The Telegraph, UK
April 3 2005

Britons flock to eastern Europe
(Filed: 03/05/2005)

A growing number of British travellers are taking holidays in eastern
Europe, with the former Communist bloc countries that joined the
European Union a year ago proving particularly popular.

According to statistics released this week by the Civil Aviation
Authority, the number of Britons visiting the Czech Republic alone
rose by 59 per cent (an additional 770,000) last year. The increase
in visits to other newcomers to the EU – including Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia and the Baltic States – almost doubled.

Tour operators to the region have also recorded significant rises,
with bookings to Hungary this year soaring by 150 per cent, and those
to Poland rising by 96 per cent. Although actual traveller numbers
remain modest compared with those to countries such as France and
Italy, the trend has been more pronounced than many predicted.

“Until last year, much of eastern Europe was still uncharted territory
for most British travellers and people wanted to go and have a look
at it,” said Frances Tuke, spokeswoman for the Association of British
Travel Agents (Abta).

“I think people had the idea that it was grey and miserable behind
the Iron Curtain and they have been really surprised to discover
beautiful cities and landscapes, and a thriving cultural scene.”

Historic cities such as Prague and Budapest have long been on
the tourist map, but the accession to the EU on May 1 last year of
Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech and Slovak Republics and Estonia,
Lithuania and Latvia has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number
of air links to the region, bringing many previously unexplored spots
within reach.

As our map shows (above right), in addition to rapidly emerging
favourites such as Krakow and Ljubljana, adventurous travellers can now
take weekend breaks in destinations as far flung as Wroclaw, Rzeszow
and Gdansk. No-frills airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair, SkyEurope and
Wizz have led the expansion, but they have been joined by traditional
carriers such as British Airways, which now offers services to a host
of eastern destinations including Vilnius and Riga. BA is also looking
beyond the EU, with competitively priced services to Dubrovnik already
under way, a new route to Bucharest starting tomorrow and, from June,
regular flights to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

The German national carrier, Lufthansa, is looking even farther
afield. This week it announced an extension of its eastern network
to include Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Yerevan, the capital of
Armenia, and Timisoara in Romanian Transylvania – all reachable from
the UK via Munich.

In addition to cheap flights, British visitors are attracted to the
east partly out of a sense of adventure and partly because hotel
rooms and meals are still very reasonably priced.

Many of the countries – in particular the Czech Republic – are also
famous for the high quality (and low price) of their beers. Prague,
Tallinn and Vilnius are already well established on the stag-party
network.

According to Neil Taylor, director of Regent Holidays, a specialist
in trips to eastern Europe, many travellers are also beginning to
venture beyond the capitals to discover relatively unspoilt areas
of countryside.

“Undoubtedly the fact that these countries are now part of the EU has
given people confidence to explore, and when they do, they find that
standards have really risen in the region,” he said.

“In the old days, when you travelled behind the Iron Curtain you took
everything you might need with you; now if you run out of toothpaste
you can buy more, as you would in France or Germany. For those that
want it, you could say that you’re never more than 50 miles away from
a four-star hotel.”