SLOVENIA: Adria Airways Goes Bankrupt And Ceases Operations

The collapse of Adria Airways has cost Slovenia connections to dozens of international markets, a study has revealed.

The national airline filed for bankruptcy and cancelled all flights on Monday.

Adria had previously withdrawn virtually all its flights last week.

Bankruptcy proceedings were initiated by the management of the company because of the company’s insolvency, the carrier said in a statement.

A study by ForwardKeys, the travel analytics firm, revealed that the bankruptcy resulted in the loss of direct flight connections with two dozen countries, including Czech Republic, Spain and Switzerland, all important origin markets for the country.

Adria has accounted for 60 per cent of all international seat capacity to Slovenia.

Other key source markets such as Austria, Germany and France will also be impacted, as Adria Airways accounted for 99 per cent, 87 per cent and 51 per cent of seat capacity on flights from these countries.

The full list of countries, which had direct connections to Slovenia in the past 12 months and have now lost them, comprises: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Macedonia, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.

However, the impact is less dramatic than the list suggests, because some of the routes, such as those from Estonia, Georgia and Greece are seasonal, and others, from Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Romania and Ukraine are irregular.

Olivier Ponti, vice president, insights, ForwardKeys, said: Given the attractiveness of Slovenia as a destination, I expect other airlines to fill the gaps left by Adria Airways but how long it will take to get back to the previous level is anyone´s guess.

Slovenia, and its vibrant capital Ljubljana, remain accessible and well worth a visit; however, if you were counting on Adria Airways to get you there quickly, you must now allow more time.

So following the collapse of Adria Airways this week, Slovenia’s only airport in Ljubljana has lost almost half of all its air traffic.

Most flights by Adria Airways were feeder flights to Star Alliance hubs, so it is no great surprise that Lufthansa Group announced today it will launch an entire network out of Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport within a month.

Simple Flying first reported in June that an Adria Airways bankruptcy was increasingly likely. Adverse circumstances surrounding the Slovenian flag carrier kept growing over the summer and operations officially ceased in full earlier this week.

For years, Adria has been positioned as a feeder to Lufthansa Group hubs, serving Brussels, Frankfurt, Zurich, Vienna and Munich several times daily.

Adria Airways had such a strong relationship with Lufthansa Group that it also had feeder flights to Frankfurt and Munich from the capitals of Albania and Kosovo.

Thus, with the collapse of Adria, Lufthansa Group has been left with a loss of 216 weekly outbound and inbound flights to channel its connecting passengers.

These include 64 weekly flights to Frankfurt, which even for a giant like Lufthansa is not insignificant. 42 of these flights were from Ljubljana, 6 from Tirana and 16 from Pristina.

To fill the acute gap left by Adria in Ljubljana, several Lufthansa Group airlines are stepping in. An entire network is being formed in Ljubljana by Lufthansa’s airlines, despite the Group not having a single route to Slovenia at all at the moment.

Brussels Airlines is launching a six-times-a-week service in November. This will coincide with Wizz Air pulling out of Slovenia and no longer flying the Ljubljana to Brussels route after seven years.

Today, an announcement followed from Lufthansa Group too, that Lufthansa and Swiss will launch their own services.

Lufthansa CityLine will be flying double daily between Frankfurt and Ljubljana with its CRJ900 aircraft. Flights will depart Frankfurt every day at 09.15 am and 4.40 pm, arriving in Ljubljana at 10.30 am and 5.55 pm.

They will then depart Ljubljana at 11.05 am and 6.30 pm, returning to Frankfurt at 12.25 pm and 7.50 pm. Flights are already bookable, from Sunday 27 October, the first day of the winter schedule.

These are clearly timed to coincide with Lufthansa’s morning arrival wave into Frankfurt and evening departure wave out of it. The route is very clearly intended to be a feeder.

From Munich, the German airline will be flying daily starting Friday 1 November. Flights will depart Munich at 10.45 am to arrive at Ljubljana at 11.45 am. They will then depart Ljubljana again at 1.10 pm to return to Munich at 2.10 pm.

Swiss itself will be the first to begin flying, launching five weekly flights in just two weeks’ time. At the start of the winter schedule, on 27 October, the frequency will increase to daily.

Once the frequency increases to daily, the flights will be operated by Swiss’s A220 aircraft. Until then, presumably, because no spare aircraft are available, flights will run as five weekly with a Helvetic Airways E190.

What will be interesting to see is whether Lufthansa Group airlines expand their schedule to Ljubljana to match the capacity that Adria had on these routes.

Adria had three daily flights to Zurich all summer long, while Swiss has only scheduled a single daily rotation.

Austrian Airlines has been absent from this announcement. Adria’s two daily flights to Vienna remain nonexistent and all the feeder traffic to Austrian and Eurowings left unserved.

With Slovenia’s only airport now fully dominated by Lufthansa Group airlines, it will be interesting to see how they adapt their network over time.

It will also be interesting to see which competitors to Lufthansa Group step in to take some of the market share left vacant by Adria.

Meanwhile, bankruptcy proceedings have officially been initiated against Slovenia's Adria Airways following its cessation of operations.

Documentation issued by the district court in the city of Kranj gives creditors three months, until 3 January 2020, to declare claims against the operator.

It names Janez Pustaticnik as the manager.

