Nytt världsarv - och hit flyger svenskarna i vinter

The country with the most Unesco World Heritage Sites in the world now has another one. We can also tell you where Swedes are flying this winter, when they fly regularly. It's Monday today, and that means travel news at FREEDOMtravel.

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Croatia aims to become a year-round tourist destination

Croatia welcomes visitors at all times of the year. The country offers historic cities such as Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar as well as a wide range of national parks and nature reserves, including Plitvice Lakes, Krka Waterfalls and Paklenica. Geopark Biokovo-Imotska jezera was recently added to UNESCO's list of World Geoparks. This year, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Slunj, a town in the mountainous part of central Croatia on the list of the 54 best tourist villages in the world.

Plitvice Lakes, photo: Aleksandar Gospic

Italy has been enriched with a 59th World Heritage Site

There were already 58 Unesco World Heritage Sites in Europe. Italyand now they have added another one. The new site includes the Evaporitic Karst and caves in the northern Apennines, in Emilia-Romagna. The site contains over 900 caves in a relatively small area, with over 100 kilometres of caves in total. This is a very well studied karst and there are very deep caves, reaching 265 metres below the surface.

Viking Cinderella switches to Finnish flag

In March 2024, the Viking Line vessel Viking Cinderella will move from the cruise service between Stockholm and Mariehamn In connection with this, the Cinderella will be re-flagged to the Finnish flag. In spring 2024, Viking Line will also start new cruise traffic out of Stockholm in cooperation with Gotlandsbolaget. The two shipping companies each own 50 per cent of the cruise ship, which was previously called Birka Stockholm.

New flight connection from Munich to Uzbekistan

From now on, Uzbekistan Airways will offer two direct flights per week from Munich to the Uzbek capital Tashkent. Every Friday and Sunday, flights from Tashkent arrive in Munich at 9:20 a.m., returning to Uzbekistan at 10:45. The flights are operated by a modern Airbus A320neo. The new service is aimed at both business travellers and tourists: the country is known for its Silk Road attractions and colourful cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara.

Inaugural Flight Uzbekistan Airways © Munich Airport

Two new direct routes from Stockholm to Canada

Canada's largest airline, Air Canada, will establish itself at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in June next year. With two direct routes to Toronto and Montreal five times a week, Air Canada will be an important addition to Stockholm Arlanda, connecting the Swedish capital with Canada as well as the North American market.

Norwegian signs charter agreement with TUI

Norwegian and TUI are continuing their cooperation for the upcoming winter and summer season with flights from Scandinavia to destinations in Europe. In Sweden, Norwegian flies from Karlstad and Stockholm. squid to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and from Stockholm to Catania. In Norway, Norwegian flies from several cities to destinations in Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey. Flights in Denmark are from Copenhagen to Mallorca and Catania.

Scheduled flights increase sharply for winter travel in 2023

Ahead of the 2023 winter season, travel agency Ticket sees a 40 per cent increase in travel by scheduled flights. Swedes are once again starting to demand trips where flights and hotels are combined separately to suit their specific needs. Bangkok is the most popular regular destination this winter, followed by other destinations in Thailand and Spain. Other popular destinations are Sri Lanka (place 7), Chile (place 8), Vietnam (place 9) and Philippines (position 10). Most popular destinations for scheduled flights in winter 2023/2024:

Bangkok, Thailand
Phuket, Thailand
Malaga, Spain
Krabi, Thailand
Gran Canaria, Spain

reflection of the week

Italy's new world heritage site sounds interesting, and it's great that you can now fly to exciting Uzbekistan from Munich! When it comes to regular travel, Thailand and Spain are hardly surprising, but it's exciting that some other destinations are also on the top list.

Did you miss last week's travel news? Read the Luxury hotels, bargains and how many people plan to travel this winter