Tour Briefing

January 28, 2010

Ya’lla Offers Fams to Turkey for ASTA’s IDE Visitors

In conjunction with its participation as a seminar leader and exhibitor at ASTA’s International Destination Expo (IDE) in Istanbul, April 19-22, Ya’lla Tours USA is conducting three five-day/four-night fam tours, April 23-27. The fam trips will feature sites even the most seasoned Turkish traveler has not seen, according to a spokesperson for the Portland, OR-based tour operator. All are priced at $695 per person, double.

A pre-IDE fam, Culinary Istanbul, April 16-19, includes sampling traditional fare at a wide variety of venues, talks by local food experts, a cooking class, a class on Turkish coffee, and visits to the fish market and the Grand Bazaar for shopping and spices.

These educational tours will focus on Turkey’s culture and cuisine and are designed to fully prepare participants to sell more Turkish travel. The attendees will benefit from the smaller group settings and in-depth experienced guides for which Ya’lla is known, according to the spokesperson.

The post-IDE fams are:

Gaziantep & Nemrut, includes the hundreds of room-sized mosaics recently unearthed near Gaziantep, Atatürk Dam and the ancient city of Sanliurfa between the Tigris and Euprathes Rivers to visit what is thought to be the cave of Abraham’s birth.

Also, Bodrum and Blue Voyage includes sailing along the beautiful coastline on a traditional Turkish sailboat to see many hidden coves and sites such as Orak Island and Poyraz Bay. Touring in Bodrum will include the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and other highlights.

Antalya & Bodrum tours Perge and Aspendos with a visit to the Antalya Archeological Museum and includes Phaselis, Demre and the sunken city at Kekova Island. There’s a cruise on Dalyan River and highlights in Bodrum include the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

The fams include transfers, group limit sizes from six to 15 participants and all post-IDE fams include the last night in Istanbul. Tours do not include intra-Turkey airfare.

Ya’lla’s Turkish tour guides average 10 years of experience and are selected on their ethics, personality and knowledge. It is a Ya’lla standard that tour guides direct all future travel needs through the booking travel agent so bookings can lead to repeat and referral business for the agent.

Faith-Based Travel Specialist Seminar: Ya’lla Tours preisdent Ronen Paldi will present the seminar, “Turkey, Europe’s Unknown Pilgrimage Destination,” at the IDE. The seminar will highlight many of the Turkish sites key to Christian pilgrimages and outline sample itineraries. The seminar will also provide expert tips on how to organize faith-based tours, how to solicit new business and how to identify reliable tour company partners.

All those attending the seminar will receive the DVD “In the Footsteps of Paul” that is suitable for use in client presentations.

Founded in 1993, Ya’lla Tours USA specializes in exotic Mediterranean destinations such as Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Turkey, Jordan and Greece. Ya’lla Tours USA is also the only wholesale tour company licensed by the US Treasury to operate legal travel to Cuba.

More information on Ya’lla, which means “let’s go” in Hebrew and Arabic, is available at www.yalllatours.com or by calling (800) 644-1595.

Buda Castle EuropeToo Offers Budapest Easter Package

EuropeToo is offering a special Budapest Easter package for travel between March 30 and April 5. Priced from $1,099 per person, air and land, the five-night package includes roundtrip air from JFK on Delta Airlines, Lufthansa or Austrian Airlines; five nights at the Hotel Corinthia Grand Royal; buffet breakfast and hotel taxes daily; complimentary access to the hotel’s Royal Spa; comprehensive city tour by motor coach; and a free upgrade to next higher room category based on availability at time of check-in.

Agents can call (877) 387-1866 for more information.