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Options and Attractions ...continued Napoleon Napoleon Exhibition A collection of Napoleon’s personal belongings and his carriage, captured by Prussian troops on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, has gone on show as an ensemble for the first time. The star of the exhibition, at the Musee de la Legion d’Honneur in Paris, is the carriage said to have been used by Napoleon to sleep and refresh between battles. Also on display are his hat and long grey coat, a sword, coins, jewels and an array of imperial medals and military decorations never before shown in France. The exhibition is open until July 8. For rent - the Wolf’s Lair The massive 32-acre fortified site is situated in a secluded forest in eastern Poland. During WWII it was part of Germany’s East Prussia. From 1941 to the end of 1944, because of its proximity to the Eastern Front, the Wolf’s Lair was the nerve centre of the Nazi war machine. The Nazis built huge bomb-proof bunkers at the base, which also housed 2,000 staff and security personnel. The base was the scene of the July 1944 assassination attempt when a bomb concealed in a briefcase by Count Claus von Stauffenberg, just failed to kill Hitler during a staff meeting. Hitler’s life was saved by a chance decision to hold the meeting in an outbuilding rather than the usual confines of a bunker, and by the fact that the briefcase was moved away from the Nazi leader seconds before it exploded. The Polish Forestry service started looking for a tenant after the old 20-year lease expired. “There is no way you can rebuild the bunkers,” said Zenon Piotrowicz, of the forestry service. “But we are concerned about having the place made more attractive to visitors, including the renovation of the hotel and restaurant.” Although retreating German forces dynamited most of the bunkers in November 1944, their shattered shells remain a prime attraction with 180,000 visitors a year. And it can be yours for £90,000 a year. Vatican & Rome A new card - The OMNIA Vatican & Rome allows visitors in three days to discover the religious and cultural heritage of the Eternal City. Includes visits to historically and spiritually significant basilicas and monuments, and the use of the Roma Cristiana Open Buses, as well as the city’s public transportation system. www.omniavaticanrome.org Milan of Leanardo It is now possible to purchase just one ticket to cover entry to “Leonardo’s Last Supper” in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church, the Bramante’s vestry (a splendid example of Renaissance art hosting paintings by Leonardo, Botticelli, Caravaggio among others) and the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, a collection of original Leonardo’s Atlantic Code sketches. Price for all three venues is €26 www.ambrosiana.it Failed Hitler Assassination Attempt ~ July 20, 1944 Faith Tourism news Avenue of Sphinxes The ancient Avenue of Sphinxes connecting Luxor and Karnak is to become open to the public this month.For thousands of years, the area has been linked to many powerful dynasties as well as to Egyptian gods. It once possessed a very deep spiritual and religious importance. For five years, a project has been under way to restore the once grand Avenue of Sphinxes. Luxor was once the city of Thebes and the city of the god Amon-Ra. In the 15th century B.C. Queen Hatshepsut built six chapels there, dedicated to the god, that became part of the avenue, which was 2.7 km long and featured hundreds of sphinxes. Her aim was to stress the religious status of the city. In the 4th century B.C.Pharaoh Nectanebo I had the avenue reconstructed and rebuilt. For centuries, parts of the avenue have been visible, but the majority of the Avenue had been destroyed or covered in sand. A lifelong atheist himself, he suggests that one can enjoy the attributes of religion without subscribing to their doctrines, and thereby enjoy their “music, buildings, prayers, rituals, feasts, shrines” etc. Craig Brown wrote in The Mail on Sunday: “In his 20’s, de Botton suffered a ‘crisis of faithlessness’, brought on by exposure to the sublime art of Bach’s cantatas, Bellini’s Madonnas and Zen architecture. He felt that atheists, in their eagerness to get away from God had, ‘thrown the bathwater out with the baby’. This book is an attempt to scoop the bathwater back, “without as much as a backward glance at the baby. Personally I view de Botton in much the way he views religion – keep all the good bits, discard all the nonsense.” Stephen Cave of The Financial Times felt that: “This is a timely and perceptive appreciation of how much wisdom is embedded in religious traditions. De Botton admires communal prayer, ritual and religious art, along with the sense embodied in so many religions that man is a vulnerable, conflicted creature – not the rational, self-sufficient figure of our modern scientific view.” Chris Ramaswamy of the Scotland in Sunday said: “He thinks we should have ‘temples to perspective’, (very tall to make us feel small); Old synagogue wins award The Old Synagogue in Erfurt, Germany has been named as the best new European tourist project for 2011 by the British Guild of Travel Writers. ‘Lost’ for centuries, the ‘Alte Synagoge’ was rediscovered a decade or so ago in the capital of the German province of Thuringia. Now recognised as Central Europe’s oldest synagogue, this fine old building and its museum open a window into daily life 650 years ago. Much of the structure survives, from the outer walls to the 13th century Gothic rose window. Inside, the museum (opened in October 2009) displays an extraordinary medieval treasure: 3,140 silver coins, 14 silver ingots, 6,000 pieces of 13th and 14th century jewellery and an intricately worked wedding ring - one of only three known to survive in the world. New discoveries continue to be made. Last September the 13th century Mikveh (Jewish ritual bath) opened.http://alte-synagoge. erfurt.de The Wedding Ring, one of the many treasures of Erfurt. Photographer: Andreas Weise. Religion without God - de Botton museums with galleries devoted to love and suffering; and universities with departments for relationships. Inspired by the Eucharist, he has come up with the idea of ‘agape’ (divine love) restaurants, where strangers dine together and guidebooks coax them towards sincerity and tolerance. Quite bluntly John Carey in The Sunday Times asks, “Can de Botton be serious? Apparently he is! De Botton badly underestimates the strength and comfort that religions bring.” In The Guardian Terry Eagleton wrote, “The work is impudent and unoriginal – people have been saying this for centuries. As a Christian I would rather read Dawkins or Hitchens.” But perhaps Dr. Diane Carpenter best summed up de Botton’s book when she wrote to The Times, “This reminds me of my then 8-year-old daughter declaring one Christmas that she no longer believed in Santa Claus. When confronted with the possibility of not receiving gifts she declared: ‘But I do believe in presents.’ She later studied philosophy of religion and ethics at university.” By Mary Holland On the Road issue 201 Page 14
