EasyJet suspends flights to Gdansk

spiritus wrote:

I don't blame the PNTO's website. I blame the PNTO for not marketing Poland in the UK and for failing to make any obvious attempts to change people's perceptions.

I mentioned the website as that is supposed to be the online flagship of the Polish tourist board and yet they can't even be bothered to get it working properly. I also would not consider checking a country's official tourist website for info. but that doesn't mean other people don't. It doesn't reassure sceptical travellers when the State are so blase about promoting their own country.

The Baltic coast is a great place for a spa break. Hotel Kuracyjny is very nice indeed although the area also offers many other high quality spas.

spiritusThreads: 52 Posts: 253 Joined: Oct 25, 06	Mar 2, 08, 16:14 / #
Easyjet will cease flying to Gdansk from May 2008 due to low demand. This leads me to one of my pet peeves which is the failure of the Polish Tourist Office to market Poland as a holiday/short break destination. Their own website has been in Beta stage for months now and still isn't finished. I also firmly believe that the majority of Brits think Poland is virtually a third world country, that it is located somewhere close to the North Pole and is always cold, and that flight times from the UK are 4 hours + If someone from the Tourist Office wants to offer me a job then I can't do any worse then them.

LondonChickThreads: 43 Posts: 1,261 Joined: Nov 19, 07	Mar 2, 08, 17:16 / #
Maybe they just couldn't compete with BMI Baby, Wizz, Ryan Air and Central Wings, all of which fly to Gdansk? In fact some of these airlines started / will start routes to Gdansk in 2008. spiritus wrote: I also firmly believe that the majority of Brits think Poland is virtually a third world country, that it is located somewhere close to the North Pole and is always cold, and that flight times from the UK are 4 hours + Yes, I've met people who hold this opinion (you should have seen the ugly middle class grimace when I suggested that I was going to Poland for my dental treatment), yet I do believe that things are getting better. I am in fact thinking of taking my mother to a spa resort on the Baltic coast at some point later this year.

angelThreads: 17 Posts: 88 Joined: Jan 8, 08	Mar 2, 08, 17:44 / #
spiritus wrote: Their own website has been in Beta stage for months now and still isn't finished. I also firmly believe that the majority of Brits think Poland is virtually a third world country, that it is located somewhere close to the North Pole and is always cold, and that flight times from the UK are 4 hours + this is so true-so many of my friends hold this view-they wont entertain visiting the country

LondonChickThreads: 43 Posts: 1,261 Joined: Nov 19, 07	Edited by: LondonChick Mar 2, 08, 17:48 / #
I don't think that you can blame the fact that the PNTO's website has been beta for so long... Whenever I decide to visit a country, I generally tend to gather feedback from friends, colleagues, forums etc. and check out prices and deals on sites like travelocity and lastminute.com etc. I don't think that I've ever consulted a national tourist office before booking a trip.

spiritusThreads: 52 Posts: 253 Joined: Oct 25, 06	Mar 3, 08, 02:18 / #
LondonChick wrote: I don't think that you can blame the fact that the PNTO's website has been beta for so long... Whenever I decide to visit a country, I generally tend to gather feedback from friends, colleagues, forums etc. and check out prices and deals on sites like travelocity and lastminute.com etc. I don't think that I've ever consulted a national tourist office before booking a trip. I don't blame the PNTO's website. I blame the PNTO for not marketing Poland in the UK and for failing to make any obvious attempts to change people's perceptions. I mentioned the website as that is supposed to be the online flagship of the Polish tourist board and yet they can't even be bothered to get it working properly. I also would not consider checking a country's official tourist website for info. but that doesn't mean other people don't. It doesn't reassure sceptical travellers when the State are so blase about promoting their own country. The Baltic coast is a great place for a spa break. Hotel Kuracyjny is very nice indeed although the area also offers many other high quality spas.

LondonChickThreads: 43 Posts: 1,261 Joined: Nov 19, 07	Mar 3, 08, 02:44 / #
spiritus wrote: I don't blame the PNTO's website. I blame the PNTO for not marketing Poland in the UK and for failing to make any obvious attempts to change people's perceptions. I mentioned the website as that is supposed to be the online flagship of the Polish tourist board and yet they can't even be bothered to get it working properly. I also would not consider checking a country's official tourist website for info. but that doesn't mean other people don't. It doesn't reassure sceptical travellers when the State are so blase about promoting their own country. The Baltic coast is a great place for a spa break. Hotel Kuracyjny is very nice indeed although the area also offers many other high quality spas. I don't work with the PNTO, but I do work in the travel industry, and my impression is that they do a lot of PR (press trips to generate good editorial in the press and general promotional activity etc). I went to the World Travel Market at Excel at the end of last year, and was quite impressed with their presence there. I guess the challenge that Poland faces is to encourage tourism, yet steer away from the stag-party madness. Sure Krakow's popular with groups of lads, yet it's nowhere near as bad as Tallin or Prague. Cheers for the tip - Kuracyjny was in fact on my short-list.