Adria's latest operating licence, issued in 2011, has been revoked by the Slovenian civil aviation agency and the carrier banned from operating commercial air transport.

Star Alliance has also confirmed, as a matter of formality, that Adria Airways has left the airline group as a result of the bankruptcy.

Adria ceased to be a member of Star on 2 October, the alliance says. It says the situation is a regrettable development, given that Adria has been a member for 15 years.

But Star points out that its links with Slovenia are being maintained by new services from Lufthansa, Swiss and Brussels Airlines

Tourism Observer

CHINA: Central And Eastern Europe Tourism Exchange Week Event In Ningbo

The official Central And Eastern Europe Tourism Exchange Week will open today, June 7th 2017 in the coastal city of Ningbo.

The event is organized by Ningbo Tourism Administration.

The Central and Eastern Europe exchange is the third Chinese Investment and Trade Expo of its type. Central and Eastern European tourism exchange week is the Chinese government directive to expand mutual cooperation and development in the region.

The exchange week welcomes official representatives from the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Benin and Romania.

Ningbo is a beautiful coastal city on the East China Sea. It has advanced transportation infrastructure, a developed information & technology industry, and over two thousand years of Chinese history and culture.

Ningbo is a thriving social and business environment, representing modern China's many decades of development, urban management and the unprecedented growth of industry.

Ningbo is an ideal window into understanding the development of China. To host the third China International Investment and Trade Expo at this week's exchange is of great importance to the city of Ningbo.

The representatives and their nation states have expressed their willingness to cooperate fully under the mutually beneficial framework of "One Belt One Road" cooperation.

The framework will aim to increase quantities of Chinese tourists traveling to the participating country within this year. The "One Belt One Road" agreement plans a new era of Chinese tourism and prosperity for all participating countries.

POLAND: Visegrad Four Promoting Tourism In Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland And Slovakia

Promoting travel and tourism and sharing benefits between the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia is very much part of the Visegrad Group also known as the “Visegrad Four” or simply “V4” They reflect the efforts of the countries of the Central European region to work together in a number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration.

Member countries had always been part of a single civilization sharing cultural and intellectual values and common roots in diverse religious traditions, which they wish to preserve and further strengthen.

All the V4 countries aspired to become members of the European Union, perceiving their integration in the EU as another step forward in the process of overcoming artificial dividing lines in Europe through mutual support. They reached this aim in 2004 (1st May) when they all became members of the EU.

Poland currently is holding the presidency of the Group and hosted a high-level meeting to address the opportunities and issues in sharing tourism.

“For Chinese tourists traveling to Europe, Kraków, Prague or Budapest are very similar, popular destinations. The question is how to package a good tourist product for them, ” said Dawid Lasek from the Polish Sport and Tourism Ministry.

The V4 was not created as an alternative to the all-European integration efforts, nor does it try to compete with the existing functional Central European structures. Its activities are in no way aimed at isolation or the weakening of ties with the other countries.

On the contrary the Group aims at encouraging optimum cooperation with all countries, in particular its neighbours, its ultimate interest being the democratic development in all parts of Europe.

The Visegrad Group wishes to contribute towards building the European security architecture based on effective, functionally complementary and mutually reinforcing cooperation and coordination within existing European and transatlantic institutions.

In order to preserve and promote cultural cohesion, cooperation within the Visegrad Group will enhance the imparting of values in the field of culture, education, science and exchange of information.

All the activities of the Visegrad Group are aimed at strengthening stability in the Central European region. The participating countries perceive their cooperation as a challenge and its success as the best proof of their ability to integrate also into such structures, such as the European Union.

Meanwhile, Following an impressive month of 15% growth in passenger traffic in November, Budapest Airport has today welcomed its 11 millionth passenger this year, the first time this milestone has been reached in the airport’s 66-year history.

Setting a new record for annual passengers for a third year running, the Hungarian gateway has experienced an average 10% growth in passenger traffic, establishing Budapest as one of the fastest growing tourism markets in Europe at this time.

Heightened by the addition of 16 new destinations this year, along with 14 airlines significantly increasing frequency to essential hubs such as Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Doha, the airport has connected to more than 100 scheduled destinations throughout the year.

Today’s achievement was celebrated with airberlin, with the oneworld alliance airline carrying Budapest’s 11 millionth passenger from Budapest to Berlin Tegel – a route which has also seen a frequency increase this year with the addition of a third daily flight.

Last year we experienced remarkable passenger traffic growth and to watch the robust development continue into 2016 is a rewarding time for us all, said Kam Jandu, CCO, Budapest Airport. He added: We approached this year with a strategy to do all we could to ensure Budapest, and Hungary, remain an attractive and competitive market, and I believe we’ve not only succeeded in this goal but also ensured the demands of our passengers, as well as our business partners, have been met.

To ensure the Hungarian gateway is ready to meet further demand, the airport will invest approximately €180 million into its infrastructure over the next three years. The investment will see a number of developments including a new airport hotel, check-in area extension, a new Pier B, and a new Terminal C cargo facility.

Expecting to welcome 11.3 million passengers overall by the end of December, Budapest will have delivered an impressive 22% growth from 2014 to this year-end, a record-breaking expansion in Central and Eastern Europe.