Travel Industry news ECM 2nd edition launch Targeting travel operators and intermediaries, this digital brochure presents you with what you need to know about 36 city cards from 22 countries. The guide has been assembled by a collaboration of 36 city tourism organisations working under the auspices of the European City Cards Knowledge Group. As well as offering a succinct overview of how the cards can work for operators and intermediaries, the e-brochure provides practical information, including details of commissions and contact details for each and every city. The travel trade will be able to make optimum use of city cards so as to create new business and at the same time enhance the customer experience. The cards offer free and/or discounted admission to leading visitor attractions, combined in many cases with public transport options, as well as discounts at shops, bars and restaurants. The cities and City Cards you can find out in the e-brochure are: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Bruges, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dijon, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Gijon, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Innsbruck, Krakow, Lisbon, Ljubljana, London, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Nuremberg, Oslo, Prague, Reykjavik, Split, Stockholm, Tallinn, Turku, Valencia, Vienna, Vilnius, Zagreb, Zaragoza. The e-brochure is available for free here, on www.europeancitiesmarketing.com or by directly contacting individual cities. City Cards are also available on www.europeancitycards.com, and their mobile phone applications are downloadable for free at the Appstore and at the Android Market. ECM digital brochure Groupon hits back The head of Groupon in the UK has rejected claims that major companies risk “trashing their brands” by working with the discount-deals site. MD Roy Blanga said: “Our model offers incremental sales to existing business - 50% of offers come from existing partners, so it is working for them.” Blanga’s retaliation came following comments from BA UK Head of Sales Richard Tams said: “Evidence of repeat purchases through Groupon is appalling.” Tui Travel specialist and activity sector Managing Director John Wimbleton said: “The danger with Groupon is you allow someone to trash your brand.” Blanga said: “Our offers are limited and unannounced. We target people who are not necessarily thinking of going, say, to Barcelona - so they think ‘if the price is right, why not? Companies are not cannibalising their own sales. It is incremental to existing business.” Blanga conceded: “The model could be brand damaging. You need to structure the offer right to make it work.” Groupon users sign up for daily offers according to where they live or work and subject areas such as food, beauty, travel and leisure. Offers consist of discount vouchers on the price of a product or service. These may be for purchase on a set date or over a period, but the offers are available for just 24 hours.The deals site developed in the US and launched in the UK in 2010. It set up Groupon Travel and launched Groupon Getaways last year. Welcome Days for Greatdays UNWTO results 2011 Greatdays Travel Group, the Cheshire based travel wholesaler and tour operator, in late 2011 acquired the day trips business “Welcome Days Out” from Bob and Anne Sanderson. Welcome Days Out was established in 1995 and operates a large programme of day trips around the North West of England and a Christmas event programme for groups offering clients a festive lunch with live entertainment. The Sandersons are continuing with Greatdays acting as consultants in the development of Greatdays UK day trip market. In addition Greatdays are currently strengthening their Day Trips team by recruiting a dedicated Day Trips Manager to be based at their Altrincham Head Office. Paul Beaumont Executive Director said “there are a couple of other interesting acquisition opportunities on the horizon for the future and hopefully these will bring International tourist arrivals grew by over 4% in 2011 to 980 million, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. With growth expected to continue in 2012, at a somewhat slower rate, international tourist arrivals are on track to reach the milestone one billion mark later this year. International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2011 to a total 980 million, up from 939 million in 2010, in a year characterised by a stalled global economic recovery, major political changes in the Middle East and North Africa and natural disasters in Japan. By region, Europe (+6%) was the best performer, while by subregion South-America (+10%) topped the ranking. Contrary to previous years, growth was higher in advanced economies (+5.0%) than in emerging ones (+3.8%), due largely to the strong results in Europe, and the setbacks in the Middle East and North Africa. http://mkt.unwto.org/en/barometer John Beaumont, Bob Sanderson, Paul Beaumont, Anne Sanderson, Andy Beard further diversity and strength to our product range for the benefit of our clients”. Tour Providers has moved Coach tour wholesaler Tour Providers have moved to larger premises in Worcester. Tour Providers have now set up tours for over 120 coach operators to 13 countries. Additional help has been given with copywriting, itinerary planning, market research and brochure printing. Tel: 01905 312385 Fax: 01905 501177 E-mail: tourproviders@tiscali.co.uk National Trust of Scotland NTS are holding their 2011 group rates at 85% of their historic visitor attractions until 31 December 2013. Group rates can save you up to 40% on standard admission prices. For more information email traveltrade@nts.org.uk Windsor Castle by Bike Mind The Gap Tours are offering a new Windsor Castle by Bike day tour. The ride is suitable for all ages and ability, offering guaranteed departures and small groups. Groups will meet in central London before taking a short train ride to the heart of the English countryside. Using easy-to-ride vintage-style bikes with bells and optional baskets, the morning ride is traffic-free and gentle (under 12km), allowing visitors to enjoy the gourmet & historic sites en-route. After a traditional English pub lunch, the afternoon is spent inside the amazing Windsor Castle. The £69 ticket includes return train transport from central London, an English speaking guide, bike hire, entrance to Windsor Castle and a complimentary audio guide. For more information email info@mindthegaptours.com On the Road issue 201 Page 15
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