Recommend December 2013 - (Page 72)

eu r op e NOSTALGIC FOR EUROPE  Kyle of Lochalsh in Scotland is home to the Eilean Donan Castle, sitting on Loch Duich.  Europe-from Great Britain to Italy, France, Germany, Eastern European countries, and Turkey, too-is never one to rest on its laurels, with new vacation experiences awaiting first-timers as well as those North Americans who just can't get enough of this historically, architecturally, and culturally rich continent. paloma villaverde de rico Just as I was starting to write this article that has allowed me to take baby steps back over the course of 2013 and rekindled my memories of exploring ruined castles in Scotland, small cities in Germany and sitting high atop the city of Vienna while riding the city's famous Ferris wheel, I received a press release from Insight Vacations (insightvacations.com) stating that "Italy remains number one in Insight Vacations' top 10 countries for 2013." No coincidence, then, that in this year's Recommend Readers' Choice Awards, you, our readers, selected Italy as the Best Selling Destination as well as the Sexiest Romance/Honeymoon Destination in Europe. And really, what's not to love about Italy? According to Adamarie King, owner of Connoisseur's Travel, who will be visiting Italy a couple of times in 2014, Umbria, where she has a home, "offers endless delights and discoveries with each visit. 72 december 2013 Puglia is another quasi-hidden gem, not yet on the radar screen of most travelers. The same of course applies to the island of Sicily, full of wonderful surprises and an easy destination to explore at a relatively reasonable cost." That brings us to traditional European destinations that continued to be as popular as ever in 2013-France, Germany, Great Britain and Italy. Germany (germany.travel), for example, had an increase of 1.1 percent in American visits to the country in the first seven months of 2013; over in Great Britain (visitbritain.com), it was a 14 percent increase for visitation from North America when comparing August 2013 to August 2012 (making it the best August since 2009), and Portugal (visitportugal.com), a destination we deemed hot for 2013 back in the November 2012 issue, also had a bumper year, with a 20 percent increase as of press time, in overnight stays by recommend.com ©VISITBRITAIN / BRITAIN ON VIEW http://www.insightvacations.com http://www.visitbritain.com http://www.visitportugal.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend December 2013

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Canyon Ranch
Tour Talk: Insight Vacations
17th Annual Recommend Readers' Choice Awards Winners
Cruising 2013
Discovering North America
Caribbean Trends
Anguilla Travel Agent Specialist Program
Asia & The South Pacific in the Rearview Mirror
Mexico 2013
Latin America in 2013 and Beyond
Africa + The Middle East Continue to Make Stides
Nostalgic for Europe

Recommend December 2013