Ten countries in the Baltic Sea region have combined to promote Baltic cruises.

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden have formed the Cruise Baltic Alliance to promote cruises in the region with 19 ports of call.

Baltic cruises are thought to be one of the fastest growing cruise markets in the world with a growth of 13% in visitors over the last 12 months.

Visit Denmark UK & Ireland director Henrik Kahn, spokesman for Cruise Baltic project’s UK representatives, said: “The project, which started in 2004, is now ready to go out to the UK market and the first thing we have done is to make it easy for consumers to choose the Baltic Sea region as a destination.”

Cruise Baltic’s newly-appointed project director Bo Nylandsted Larsen said: “The Baltic Sea region ranks high on the lists of the world’s cruise passengers when choosing a destination for their holiday. Within just five years it has become the world’s fastest growing cruise region.

People fancying holidays in Malaysia will be able to take advantage of cheap flights from September 2008.

Low-cost Asian airline AirAsia promises cheap flights to Malaysia will begin operating later this year.

Tony Fernandes of AirAsia said: “We are looking at operating Malaysia-UK services by September 2008 at the latest, and the first quarter of 2008 at the earliest.”

Flights may cost as little as £40 per journey as that was the proposed price for the planned service which was unable to launch at the start of 2007 due to problems sourcing aircrafts.

The company, which is inspired by the recent success stories of no-frills flight companies has fifteen aeroplanes on order.

Now it is time for you to cast your vote in the British Travel Awards 2007 in more than 100 trade and consumer categories.

Voting can be done online and the winners will be announced in November.
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The recent strong performance of the pound against the dollar, especially the psychological $2 barrier breakthrough, has prompted a boom in people booking holidays in America.
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Southampton recorded the busiest days in its long history as a port when the largest cruise ships in the world sailed into the port, at the same time as a new cuise giant was enjoying a naming ceremony.
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A new aircraft seating design has been developed that promises more room by featuring backward facing seats in a Ying-Yang formation.

The design is based around the seats being opposite each other but, staggered so that each seat has its own armrest. One passenger’s shoulders would be lined up with their neighbour’s knees.
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Las Vegas has long been a haven for casual and more serious gamblers, but according to travel and finance experts, Forbes, the American gambling capital is being challenged by ten strong holiday destinations around the world.

Find out where the hot new casino holiday resorts are.
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Whistler Blackcomb, a leading Canadian ski resort, will set world records with its new Peak to Peak gondola that will link two mountain tops.

The new gondola is set to be completed during the winter 2008 ski season and transport skiers 4.4 kilometres in just eleven minutes from Whistlers Roundhouse Lodge to Rendezvous Lodge on Blackcomb Mountain.
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More and more British holidaymakers are booking spa break holidays.

In 2006 it is estimated that £135 million was spent on holidays in the UK and abroad that included spa treatments and other “health and wellness” features.
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People booking hot sun holidays should not depend on sonic mosquito repellents to protect them. Electronic mosquito repellents that promise to drive insects away with high-pitched sounds do not work, say scientists who have recently conducted trials on the devices.
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Royal Caribbean International will run charter flights during the winter Caribbean cruise season 2007-8 to connect holidaymakers to their cruises in the Dominican Republic.

The charter flights will go from London Gatwick Airport to Santa Domingo in line with the Legend of the Seas itinerary.
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Low cost carrier Zoom has announced that new cheap flights to New York will start this summer.

The flights from London Gatwick Airport to New York will start on 21st June 2007 and will run five days a week.

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Stena Line, the Swedish cruise line company has announced profits that are more than double of those in 2005 and the best results for the company since 1995.

The Gothenburg-based ferry and short cruise group said that 2006 had been a very good year in terms of the numbers of passengers and vehicles boarding their ferries, but the profits were also a result of cost-cutting activities.
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Visit Helsinki is asking for votes in its “What’s best in Helsinki Awards” 2007, as record visitor numbers to the Finnish capital reach record highs.

Visitors to the official Helsinki Tourist Board site can vote in various categories.
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New Google tools that allow registered users to customise online maps will enrich the experience of planning a holiday online.

In My Maps, Google users will soon be able to plot their journeys and make notes about places to see by adding markers, lines and shapes to the Google maps.
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Baggage reclaim is the most boring part of going on holiday, after your flight you’re itching to get going and see the sights. Not so at Venice Airport where a promotion for the Casino di Venezia has turned a luggage carousel into a giant Roulette wheel.

This is a game of Roulette where everyone can be a winner!
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The number of tourists visiting the Galapagos Islands (the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution) is likely to be restricted in order to help protect the islands’ ecosystem.

Tours of the Galapagos Islands are currently available as luxury holidays with connections from Ecuador and will become even more prized (and expensive) when visitor numbers are cut.
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Turkey’s Prime Minister says that Turkey’s plans to become a tourism “brand” are well on track.

In a message to mark Turkey Tourism Week Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described Turkey as an “open-air museum” due to its natural and historic heritage.
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