New ports of call in Europe for Viking cruises

VIKING cruises today announced the addition of two new itineraries and a variety of new pre- and post-cruise extensions to its river cruise offerings for 2019. 

Debuting in March 2019, the new 10-day Holland & Belgium itinerary will sail between Amsterdam and Antwerp, allowing guests to explore the inland waterways of the Low Countries and visit new ports of call for Viking: Rotterdam, Maastricht and Nijmegen.

Also, in commemoration of World War II and D-Day, Viking will offer a new 11-day cruisetour, Paris & D-Day 75th Anniversary, with two special departures that coincide with the June 6, 2019 anniversary. On this historic journey, guests will travel from London to the maritime city of Portsmouth before boarding their ship in Paris and sailing through Normandy, where they will visit and honor D-Day landing sites.


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Family fun at Brussels Expo

EXACTLY 60 years ago, some diminutive blue creatures appeared in the magazine “Spirou” drawn by Pierre Culliford known as Peyo. To celebrate this anniversary in fitting style, 2018 will be #Smurfs Year with, as the smurfing on the cake, the Smurf Experience, from 9 June at #Brussels Expo. 

The Smurf Experience is a unique opportunity to explore the magical universe of these little blue folks. Larger-than-life sets, spectacular effects and adventures create a unique experience to share with family and friends. 

An immersive, interactive, fun and educational exhibition where visitors enter through a giant comic strip and find themselves deep in the forest; they become smaller and smaller until they are the same size as a Smurf. Then they arrive in the legendary village where they learn about the life of the Smurfs through holograms and a 360° application. They then get to sip a magic elixir in King Smurf’s house and become “real Smurfs”.

After Brussels, “The Smurf Experience” will depart on a 5-year world tour.

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Smurfed in Belgium

SMURFS in the sky... On 24 March, Brussels Airlines will present its fifth iconic aircraft in the colours of Belgium and the #Smurfs our little blue friends will feature on the fuselage of a Brussels Airlines Airbus A320. 

SMURFS in the city!  . . . On 17 May, a Smurf fresco will be unveiled near the Central Station.

www.smurfexperience.com

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Fun-filled destinations

THE World’s Most Fun-filled #Destinations explored a range of metrics from the number of amusement parks to the number of bars and restaurants, whilst taking into consideration the square km of these destinations. The Top 5 countries that should be on your bucket list include: 

The Netherlands – While also the number one for culture, the Netherlands boasts a huge array of museums and concert halls. 

Cyprus – With 188 national attractions, 31 casinos and 32 museums, Cyprus was not overlooked in terms of its flow of culture and entertainment. 

Belgium – Despite its small size, Belgium ranks third with 295 national attractions, 50 museums and 45 amusement, animal and water parks. 

United Kingdom – From concert halls and art galleries to Michelin Star restaurants and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, there’s a lot of culture to explore across the UK. 

Germany– With the second highest number of Amusement, Animal and Water Parks, Germany has plenty of fun to throw yourself into.

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New airline launches, opening up routes into heart of the Swiss Alps

NEW airline powdair has launched ticket sales through its website powdair.ski with a winter schedule that links Sion Airport with eight destinations in the UK, Germany and Belgium.

The skiers airline, based in Sion – the heart of Switzerland’s #wintersport region, the Valais, will offer skiers and snowboarders across the UK, Northern Germany and the Benelux Countries the chance to reach some of the world’s most famous winter sports resorts quickly and efficiently.

Flights commence from December 14, 2017 and will significantly cut transfer times to some of Switzerland’s most popular #ski resorts for winter sports enthusiasts including Zermatt, Verbier, Saas Fee, Crans Montana and Nendaz.

The eight airports that will be served by powdair are - London Luton, London Southend, Southampton, Bristol, Manchester and Edinburgh as well as Antwerp and Hamburg.

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Go Dutch

THINK bike, think Holland! Now, British travellers can explore the delights of this cycle-friendly (not only due to the flat landscape) country with a new six-day #Amsterdam ‘Loop’ that starts and ends in the capital city and embraces Amsterdam and The Charms of #Holland. Or, explore a leisurely route from Amsterdam to Bruges in Belgium over nine days discovering the very best the Netherlands has to offer.