Wizz Air To Fly Direct SarajevoTo Budapest

A direct air route between Budapest and Sarajevo will be established on April 5th, is agreed after signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Communications and Transport of BiH and the Ministry of National Development of Hungary.

The Hungarian Minister Peter Szijjarto said that the state secretaries are given authorization to start the talks between BiH, Croatia and Hungary to establish a railway line that will connect Sarajevo via Osijek to Budapest, is announced from the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

Earlier it was announced that the low-cost airline Wizzair is to expand to the Sarajevo airport and open a new Sarajevo-Budapest line.

Previously, the Hungarian government announced that it will subsidize services between Budapest and Sarajevo.

A Billion Visitors In The First Nine Months Of 2016

Tourism sites around the world have recorded close to about one billion visitors in the first nine months of 2016, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) says.

The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer found that destinations around the world received 956 million international tourists between January and September 2016.

“This is 34 million more than in the same period in 2015, a 4 per cent increase,” the organisation said.

The UN tourism agency sated that demand for international tourism remained robust in the first nine months of 2016, though growing at a somewhat more moderate pace.

“After a strong start of the year, growth was slower in the second quarter of 2016 to pick up again in the third quarter of the year. While most destinations report encouraging results, others continue to struggle with the impact of negative events, either in their country or in their region,” it added.

Indicating results for the various regions of the world, it said Asia and the Pacific led growth across world regions with international tourist arrivals, noting that overnight visitors went up 9 per cent through September. It indicated that all the four subregions shared in the growth.

The UNWTO said many destinations reported double-digit growth, with the Republic of Korea (+34 per cent), Vietnam (+36 per cent), Japan (+24 per cent) and Sri Lanka (+15 per cent) in the lead.

According to the UNWTO, in Europe, international arrivals grew by 2 per cent between January and September 2016, with solid growth in most destinations.

“Nonetheless,” it added, “double-digit increases in major destinations such as Spain, Hungary, Portugal and Ireland were offset by feeble results in France, Belgium and Turkey. As a consequence, Northern Europe grew by 6 per cent and Central and Eastern Europe by 5 per cent while results were weaker in Western Europe (-1 per cent) and Southern Mediterranean Europe (+0 per cent).”

The Barometer indicated that international tourist arrivals in the Americas increased by 4 per cent through September. South America recorded +7 per cent and Central America up at +6 per cent led the results, followed closely by the Caribbean and North America both at +4 per cent.

In Africa there was +8 per cent increase, as sub-Saharan destinations rebounded strongly throughout the year, while North Africa picked up in the third quarter.

Available data for the Middle East points to a 6 per cent decrease in arrivals, though results vary from destination to destination. Results started to gradually improve in the second half of the year in both North Africa and the Middle East,” the UNWTO said.

The UNWTO however indicated that the results from the Barometer reflect preliminary data reported to date and are subject to revision.

UAE: Etihad Airways Looking For Pilots In Europe To Fly Airbus And Boeing Fleets

Etihad Airways has embarked on a major recruitment drive to hire additional crew, as it fleet expands.

The UAE’s national carrier said it is looking for pilots in Europe to join both its Airbus and Boeing fleets, with new aircraft expected to arrive between this year and 2025. The main focus of the talent search is to fill posts for First Officers.

Recruiters for the airline were scheduled to be in Europe on Sunday, November 13. They started in Romania and were expected to be in Bulgaria today, Tuesday. They will then make stops in Hungary, Lithuania, Greece, Poland, Belgium and Portugal.

Etihad had earlier announced it would freeze the hiring of non-operational staff, as currency fluctuations, economic uncertainty and market competition are putting pressure on yields. Recruitment of pilots, cabin crew and engineers, however, will continue.

The airline has a range of aircraft including Airbus 330s, 380s, Boeing 777s and B787s, and expects new A380 deliveries next year.

EGYPT: 22 Chinese Tourists Injured in Hot Air Balloon Accident

Twenty-two Chinese tourists were injured in Luxor on Tuesday after a hot air balloon made an emergency landing in Al-Habil village east of Luxor.

Officials say that the tourists sustained minor injuries, such as bruises and scratches, and were transferred to Luxor International hospital. Local media outlets reported that the tourists received treatment and were discharged from the hospital.

The balloons are known for attracting high-paying tourists. A two-hour balloon trip costs approximately $100, while prices for special trips lasting two hours or more can cost as much as $500.

In February, a hot air balloon carrying tourists crashed near Luxor after the fuel supply caught fire, resulting in 18 people killed and three injured.

The deceased passengers included tourists from Hong Kong, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Hungary, and Egypt. Two British citizens and the pilot were injured.

TURKEY: Antalya Records Less Russian Tourists With 81% Decrease

The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey’s top holiday resort town of Antalya decreased by 81 percent, as their numbers plummeted to 2,427 in January from 12,870 of January 2015 while the total number of tourists visiting the city in January decreased 17 percent, according to official figures.

Numbers also showed that only a total of 97,601 tourists visited Antalya in January, the lowest for January in the last decade.

Antalya hosted some 135,010 tourists in January 2006 and 125,446 in January 2007. It saw its highest turnout in January 2008 with 140,306. In January 2009 and January 2010, Antalya received 106,539 and 140,019 visitors, respectively. After 2010, the number of tourists visiting the city reached a stable level, with 126,272 tourists in January 2011, 122,314 in January 2012, 111,485 in January 2013 and 116,974 in January 2014. Last January, Antalya’s total visitors stood at 117,746.

