Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

Flydubai Launches Three New Flights to Ukraine

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The Dubai based low-cost airline Flydubai has announced its entry into the Ukrainian market with three brand new routes to Kiev, Donetsk and Khartov, beginning in September of this year. The move will expand the carrier’s network of global destinations to 40 routes across the GCC, the Levant, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Indian sub-continent. […]

Record Numbers of Brits Hit Estonian Shores

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A record number of tourists from the UK visited Estonia in the first three months of 2011, said the country’s national tourist board in a statement. Between January and March this year, more than 259,000 tourist arrivals booked into hotels in the country, which is an increase of 19% on the previous year. Especially encouraging […]

Travelport Hits Back at American Airlines Lawsuit

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The Travelport flight and fare information portal has asked the US Federal Court in Fort Worth to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed against it by American Airlines, claiming that its purpose is solely to gain leverage over them in contract negotiations. The lawsuit is just the latest action in a growing confrontation between global distribution […]

Hungary President Schmitt Endorses Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign

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Hungarian President Pal Schmitt last week became one of the first European leaders to sign up for the joint World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) and World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Global Leaders for Tourism Campaign. Earlier this month, President Schmitt had been presented with a letter from the UNTWO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, which stressed […]

Stricter Rules for Serbian EU Travelers

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Immigration controls for Serbian citizens who want to travel to the EU will be intensified, announced the country’s Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic in a statement on Monday, adding that customs officials will be checking that passengers have satisfactory funds, travel insurance and return tickets. The announcement followed a meeting between Dacic and a delegation […]

German National Tourist Board Expects More Middle East Tourists

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The German National Tourist Board are hoping for an increase in the number of Middle Eastern tourists in the country this year following a strong showing at the 2011 edition of the Arabian Travel Market earlier this month.

Beach Holidays Still Tops for Brits

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A new survey by the European Commission has found that for 22% of British holidaymakers, the beach is where it’s at as far as their main summer holiday is concerned. The survey, carried out by the Eurobarometer monitoring program, questioned more than 30,000 people aged 15+ spread out across all the EU countries. It found […]

Tourism for Tomorrow Rewards Sustainable Tourism

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At the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards in Las Vegas, three Three destinations were selected as the world’s best when it comes to sustainable tourism. These highly coveted tourism awards represent some of this year’s most visible and important, and especially kicking off one of the world’s largest travel trade conferences.

Melnik: A Wine Tourist’s Heaven

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A beautiful landscape dominated by mountains and historical buildings, together with centuries old wine cellars and a famous brand of strong, red wine makes Melnik, one of Bulgaria’s smallest towns, a very special place to visit. Located in the southwestern corner of Bulgaria, Melnik is officially the smallest town in the country, according to local […]

Russia Should Ease Visa Rules says World Tourism Organization Chief

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Russia should undertake a review of its strict visa requirements and do more to make travel for foreign tourists in the country easier if they want to attract more visitors to the country, the World Tourism Organization chief has said. “Each nation has the ability to encourage increased tourism through regulation and procedure adjustment,” said […]

Austria Agrees to Ease Visa Restrictions for Russian Travelers

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Austrian visas are set to become much easier for Russian citizens to obtain after the country’s president agreed to ease current restrictions, saying Vienna should be as liberal as possible when concerning the Schengen Agreement. “If the system works fine for Italy, France and Spain then I do not see why Austria shouldn’t adopt the […]

Minsk – Trapped in a Soviet Era

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Politically speaking, it may well be on the very edge of Europe, and in more ways than one given some of its government policies, yet in many other ways the mysterious land known as White Russia is an integral part of Central Europe with its rich culture and its depth of history. Belarus has had […]

Seoul Set To Unveil Floating Island

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South Korean authorities today announced that the first section of an enormous artificial island floating in the Han River in Seoul will officially open at the weekend. Known simply as “Floating Island”, the artificial construction is thought to be the largest of its kind in the world (the artificial islands off Dubai do not actually […]

Medvedev Not Giving Up On Visa-Free Travel Issue

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The one thing holding back Russian tourism more than anything else has been the visa issue; Russian visas are notoriously difficult to get, and the bureaucrats in charge simply won’t bend until they get what they want in return. Rather than give into the EU’s demands for short-term visa free travel, Russia are demanding something […]

Piatra Neamt and the Potential of Romanian Travel

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The region of Piatra Neamt, with its beautiful surroundings – nature parks, medieval fortresses, traditional villages, monasteries and year round festivals – is a travel operator’s dream. It’s a place that is bursting with tourism potential, and yet, it just hasn’t happened. The problems lie not just with the local authorities, but with local tour […]

Singita Explore: Authentic, Luxury African Safari

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A new concept of safari travel has been launched by Singita Game Reserves – where guests will be able to enjoy privacy and luxury whilst on an exciting mobile safari to some of Southern Africa’s most remote wilderness sites. Singita Explore has been developed with “privacy, closeness to nature and exclusivity” in mind. The latest […]

A Taste of the Past at the Estonian Open Air Museum by Tallinn

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Tallinn, Estonia, is probably not one of the first places to come to mind when you consider the notion of time travelling – but they may soon be about to change. There’s probably no one on this Earth who does the whole looking back into the past thing than the unique Estonian Open Air Museum by Tallinn.

Rail Baltica Will Be Viable Air Travel Alternative

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The European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas insisted at the weekend that key Rail Baltica project could well become a viable alternative to air travel to the region. Kallas said that project leaders need to show more ambition about the rail line, which will connect the Baltic States as far north as Tallinn with the […]

Baltic Countries Embrace Nordic Identity

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The Baltic national identity will surely merge into a Nordic identity within the next twenty years, said the prime ministers of both Latvia and Lithuania at the Lennart Meri Conference last weekend. “We are emphasizing in our development strategies for the next twenty years the need for Baltic countries to catch up and become more […]