Brits Czech out Eastern Europe
Monday, 25 Apr 2005 14:07
Prague's old town square
An increasing number of Britons are sampling the delights of Eastern Europe, according to figures published today.
The culture, architecture and culinary fare on offer in cities such as Tallinn in Estonia, Budapest in Hungary, Prague in the Czech Republic and Bratislava in Slovakia, combined with cheap flights, has led to a large increase in the number of passengers flying to these destinations.
Official Civil Aviation Authority figures show that passenger numbers on routes to the Czech Republic increased by 59 per cent or 770,000.
Flights to other EU member states in Eastern Europe were up by 97 per cent - or one million - last year compared to 2003.
Passenger numbers for that more traditional of destinations for British holidaymakers, Spain, increased by four per cent - or 1.2 million passengers.
The number of passengers on domestic flights grew by six per cent and passengers on US flights grew by nine per cent to 21 million, which is still below the pre 9/11 level of 23 million.
The most popular routes outside of Europe and North America were to Africa and the Middle East, which both saw a 21 per cent rise.
Overall the number of passengers flying to destinations outside of Europe and North Africa grew by 16 per cent or three million on 2003.