Antalya gathers millions of local and international tourists each year, with its luxury hotels usually overbooked especially in the summer seasons. Meanwhile in winter, tourism slows down due to dropping temperatures.

The Russian market experienced the largest decrease in the number of tourists visiting the city in January 2016, as Russia ranked 5th in 2016, compared to 2nd in 2015 in terms of countries with the highest number of visitors to Antalya.

Turkey was Russia’s number one foreign tourism destination for years but this came to an abrupt end following the shooting down of a Russian military plane by Turkish jets on the Syria-Turkey border on Nov. 24, 2015. Upon the incident, Russia imposed economic sanctions against Turkey and travel restrictions on Russian tourists visiting Turkey.

Turkey’s tourism industry also expects to see losses in other markets this year after an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) suicide bomb attack in Istanbul’s top tourist spot Sultanahmet, which killed 11 German tourists on Jan. 12, highlighted security concerns for tourists planning to visit Turkey.

The loss in the German market stood at 16 percent as the number of Germans visiting Antalya decreased to 44,262 in January 2016 from 52,731 in January 2015. While Germans took the top spot for tourists in Antalya, the Dutch followed second. However the Dutch market has also decreased by 20 percent compared to 2015, as this year’s January number fell to 4,544 from 5,688.

The number of Israeli visitors saw a 122 percent increase, bringing it to third. In January 2016, the number of Israeli tourists visiting the city reached to 4,475, a huge leap from 2,008 visitors in January 2015.

Britain came fourth with a 14 percent decrease as Antalya only hosted some 2,965 English tourists in January. British tourists mostly like Antalya for its luxury golf club resorts in the Belek region of the province.

According to the statistics of Antalya’s provincial directorate of culture and tourism, among the 38 countries that send tourists to Antalya, only nine surpassed their January 2015 numbers. However, the surplus in the number of tourists arriving from these nine (which included Israel, Ukraine, France, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Serbia and Syria) covered only 30 percent of the loss caused by the decrease in the Russian market.

TURKEY: Fastest Growing Airport In Europe - Sabiha Gokcen International Airport

Passenger traffic in Europe grew by an average +5.2% in 2015, according to Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE).

Amongst Top 30 European Airports, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) in Istanbul recorded the fastest growth in passenger numbers, with a 19.7% growth Y-o-Y.

At EU airports, the average increase in passenger traffic was +5.6% with airports in Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Lithuania achieving double-digit growth.

Meanwhile, non-EU airports reported diminished growth of +3.9%. This was mainly due to a significant decline in demand for air travel across Russian and Ukrainian airports, as well as almost flat growth in Norway – despite a stellar increase in passenger traffic in Iceland and sustained growth at most Turkish airports.

Freight traffic at Europe’s airports only grew by +0.7%, as international trade remained subdued. Aircraft movements saw an increase of +2.2%.

ACI EUROPE Director General Olivier Jankovec said:

“2015 has been a very good year in terms of passenger traffic, with European airports welcoming an estimated 1,95 billion passengers. 20% of them achieved a double-digit increase and many broke new traffic records – mostly fueled by the continued growth of low cost airlines and selected non-EU airlines.”

“EU airports generally performed extremely well, despite Germany and France being impacted by airline & ATC strikes and the Paris terror attacks.”

“Remarkably, Istanbul-Atatürk airport became the 3rd busiest European airport with 61,8 million passengers, after London-Heathrow (74,9 million) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle (65,7 million). It should be noted however that small regional airports* across the continent underperformed the European average, with their passenger volume only increasing by +3,8%.”

“This is indicative of traffic growth becoming more concentrated and less inclusive.”

Commenting on the air traffic recovery since the global financial crisis, Jankovec added:

“While the EU economy did not even grow by +3% between 2008 and 2015, passenger traffic at EU airports increased by +13,6% over the same period. Such a wide gap is pointing to a lasting discontinuity in the usual relationship between GDP growth and passenger traffic performance.”

“This is reflective of new market dynamics, changing consumer behaviours and the increased importance of air transport for the European economy.”

Over the full year, airports welcoming more than 25 million passengers per year (Group 1), airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers (Group 2), airports welcoming between 5 and 10 million passengers (Group 3) and airports welcoming less than 5 million passengers per year (Group 4) reported an average adjustment +3.7%, +6.3%, +7.1% and +5.5%.

GROUP 1 Airports: Madrid-Barajas (+12.0%), Istanbul IST (+9.1%), Amsterdam (+6.0%), London LGW and Barcelona El-Prat (+5.7%) and Rome FCO (+5.0%)

GROUP 2 Airports: Istanbul SAW (19.7%), Athens (+19.1%), Dublin (+15.3%), London STN (+12.8%) and Izmir (+12.1%)

GROUP 3 Airports: Milan BGY (+18.6%), Gothenburg GOT (+18.1%), Berlin SXF (+16.9%), Porto (+16.7%) and Glasgow (+12.9%)

GROUP 4 Airports: Ohrid (+53.3%), Ponta Delgada (+29.5%), Astrakhan (+26.1%), Santorini/Thira (+87.6%), Cluj and Timisoara (+25.8%)

Among the airports in the Top 5, several airports will now move to a higher traffic category for 2016.

