New EU sparks tourist overload fears
By Annabel Archer
(CNN) -- Travel industry experts have shrugged off fears that small central European countries joining the European Union on May 1 could lose their identity as visitors flood in.
The concerns increased following an announcement on 12th February by low-cost airline easyJet that it will start flights to the Slovenian capital Ljublijana.
"It is a viable worry," Frances Tuke, of the Association of British Travel Agents, told CNN. "There is always some concern over any new travel destination that is poorer than the origin of its tourists."
And Matthew Mavir, boss of lastnightoffreedom.com, a stag and hen weekend package supplier, warned that Ljublijana could easily lose its identity as the big tour operators move in.
"It has happened with Prague and Dublin, so there is a definite danger," Mavir said. "The more money you can save on a low-cost flight to these places, the more you have to spend on beer and going out."
However, easyJet rejected suggestions that its passengers would spoil smaller eastern European destinations. Spokeswoman Samantha Day said: "That is unfair: easyJet carries a whole range of people from all walks of life, from students to lords and ladies."
The fears were also dismissed by the Slovenian Tourist Board in London. Spokeswoman Angela Rennie said Ljublijana attracted a sophisticated sector of the market that would appreciate its charms. "Hotels in the city are still expensive," she said.
Brett Smith, of Vamos Travel agreed. "Ljublijana is a chic Italian-influenced capital that certainly wouldn't attract the "Brits abroad" boozy crowd. It is more geared to attracting couples in search of a romantic break and the discerning traveller," he said.
Britain's Minister for Europe Denis McShane also dismissed fears that nations joining the EU would be spoiled. "Far from losing their national identity, these countries are reasserting it."
