg Dawson if you and/or your colleagues would like to attend the Mr Goodfish launch and use the opportunity to visit Nausicaa. You will be hosted to lunch at Nausicaa, see www.nausicaa.fr

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• Brussels to mull ‘European IMF’ (news.bbc.co.uk)

Travel the Unknown (tel: 0845 053 0352) has launched tours to Serbia, one of Europe’s truly undiscovered destinations.

Once in the news for the wrong reasons, Serbia is looking forward to a new era, but the country still sees little in the way of tourists. Situated in the heart of the Balkans, Serbia stretches across two geographic and cultural regions of Europe. As a result the Serbian lands formed the crossroads for various past civilizations – Roman, Medieval, Hungarian, Austrian, Ottoman – meaning the country has a vast architectural, religious and artistic heritage. No less than 26 nationalities are present here, each of them preserving their customs and folklore.

Visitors will discover an unbelievable wealth of historical monuments, churches and Orthodox monasteries. The north of the country is characterized by Central-European lowlands with fields and meadows, while the south and central parts are mostly mountainous. Cutting a swathe through the middle is the mighty Danube River.

Travel the Unknown’s seven-night Devils Town & The Danube tour starts in Belgrade and takes in southern Serbia. Explore the bizarre landscape of red steep peaks in Devil’s Town, drink with locals in the rustic wine cellars of Rajac, discover the café culture of Belgrade, take a dip in the Danube, stay overnight in a Studenica monastery and experience a homestay in Tekija. The tour costs £1,400 including return flights to Belgrade, accommodation, ground transport, some meals, entrance fees to sites and a contribution to Climate Care to offset emissions.

Alternatively the operator’s four-day Serbia’s Secret North tour journeys through Serbia’s semi-autonomous northern province of Vojvodina which is vastly different from the south. Explore wide flatlands and plains, visit picturesque villages, discover the fairytale city Novi Stad and admire the architectural and cultural influences of the Austro-Hungarian Empire throughout this region. Price is £900 including return flights to Belgrade, accommodation, ground transport, some meals, entrance fees to sites and a contribution to Climate Care to offset emissions

For further information visit www.traveltheunknown.com, tel: 0845 053 0352

As the World Health Organisation declares today the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ABTA is calling on customers with disabilities to let their travel agent, tour operator or airline know at least 48 hours before travel if they need assistance at the airport. Travel companies are happy to provide assistance and also have an obligation under the Persons with Reduced Mobility Regulations, but they have found that customers can be reticent in expressing their need for help.

The PRM regulations were introduced on 26 July 2008 and placed an obligation on travel, agents, tour operators and airlines within the European Union not to refuse a booking to anyone with restricted mobility and to ensure that air travel is fully accessible. However if advance notice is not provided, resources such as wheelchairs and airport staff may not be readily available often causing delay and inconvenience to customers.

Casia Zajac ABTA Head of Communications said “Persons with Disabilities are incredibly important to our industry and we are more than happy to remove any barriers to their ability to travel. Letting transport providers at the airport know of any requirements in advance is an easy and sensible way to help us to do that”

3 December 2009

For further information contact:

Sean Tipton, Senior Press Officer, tel: 020 3117 0513, Frances Tuke, Public Relations Manager, tel: 020 3117 0514, Mobile 07850 712325, Casia Zajac, Head of Communications, tel: 020 3117 0515, Mobile: 0754 592 7411

Out of Hours: Contact the Duty Press Officer via pager: 07659 190987

E-mail: press@abta.co.uk

Web: www.abta.com

1MILLION €15 SEATS FOR TRAVEL IN NOV & DEC

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, announced today (29th Oct 09) that it will open four new routes to/from Bordeaux starting 17th December 2009 which will at last offer consumers and visitors to the Bordeaux region competition, choice and very low airfares compared to the high fares and unfair fuel surcharges of Air France.

The four new routes from Bologna, Brussels (Charleroi), Edinburgh and Porto to Bordeaux will deliver over 200,000 passengers p.a. at Bordeaux and will sustain 200 new jobs in the area.

Ryanair celebrated their four new Bordeaux routes and 200,000 pax p.a. passengers by releasing 1 million €15 fares for travel across its European network in November and December which are available for booking on www.ryanair.com <http://www.ryanair.com/> .

Ryanair’s Ken O’Toole said:

“Ryanair is delighted to join up with Bordeaux Airport to finally bring really low fares, competition and choice to consumers.