KENYA: Minister Wants Tourism Recovery

Kenya's tourism sector will take another two years to recover after the government beefed up security and boosted funding for the sector, a key source of hard currency revenues, new tourism minister Najib Balala said.

Visitor numbers and earnings have plunged in the last four years as al Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia launched a series of attacks on Kenyan soil in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.

That has hit the shilling currency, which fell 11 percent against the dollar last year after a 4.5 percent decline in 2014, and dragged on growth in the Kenyan economy, East Africa's largest.

Balala, who took over the tourism ministry last month, said the fact there had been no serious attack in the last eight months showed security had improved as a result of investments in equipment, vehicles and security personnel. Smaller attacks have continued, mainly near the border with Somalia.

We are going to work hard to not only create jobs and improve our GDP, but also to stabilise our currency by getting the numbers in, by getting the foreign currency in,he said.

During campaigning for the 2013 elections, President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee coalition set a target of 3 million visitors a year by 2017.

Balala said the tourism ministry planned to spend 5.2 billion shillings $50.83 million) this fiscal year, which began in July, on measures to foster growth in tourism.

"From December this year we are going to see a lot of visitors come in. To fully recover, I think it will be winter 2018," he said after skydiving onto a white sandy beach to promote Kenyan resorts.

Visitor numbers dropped 12 percent in the first 11 months of 2015 to 690,893, reflecting the impact of travel warnings issued by western governments after a spate of Islamist attacks that killed more than 400 people, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) said.

These included raids by gunmen on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall in 2013, coastal towns in 2014 and a university in April last year.

Balala said earnings had fallen to $870 million in 2014, from a peak of $1.2 billion in 2011.

Travel warnings including from Britain, the source of more than half the nation's tourists have since been lifted, spurring an increase in the number of visitors to Kenya's game parks and beaches. November arrivals of 62,548 marked a jump of 6.7 percent compared with the same month in 2014, KTB said.

Official figures for the peak month of December are still being compiled but individual hoteliers and safari operators have reported improved business.

Balala said the government is using 1.2 billion shillings this fiscal year to offer rebates to charter operators who take their clients to the Kenyan coast, an area that was hit hard by the decline.

It is also targeting visitors from new markets like Russia, Hungary and Nigeria as well as the European nations on which Kenya has traditionally relied.

Officials have also waived landing fees for charter flights to the coast, reduced park entry fees for tourists and urged operators to modernise their facilities.

"Most of these hotels are of the 1980s. We want to move them to 2030 fresh, modern, with a touch of culture and African heritage," Balala said.

Wizz Air Adds Bratislava And Copenhagen To Its Network

The latest expansion and the flights to two new European capitals will increase the Wizz Air network to 116 airports across 38 countries as it continues its rapid growth. Its departure capacity has grown at an average annual rate of 64.4 per cent between 2005 and 2104 from just over 2.5 million seats to almost 17.5 million last year. This year capacity will grow by an estimated 24.0 per cent to over 21.5 million departure seats.

Central and Eastern European low-cost airline specialist, Wizz Air is to add two new European capital cities to its network as it expands its route network from Macedonia with three new routes from Skopje’s Alexander The Great Airport.

The carrier will launch its first flights to Bratislava, Slovakia and Copenhagen, Denmark, as well launch a new route to Berlin Schoenefeld as it reinforces its position as Skopje’s principal carrier and Macedonia’s de facto national carrier. All three routes will be operated on a twice weekly frequency with flights to Berlin commencing from March 21, 2016; Copenhagen from March 22, 2016 and Bratislava from March 28, 2016.

This will be the first scheduled route between Macedonia and Slovakia and will resurrect a link into Denmark that was last served by SAS Scandinavian Airlines over ten years ago in March 2005.

Wizz Air introduced operations in Macedonia in June 2011 with flights between Skopje and London Luton and is now offering a total of 24 routes to eleven countries from Skopje and Ohrid.

Elsewhere, Wizz Air has confirmed it will open a new base at Iasi International Airport, its sixth in Romania. The airline will station a single A320 in the largest city in eastern Romania to increase the number of routes served from Iasi to eight and will triple the seat capacity to 265,000 in 2016. The airline hopes this will stimulate the local job market in aviation and tourism sectors as consumers will have access to more low cost routes.

The new aircraft will facilitate the introduction of a three times weekly link to Bologna and twice weekly services to Catania, Larnaca, Rome Ciampino and Tel Aviv from the start of July 2016. It will also allow frequencies to Milan Bergamo to increase from two to three a week, adding to the significant growth of the Iasi – London Luton route which will grow from two to five weekly rotations from the end of March 2016.

Wizz Air first launched flights in Romania in 2007 and now offers a total of 106 Romanian routes to 16 countries from eight Romanian airports.

“We put Iasi on the map of aviation a year ago and it will now become the sixth Romanian airport where we establish base operations,” said György Abrán, Chief Commercial Officer, Wizz Air. “We have constantly expanded our operations in Romania, developed regional airports, and this announcement once again underlines our commitment to the country.”

The latest expansion and the flights to two new European capitals will increase the Wizz Air network to 116 airports across 38 countries as it continues its rapid growth. Its departure capacity has grown at an average annual rate of 64.4 per cent between 2005 and 2104 from just over 2.5 million seats to almost 17.5 million last year. This year capacity will grow by an estimated 24.0 per cent to over 21.5 million departure seats.

Analysis of OAG schedule data shows that the airline’s top five country markets – Poland, United Kingdom, Romania, Italy and Hungary – account for a 58.0 per cent share of its capacity offering.

CROATIA: Croatian Tourism And The Migrant Crisis: What You Need to Know

Croatia. So where is it exactly anyway? And is it safe?

Located somewhere in Eastern Europe, Westerners have often had trouble with the geography of Croatia. A part of former Yugoslavia, the newest version of Croatia - the modern independent one - is less than 25 years old, and given the trauma in the region in recent decades, tourists comfortable in destinations like Spain and Greece can be excused a certain level of ignorance.

The recent terror attack in Paris, and the confirmation on November 16, 2015, that a passport alleged to belong to one of the bombers had passed through Croatia on October 8, has raised - in some quarters at least - questions about the safety of Croatia as a tourist destination, specifically in terms of emails to this portal after we published the story earlier today. Despite the tragic recent events, I will confess to a wry smile when the first email came in.

The year is 2002. An Englishman working as an aid worker in Somalia has just returned from two holidays on his accumulated days off. The first - to Mumbai just as a major nuclear stand-off with Pakistan was escalating - was followed by seven days in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The Englishman, a veteran of the Rwandan genocide, had (incorrectly) the label 'war zone junkie' written all over him, and several of his friends expressed concern when he announced he was buying a house on an island in Croatia in 2002.

Croatia? Wasn't that part of the Balkan quagmire and too dangerous to visit? Indeed it had been seven years hence, although the island itself suffered no direct action save a blockade and a couple of cursory bombs on the cleared strip of a UNESCO World Heritage Site which passes off as the island's 'airport'.

As this war zone junkie fielded email after email advising me to get psychiatic help, I responded in the only way I could - by sending pictures of the house, town and heavenly island I had discovered off the beaten track. My friends - shocked at the beauty and tranquility, having assumed I was seeking something else - begged for more information. My house was completely full in my absence that summer, and several friends are now home owners on Hvar.

I mention the story for to me it is similar to what is happening today. Croatia has been in the news more than most countries regarding the migrant crisis in recent weeks, not so much because it is a dangerous and violent place, more because it is a country which has shown its humanity - partly the result of its own painful recent past, perhaps - where neighbouring countries have shut their doors. It would have been easy for Croatia to follow the example of Hungary, erect a fence, and ignore the migrant misery on its borders.

Croatia chose not to, and while I have issues with the current government, their handling of the crisis has been humane and exemplary, and it has done much to enhance Croatia's reputation internationally. As long as Germany has kept its open door policy, Croatia has argued that it is merely a transit route to the final destination. And what are the statistics?

Almost 400,000 migrants and refugees have now passed through Croatia in recent weeks. Just 10 (including two Cubans and a Russian) have applied for asylum, meaning 399,990 or so have - or are in the process of - passing through. There have been two refugee births and one death from natural causes, and no major incidents of crime or violence. Migrants and refugees enter the country from Serbia, pass by a transit camp, and they are then escorted to the Slovenian border and onwards. What tensions occur tend to happen at border crossings, far away from the beaches of Dalmatia.

What does this have to do with Croatian tourism? Absolutely nothing, apart from one thing - if, like me, you have been impressed by Croatia's humane handling of the crisis, you might consider vacationing here to find out more about the country's exceptional hospitality.

For such a huge amount of temporary visitors, the effect on everyday life has been minimal, especially in the tourist areas, for two reasons. Firstly, it is winter, and as 99% of Croatian tourism is based on the summer and shoulder seasons, the crisis has not really impacted the tourist season in terms of timing. The migrant crisis is an EU crisis, and one would hope that a solution to the current status quo must be found in the coming weeks. And secondly, the bulk of Croatian tourism takes place on the Adriatic coast and islands, a different world from the migrant route, and akin to being in St Tropez and hearing about the horrors of events in Paris.

Croatia is safe. Croatia is stunningly beautiful. Croatia is humane. And looking forward to your visit.

Latest Dental Tourism Figures Under Question

The Hungarian dental tourism sector welcomes 60,000 to 70,000 dental tourists every year, claims the local dental sector.

Since 2008, Budapest has become Europe’s dental capital due to budget flights and high dental prices in Western Europe. Most of the dental tourists visiting Budapest come from the UK, France and Scandinavia. Besides the capital, visitor numbers at the clinics in Győr, Mosonmagyaróvár and Sopron, in Western Hungary are popular with Austrian and German patients.

300 clinics and 3,000 employees operate the Hungarian dental tourism sector, welcoming 60,000 to 70,000 dental tourists every year, claims the local dental tourism industry. These figures have to be used with care as they are estimated by local dental tourism groups promoting dental travel exhibitions and are not official figures. These groups claim that nearly 90% of the annual income of the Hungarian health tourism sector, is based on dental tourism, but as Hungary has a huge spa and wellness tourism business, that is very unlikely.

The groups claim that according to the data of the Central Statistical Office (KSH), in 2014 4.6 million tourists spent 12.3 million nights in Hungary with 440,000 nights linked directly to the dental tourism. But neither the government or any other organisation collects data in this detail, so it is not known how an estimated 440,000 dental nights became 60 to 70,000 dental tourists.

If you look at the actual published online KSH figures there were 11 million tourists in 2014 that on average stay two nights. Using a small sample of 20,000 tourists, KSH say that this includes 3,163 visits for spas, wellness, medical or dental treatment and this may suggest a total of 2.7 million in this sector, Hungarian health and wellness tourism accounts for over 2 million international visitors a year. Nowhere do these or other KSH figures isolate either dental tourism or medical tourism.

Figures as high as 350,000 were once claimed as medical and dental tourists for Hungary. Back in 2012 the Medical Tourism Office claimed an estimated 70,000 dental tourists for 2011. Hungary has been losing out both to cheaper competitors and lower prices from dentists in what were source countries. Even 60,000 could be too high.

More Refugees Will Invade Europe If Wars Don't Stop

Macedonia's Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki has said that his country might follow Hungary's example and build a border fence to stem the influx of refugees trekking through the Balkans to reach Western Europe.

The news comes as foreign ministers from four Central European nations are meeting in Prague on Friday, amid a growing rift over the refugee crisis.

The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia reject quotas proposed by the EU Commission, which proposed 120,000 additional asylum seekers per year to be shared out between 28 member states.

"We too will need some kind of physical defence to reduce illegal border crossing. Either soldiers or a fence or a combination of the two," Poposki was quoted as saying in an interview with Hungarian business weekly Figyelo on Thursday.

He said his country was currently forced to let the 3,000 to 4,000 migrants who arrive in his country on a daily basis continue their journey to Serbia and Hungary unimpeded.

"There is no European consensus on how we can handle this question," he said.

As of 0600 GMT on Friday, an estimated 7,600 refugees had already crossed into Macedonia from Greece in a 24-hour period, according to the UN refugee agency.

Peter Salama, UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said millions of people in Syria could become refugees and head to Europe if there is no end to the war.

Refugees from the border between Greece and Macedonia on Friday, said the situation has settled down after tensions.

At the border crossing station, from where our correspondent was reporting, about 1,500 had crossed on Friday morning. They are reportedly being organised into groups of 50 people.

From there, public transportation will then take them to the border with Serbia, our correspondent said.

But overnight, the situation was tense, with "impatient" refugees facing off with the police.

"Macedonian border police had blocked their path and frustrations grew once more," she said. "This is not the first time for the Macedonian border guards to use force."

Syrian refugees Bassem, his wife Marwa, and their child Ali, were among those in the crowd. They left Syria 25 days ago, entering Greece through the island of Rhodes.

Bassem and Marwa said that they feared Ali would not make the Mediterranean crossing.

"We know it's going to be difficult here, we know some don't want us, but it's still much better than Syria," Bassem said.

Along with neighbouring Serbia, Macedonia has become a major transit country for tens of thousands of refugees who trudge up from Greece, after risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea crammed into makeshift boats.

The majority are heading for Germany, which has pledged to welcome hundreds of thousands more refugees having already taken in 450,000 to date since January.

So far, more than 160,000 have already crossed through Macedonia on their way to Serbia and Hungary this year.

Last month, the small Balkan nation declared a state of emergency as it struggled to cope with the relentless stream of people.

Reports overnight said that Hungary's government is considering declaring a state of emergency within the next week.

Hungary completed a razor-wire barrier along its 175km border with Serbia in late August, but it has failed to stop distraught refugees from scaling the barrier.

The central European nation is building another fence four metres high that it aims to complete by late October or early November, and the government has said it will be manned by the military.

Some 85 percent of those hoping to eventually reach wealthy EU nations such as Germany or Sweden are not merely in search of a better life, but have been forced to leave because of wars in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, according to the UN's refugee agency.

Hungary to deploy army to stop refugees from crossing border, so the Hungarian government announced.

On Friday, the wife of an Austrian politician said Hungarian police have been feeding refugees "like animals in a pen" inside a border camp.

Michaela Spritzendorfer filmed the footage of the refugees surging forward against the fences surrounding them as officers toss food packets to them.

It reportedly happened at a makeshift camp in the Hungarian town of Rozke.The incident was filmed on the same day the UN commissioner on refugees said conditions were getting worse there.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has ordered his administration to increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed into the country.

The United States has taken in just 1,500 Syrians since the civil war began in 2011.

HUNGARY: The Elizabeth Park Hotel Budapest, A Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel Opens

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is delighted to announce that from 1st September The Elizabeth Park Hotel, Budapest, a Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel will be managed by the company and following an extensive renovation program, the hotel will be re-launched as The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest in Spring 2016.

The centrally located, 198-room hotel will undergo a comprehensive renovation which includes the addition of The Ritz-Carlton Club, new luxury suites and fresh concepts at the hotel's dining outlets.

"It is an honour to bring The Ritz-Carlton experience to Hungary at the heart of this vibrant capital city. We are looking forward to opening the newest European hotel in Budapest in 2016," said Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer.

"We are delighted to be partnering with the Ritz-Carlton for such an exquisite property to build on our unique portfolio of hotels. We are bringing together two of the best names in the business, both dedicated to offering world-class luxury and hospitality. We look forward to welcoming guests to experience the renewed property in early 2016," said Mohammed Al Habtoor, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Al Habtoor Group, the hotel's owner.