The Loop tour starts and finishes in Amsterdam to allow time for exploring the famous museums, art galleries and historic architecture and canals. Head out to towns such as Haarlem, through flat and hill-free countryside to see the Dutch masters on show. Indulge in pancakes, Edam cheese and local beers along the way, and remember to seek out some traditional Dutch gifts as souvenirs.

For those keen to #cycle over the border into Belgium, the new nine-day tour takes guests from Amsterdam through the delightful towns of Gouda, Dordrecht, Vlissingen and Damme before reaching Bruges. Along the route are nature reserves and picturesque countryside, ideal for slow exploration and working off the delicious local delicacies, not least the many varieties of locally brewed beer. Guests may choose to cycle from Bruges to Amsterdam and additional overnight stays are available.

www.bspoketours.com

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Brussels tourism sector hardest hit by terror attacks, says Euromonitor

In the wake of the terrorist murders in #Brussels on Tuesday, industry analyst Euromonitor International has predicted a 10-20 percent fall in bookings to the Belgian capital in the short- to medium-term. 

‘The impact of these terrible events on the travel and tourism in the city is likely to have a predominantly short to medium term impact on the development of the industry, even though, that the sector in the country has been showing modest growth in 2015 as travellers remained cautious, cutting back on their travel plans in a bid to save money,’ said Nadejda Popova, travel project manager at Euromonitor International.

Brussels concentrates most of Belgium’s business services or activities with the highest value added, while its main airport handled 22 million passengers in 2014, making it the 23rd busiest in Europe. Ms Popova noted that the city recorded more than three million visitors in 2014 – an increase of almost four percent on the previous year, while air travel continued to be a major driver of growth in transportation in 2015 in Belgium.

‘The #terroristattacks are expected to slow down travel demand and possibly could lead to a 10-20% decline in bookings following heightened fears of further attacks in the city similar to the tourism performance of such cities as Paris, Madrid, and London following the terrorist attacks in these parts of the world,’ she said. ‘However, this is not expected to have a long-term impact as the European travel industry has proven to be very resilient to such external impacts and recover fairly quickly.’

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Picture Credit: BAFOPAZ à la Bourse de Bruxelles (BELGIQUE) V1</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin

Europe’s best …

HOLIDAY PARK SPECIALS has named what its customers think are the best #holidayparks in #Europe.

For the third year in a row, Efteling Village Bosrijk has been named the best holiday park in the Netherlands. With a rating of 8.8, it has also claimed the title of the Most Atmospheric Holiday Park in Europe. 

Another winner to take a prize for the third consecutive year is the Dutch park group Landal GreenParks, part of Wyndham Vacation Rentals. The company has also won awards for two of their German holiday parks.

The best holiday park in Belgium is Domaine Le Boulac in the Ardennes, while the award for top park in Germany went to Lindner Ferienpark Nurburgring.

The award for most child-friendly holiday park went to the Dutch Slagharen theme park and resort.

www.holidayparkspecials.co.uk

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Brussels unveils campaign to win back tourists after terror scares

VISIT BRUSSELS has followed Paris in announcing plans for a campaign to assure tourists following the terror scares at the end of last year.

The city was on virtual lockdown for almost a week in November amid security fears following the November 13 attacks in Paris and the subsequent arrests of terror suspects in raids in Brussels suburbs.

Extra police and military were drafted in to patrol the streets, public transport was suspended and events cancelled. Since the lockdown, and further scares over the New Year, visitor numbers have fallen drastically.

Although it could not provide figures, the city's tourist board admitted a 'noticeable decline' in the number of foreign visitors, and said this 'has serious consequences, particularly for players in the tourist industry'.

It hopes a new campaign, #CallBrussels, will help woo visitors back.

‘Over the past few weeks, the international media has portrayed #Brussels as a war zone that tourists would do well to avoid,’ said a statement from Visit Brussels. ‘This has obviously had dire consequences for the tourist sector, which is currently experiencing a noticeable decline.

