JAXFAX Editorial Archives - JAXFAX Travel Marketing Magazine

CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE
Poland
Warsaw, the land of Chopin, will
focus on Ludwig von Beethoven as
the city hosts the 13th edition of an
international Beethoven Festival
this year. Tour operators such as
American Travel Abroad and Orbis
are expected to organize packages to the event but in the meantime,
queries can be directed to an alliance of hotels in Warsaw –
the Warsaw Destination Alliance – a consortium of eight four to
five-star properties. Among the participating properties are the
Hilton Warsaw Hotel, the InterContinental Warsaw, La Regina
Hotel, the Sofitel Victoria Warsaw, Holiday Inn Warsaw, the
Novotel Warsaw Centrum, the Polonia Palace Hotel and Le Royal
Meridien Bristol.
Contact the Polish National Tourist Office, 201-420-9910; Email
pntonyc@polandtour.org; www. polandtour.org
Romania
Bucharest, Romania’s capital city is about to welcome the
country’s largest luxury hotel when the 424-room new Radisson
opens its doors this month on March 31, 2008. It is located in the
heart of the city, steps from the Romanian Athenaeum, home to
the Romania Philharmonic and steps from Romania’s National
Museum of Art. Visit www.radissonsas.com
Some fascinating inclusive tours
have been developed for 2008,
showcasing the heritage of Romania,
a land where rural farmers
invite travelers into their homes to
share a sip of tuica (a potent plum
liquor) and bit of homemade bread and cheese. Simion Alb,
Director of the Romanian Tourist Board in New York says, “This
year, it will be possible to combine tours of Romania with such
nearby countries as Croatia or Hungary – all within a two-hour
flight or a day’s drive.” Included in most tours are treasured
world-heritage sites as Sighisoara or southern Bucovina’s ancient
painted monasteries. Additionally, Open Skies agreements coming
into effect this month make it equally possible for travelers to
skip endless layovers to reach some of Romania’s most interesting
places. Getting there is also becoming easier: Delta flies nonstop
flights between New York-JFK and Bucharest while Austrian
Airlines, named the preferred airline to Romania since 2002, has
again been named “the designated, preferred air carrier for travel
from America to Romania in 2008,” said Alb.
Austrian Airlines provides trans-Atlantic service with connections
from many US cities, via Vienna, to Romania from NY/JFK,
DC/Dulles and Chicago/O’Hare as well as from Toronto/Pearson
airports. Austria links its North American gateways with five cities
in Romania: Bucharest, Cluj, Sibiu, Lasi and Timisoara.
Contact the Romanian National Tourist Office, 212-545-8484; Email
info@romaniatourism.com; www.RomaniaTourism.com
RUSSIAN NATIONAL GROUP
224 West 30th Street, Suite 701, New York, NY, 10001
646-473-2233 • Fax: 646-473-2205 • E-mail: info@rnto.org
Download our brochure at: www.russia-travel.com
28 MARCH 2008 WWW.JAXFAX.COM
Russia
International air service to
Moscow is quickly moving from
Sheremetyevo Airport to the
modern Domodedovo International
Airport (DME), the new air hub and terminal, which
now ranks as the leading airport in Moscow. Domodedovo
operates a passenger terminal at the Paveletsky railway and
metro station in the center of Moscow. Trains (Aeroexpress)
leave on the hour (every 30 minutes at peak times of the
day) for the 40-minute transfer to the airport, and with the
help of Domodedovo Air Rail Service (DARS) passengers
can also travel by express from the centre of Moscow to
other Russian cities. Visit www.domodedovo.ru
Slovakia
The city of Bratislava, the capital
of Slovakia is experiencing a
bit of a travel boom, according to
Simona Kovacova, Sales & Marketing
Manager for New Yorkbased
Tatra Travel/Czech
Vacations (see Best Buys for
some of Tatra’s latest city-stays). Americans traveling on
river cruises often become acquainted with Bratislava as it is
set on the Danube and is less than an hour drive from Vienna
and two hours from Budapest making it also accessible
by train or boat hydrofoil as well as by bus or car using
newly built highways. Its charm is getting noticed by the
increasing number of visitors attracted by the coziness of
this smallish city with historic charm found in its castles,
palaces, and historical monuments, as well as in its cuisine
breweries, art museums and music concerts and festivals.
Contact the Slovak Tourist Board, E-mail: slovakoffice@nyc.rr.com;
www.cometoslovakia.com
Air Service
bmi Adds London-Moscow Service
This month, bmi will introduce an additional service between
London Heathrow and Moscow Domodedovo March 30, 2008
bringing daily service up to three flights with two services being
operated by bmi and one by its partner Transaero. The additional
daily service, which launches at the start of the summer 2008
timetable, builds on the success of the current daily Moscow
flight which launched in October 2006 and marked bmi’s first
venture into the mid haul market.
The new timetable will also see the introduction of an additional
late evening service between Heathrow and Manchester taking
the total to eight flights a day, as well as an improved
schedule for the three times daily service between Heathrow
and Durham Tees Valley.
Visit www.flybmi.com
Astana Links Nomad Club with Lufthansa
Travelers can earn points on Lufthansa’s Miles and More
frequent flyer program when they travel on Air Astana's
flights to and from Frankfurt, Hannover and London.
Remember to quote your clients’ Miles and More Frequent
Flyer membership number at time of reservation or during
Check-in. Visit nomadclub@airastana.com
Air Astana, which is the flag carrier forthe Republic of
Kazakhstan, operates a network serving 25 domestic and 21
international destinations from its hubs in Almaty, Astana
and Atyrau. Frequency to Moscow was increased to 21
flights weekly from Almaty, Astana and Aktau; flights from
Germany increased to six per week from Almaty and Astana
and increased to four per week to Amsterdamfrom Atyrau.
For Asia, Beijing frequencies increased to six per week, to
thrice weekly and Seoul twice a week from Almaty.
Call 888-855-1557; E-mail Usa.sales@airastana.com;
www.airastana.com
WWW.JAXFAX.COM MARCH 2008 29