Marcus A. Loevenforst has been appointed as the General Manager to lead the team of Ladies and Gentlemen at this historic location and oversee the transformation of the hotel into the first Hungarian property for The Ritz-Carlton portfolio. Mr. Loevenforst, originally from Germany, brings more than 23 years of luxury hospitality experience spanning several continents and locations, including Stuttgart, Miami, San Francisco, Cleveland and Toronto, and with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in Berlin, Bahrain, Moscow and Naples. Most recently his role was as Vice President, Operations for EDITION hotels.

The Elizabeth Park Hotel, Budapest is located on St Erzsebet Square with commanding views over St Stephen's Basilica in the heart of the city, only a short distance from the business district and shopping areas. The Hungarian capital is home to an extensive World Heritage site, including the banks of the River Danube, the Buda Castle quarter, Andrassy Avenue and the Millennium Underground railway, the second-oldest metro line in the world. It is one of Europe's most beautiful cities and a popular tourist destination known as "The City of Spas" with many natural thermal and medicinal springs.

About The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. of Chevy Chase, Md., currently operates 86 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, theMiddle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. More than 30 hotel and residential projects are under development around the globe. The Ritz-Carlton is the only service company to have twice earned the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award which recognizes outstanding customer service. For more information, or reservations, contact a travel professional, or visit the company website at www.ritzcarlton.com. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc. www.marriott.com / www.news.marriott.com

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is delighted to announce that from 1st September The Elizabeth Park Hotel, Budapest, a Ritz-Carlton Partner Hotel will be managed by the company and following an extensive renovation program, the hotel will be re-launched as The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest in Spring 2016.

The centrally located, 198-room hotel will undergo a comprehensive renovation which includes the addition of The Ritz-Carlton Club, new luxury suites and fresh concepts at the hotel's dining outlets.

"It is an honour to bring The Ritz-Carlton experience to Hungary at the heart of this vibrant capital city. We are looking forward to opening the newest European hotel in Budapest in 2016," said Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer.

"We are delighted to be partnering with the Ritz-Carlton for such an exquisite property to build on our unique portfolio of hotels. We are bringing together two of the best names in the business, both dedicated to offering world-class luxury and hospitality. We look forward to welcoming guests to experience the renewed property in early 2016," said Mohammed Al Habtoor, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Al Habtoor Group, the hotel's owner.

Marcus A. Loevenforst has been appointed as the General Manager to lead the team of Ladies and Gentlemen at this historic location and oversee the transformation of the hotel into the first Hungarian property for The Ritz-Carlton portfolio. Mr. Loevenforst, originally from Germany, brings more than 23 years of luxury hospitality experience spanning several continents and locations, including Stuttgart, Miami, San Francisco, Cleveland and Toronto, and with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in Berlin, Bahrain, Moscow and Naples. Most recently his role was as Vice President, Operations for EDITION hotels.

The Elizabeth Park Hotel, Budapest is located on St Erzsebet Square with commanding views over St Stephen's Basilica in the heart of the city, only a short distance from the business district and shopping areas. The Hungarian capital is home to an extensive World Heritage site, including the banks of the River Danube, the Buda Castle quarter, Andrassy Avenue and the Millennium Underground railway, the second-oldest metro line in the world. It is one of Europe's most beautiful cities and a popular tourist destination known as "The City of Spas" with many natural thermal and medicinal springs.

About The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. of Chevy Chase, Md., currently operates 86 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, theMiddle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. More than 30 hotel and residential projects are under development around the globe. The Ritz-Carlton is the only service company to have twice earned the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award which recognizes outstanding customer service. For more information, or reservations, contact a travel professional, or visit the company website at www.ritzcarlton.com. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc. www.marriott.com / www.news.marriott.com

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. is recognized as one of the world’s leading luxury lifestyle brands. The Ritz-Carlton enjoys a global reputation for setting the gold standard with award-winning luxury hotels, residences, golf communities, elegant spas, innovative retail and acclaimed restaurants. The brand engages guests through unique, memorable and personal experiences that transcend luxury hospitality and create indelible marks in their lives.

HUNGARY: Wizz Air Will Link Nice To Budapest In Spring

The Nice airport will host a new connection to Hungary from spring 2016: Budapest by Wizz Air. Hungarian low cost will be strengthened at the same time on its Budapest base with the arrival of a tenth A320 aircraft.

As of March 11, 2016, Wizz Air will link Nice to Budapest twice a week. The flights, operated by Airbus A320 aircraft configured to 180 seats, leaving Monday and Friday at 9:55 p.m. from Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (arrival in Budapest at 23.40), theft "return" starting again from Budapest to 7:35 p.m. for arrivals Nice at 9:25 p.m.. Hungarian low cost also announced the deployment of a tenth A320 aircraft to its Budapest base, participating in two new routes: So Nice and Baden-Baden in Germany (as of March 11, 2016, every Monday and Friday). It reinforces the same frequencies on existing routes: to Gothenburg (4 frequencies per week in high season, from June 19, 2016) and to Malta from March 29, 2016 with 3 weekly frequencies.

With these two new routes Wizz Air now offers 44 destinations from Budapest through 21 countries.

Wizz Air will receive its first Airbus A321 (of 27 ordered) in November. Its fleet now includes 63 Airbus A320 aircraft and has on order 158 aircraft in total, including 110 A321neo.