‘With the international #CallBrussels campaign, visit.brussels aims to convince tourists intending to visit Brussels that there is no reason to revise their travel plans.’

Aimed at its major markets, including the UK, the campaign will see telephone boxes placed in three landmarks – the Mont des Arts, the Place Flagey, and the Place Communale in Molenbeek. Foreign tourists can call the telephone boxes, via a special website – www.call.brussels – and passers-by will be able to answer their questions.

Webcams will film the surroundings and the interactions will be broadcast live on the website. Video clips shot during the action will be shown via social media and through the purchasing of media space on websites in key markets.

‘The people of Brussels are proud of their region and are no doubt eager to re-establish the truth regarding the situation in Brussels,’ said Visit Brussels.

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Picture Credit: "Brussels floral carpet B" by Wouter Hagens - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Euro strikes hit plane and rail travel

AIR and rail travel in Europe has been disrupted this week by strikes in Italy, France, and Belgium.

Flights to and from Italy were cancelled due to a nation-wide walk-out by airport ground handlers. British Airways and easyJet were among airlines which cancelled flights from the UK.

Flight schedules to and from France faced disruption when air traffic controllers stopped work, causing a high level of delays at Paris Orly and Marseille.

In Belgium, railway workers planned to start 24-hour strike from 10pm on Thursday, meaning trains from London to Brussels will terminate at Lille.

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Heading for Waterloo?

GOEURO estimates that some 190,000 tourists will visit the #Waterloobattle site in #Belgium this summer, so it has published an online guide to mark the bicentenary of the final Anglo-French conflict … or, at least, the final Anglo-French military conflict!

Available in English, German, French, and Dutch, the guide has tips on getting to the battle area (from London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris), a map of the Waterloo site, and information about the men who led 174,000 soldiers into a fight that would shape Europe’s future and clear the way for the unhindered expansion of the British Empire – the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon, and Field Marshall Blücher, who commanded the Prussian troops fighting as part of Britain’s coalition army. 

The guide can be downloaded from www.goeuro.co.uk/travel-to-waterloo-anniversary.

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Picture Credit: "Bataille Waterloo 1815 reconstitution 2011 cuirassier" by Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

Festival fun … and what it costs

TRAVEL money company No.1 Currency has compared the costs of the most popular festivals across the globe this summer on a per-day basis, once ticket cost, accommodation, food and drinks are taken into consideration. 

When calculated on a per-day-rate, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California – said to be America’s answer to Glastonbury – tops the list as the most expensive, at £187 per day. Coachella has the highest admission charge, at £252. 

Tomorrowland in Belgium follows as the second most expensive, at £186 per day.

England’s Glastonbury is one of the longest-established summer festivals, but music lovers heading there in June will certainly pay for the experience. It comes in as the third most expensive at £113 a day.

Roskilde in Denmark will set revellers back £641, but for that you get eight days of festival fun.

British festival fans looking to make their pounds go further are best off heading to Slavic countries. The Exit festival in Serbia is the cheapest place to enjoy live music, with the daily and total costs for the four days coming to just £54 and £217 respectively. A beer there costs £1, almost a sixth of the cost of beer at Coachella. 

The Open’er festival in Poland closely follows Exit as the second cheapest, with a day costing just £57.

Simon Phillips, Head of Retail for No1. Currency, says: ‘As the birth place of British festival culture, Glastonbury remains one of the most iconic and celebrated music events in the British calendar but, as our research shows, being a part of this tradition will cost you. Tickets are not far behind those of Coachella in terms of prices, and neither is the cost of food and drink when you’re there – unsurprising considering the festival is famous for having some of the best festival food around.

‘It can actually work out much better value to travel to a festival in mainland Europe than to stay at home. Not only does your cash go further in Europe, where food and drink in particular are relatively cheap compared to the UK, but Brits heading to festivals in the eurozone this summer will enjoy the added bonus of a strengthening pound.’

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Picture Credit: "Lollobrigida at Exit, Serbia" by Yuppien (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons; "Against Me playing at Coachella" by R1vers (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons;