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Falcon Travel to run weekly flight from Zurich to Cardiff

03 March 2005

The Wales Tourist Board welcomes news of the first ever solely inbound series charter to Wales, due to fly weekly from Zurich to Cardiff over summer 2005 (26th June - 21 August 2005).

With 97 seats per flight, the charter is predicted to increase Swiss visitors to Wales by 6-7% by bringing 800 additional overseas passengers into Wales. With an average spend of £300 per head, this will contribute an extra £240,000 to the Welsh economy from the Swiss market.

The new service is chartered by the Swiss company, 'Falcon Travel', part of the Swiss Travelhouse Group, currently the fourth biggest operator in Switzerland. Falcon Travel is the largest outbound tour operator specialised in Britain in Switzerland with more than 20 years of experience.

The new flight coincides with the launch of their new brochure, including the largest representation for Wales to date. Dedicating 13 pages to Wales, Falcon Travel offers holidays to Wales including a six-day tour including Cardiff, Brecon, Cardigan Bay and Snowdonia, as well as a section on country house hotels across Wales.

Andrew Davies, Welsh Assembly Minister for Economic Development and Transport, said: "These charter flights will be bringing in visitors from a wealthy and sophisticated country who will be looking for a high quality experience, a sector of the market that we are keen to cultivate.

"In addition, Falcon Travel's venture could prompt others to follow suit or, more importantly, lead the company to extend its service to Wales in some way, with the potential for increasing our revenues from overseas markets."

Roger Pride, marketing director WTB comments, "We look forward to warmly welcoming this first inbound charter to Wales. I believe it is a direct reflection of the growing awareness and interest in Wales in international markets.

"We will work with Falcon Travel and Cardiff Airport to make sure that it's a success. Accessibility and direct links to a country are extremely important when marketing Wales and we look forward to welcoming more charters in the future".

Cardiff International Airport's managing director Jon Horne says, "This is an historical occasion for Cardiff International. Traditionally regarded as an airport from which Wales departs to other destinations, this new inbound flight reinforces a change that has been taking place gradually over the past few years. Increasingly, Wales is becoming a destination and the airport is a means of accessing Wales. Working with the WTB we hope to accelerate this growing trend."

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