TRAVEL AGENTS
who book a vacation with E.E.I. Travel by Jan. 31 will receive a
$50 bonus commission coupon on tour packages or customized
itineraries with a total value of $2,500 or more. Options include
the 12-night Classic Europe package, featuring hotel stays in
Paris, London, Venice, Florence and Rome. Also included are
roundtrip airfare, second-class Eurostar train travel, continental
breakfast daily, hotel taxes and service charges. The package is
priced from $1,209 per person, double. For more
or to download the January Bonus Commission Coupon, visit www.eeitravel.com.
U.S. TRAVEL TO
EUROPE climbed 3% in July over the previous year,
according to the latest figures from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. A total of 7.5 million U.S.
citizens traveled to Europe by transatlantic air through July
compared with 7.2 million in 2004. Further, every month in 2005
except February saw a spike in U.S. visitors. The increases are
credited in part to the strengthening dollar, which is down to
$1.17 per euro from a high of $1.36 last year.
EUROSTAR was tapped as a global partner
with The Da Vinci Code tourism campaign, aimed at promoting the
destinations most heavily featured in the novel and upcoming film:
Paris, London and Edinburgh, Scotland. To this end, Eurostar, the
high-speed rail service that links Great Britain with France and
Belgium, is uniting with VisitBritain, VisitLondon, VisitScotland
and Maison de la France to boost tourism along the Da Vinci Code
trail via TV, online and in-terminal exposure. Rail Europe,
Eurostars North American representative, is participating in the
promotional campaign. The movie is set to be released by Columbia
Pictures May 19. For more, call (800)
EUROSTAR or visit www.raileurope.com.
SWISS
INTERNATIONAL AIR LINES in North America will add a second
daily flight from New York (Kennedy) to Zurich March 26, marking a
new code-share agreement on the New York routes with United
Airlines. The current code-share partner is American Airlines. Also
on March 26, Swiss will offer nonstop service to Switzerland four
times daily, except Saturdays, from Newark. The airline is
offering a last-minute business-class fare, good for travel through
Feb. 14, of $2,397 roundtrip from Newark, not including taxes and
fees. For more, go to www.swiss.com.
SWISSMADE
TOURS trimmed rates on its 2006 independent tours to
Switzerland by up to 30% compared with last year. A two-night
package, priced from at $189 per person, double, is good in
three-star hotels in any of 13 Swiss cities and includes daily
breakfast, service and taxes. Upgrades to four- and five-star
properties are available in all cities except Locarno. A six-night
Scenic Wonder Route itinerary, priced from $599 per person, double,
features visits to Lucerne, Lugano, Saas Fee, Zermatt, Montreux,
and Interlaken. For more, call (800) 995-7997 or visit www.swissmadetours.com.