These four new routes from Bologna, Brussels (Charleroi), Edinburgh and Porto will mean for the first time that the people of Bordeaux can now avail of Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares, with no fuel surcharges guaranteed, to travel all over Europe from December next.

“Ryanair’s partnership with Bordeaux will create a flood of new tourists and visitors to the region and we expect to carry 200,000 passengers in the first year which should sustain 200 new jobs in the local economy around Bordeaux.

“To celebrate these new routes and Bordeaux Airport, Ryanair is releasing 1million €15 fares which are now available for travel across Europe in November and December.

Since seats at these crazy low prices will be snapped up quickly, we urge passengers to book them immediately on www.ryanair.com”.

Route

Begin

Frequency

Bologna

4

Brussels (Char)

Dec 09

3

Edinburgh

4

Porto

3

A second phase will see the expansion of this partnership to include domestic flights operated by TAP in Portugal, as well as international Brussels Airlines flights to European destinations in Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, France and the United Kingdom.

“This new level of cooperation with Brussels Airlines, one of our long-standing partners, is very important for TAP, as it allows us to expand the services we offer our customers. It brings more flights and diversity to the wide-ranging Star Alliance network and significantly improves links to Brussels – the ‘capital of Europe’ – which we feel adds value for all our customers, in particular European government-linked institutions and companies. The future entry of Brussels Airlines into the Star Alliance in December will also result in many benefits for customers in terms of service provision at airports and loyalty programmes, among other things. In all, this partnership is good news for our regular passengers in particular and for all our customers in general. We have great expectations of developing our cooperation with SN even further, both as part of the alliance and in a wider context,” stated José Guedes Dias, Director of Alliances and External Relations at TAP.

“Lisbon, Oporto and Faro are important business and holiday destinations on the expanding Brussels Airlines network,” said Erik Follet, EVP of Alliances & Strategy at Brussels Airlines. “Thanks to this partnership with TAP, we are happy to be able to offer our customers more options and flexibility on their journeys. Our cooperation is not only restricted to direct flights between Belgium and Portugal. With this agreement, we are also linking our hubs at Lisbon and Brussels airports, offering our customers the chance to take advantage of the full range connecting flights operated by these two companies. Both TAP and Brussels Airlines share common values, such as service, innovation, comfort and reliability, and I am convinced that this code-share agreement will result in mutual gains for both parties. This partnership also represents an important step in our preparations to join the global Star Alliance network on 9 December this year.”

Cost-recovery pricing unacceptable in today’s crisis conditions, says AEA

The Association of European Airlines, representing Europe’s most important network carriers, has reacted strongly to the decision of PANSA, the Polish air navigation service provider, to raise its fees next year by 32% for flights across Polish airspace and by 62% for operations into and out of Polish airports, to compensate for the loss in traffic due to the economic crisis.

“If ever an illustration of monopoly at work were needed, this is it”, said AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus.

“While the airlines suffer the most extreme business conditions they have ever known, some sectors of the industry consider themselves immune to the realities of the crisis.

While we struggle to keep our costs down in the face of vastly reduced revenues, our suppliers make our situation worse by putting their prices up.

We can’t turn to anyone else to guide us through Polish airspace; we either pay what they demand, or don’t fly”.

PANSA were not alone in adopting such pricing policies, admitted Mr Schulte-Strathaus.

Other navigation service providers, and some major airports, had equally sought to squeeze more revenues out of their airline customers to compensate for weaker business volumes.

“Cost-recovery pricing has no place in today’s business world”, he said.

“In good times it invites extravagance and inefficiency, in bad times it is a punishing burden on the end-users”.

Polish airspace covers an area of more than 300 km2, and occupies a key position, straddling both North-South and East-West traffic flows.

“Will airlines fly longer routes to avoid these charges?” asked Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus; “for some, it will make economic sense to do so, but at what cost to the environment?

This behaviour shows how badly we need a Single European Sky”.

From 2012, he said, the Single Sky project would replace monopoly pricing with a system based on cost-efficiency and performance targets, and he noted that the PANSA cost rise ignored a letter sent by European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani to ATM service providers, urging them not to raise charges.

“The navigation service providers know that change is coming and the more enlightened ones are already starting to thing along commercial and customer-oriented lines.

It is unfortunate that others, such as PANSA, cling to outmoded and discredited practices”.