At the meeting which has just been held in London of the UK - Gibraltar Tourism Association (UKGTA) tour operators reported sustained growth in demand from the UK market for short-breaks of 3 to 5 days in Gibraltar.

Thomson Holidays representative at the UKGTA, Helen Fletcher, reported that Thomson Holidays had seen over 20% growth in its sales to Gibraltar in 2005, compared to the same period in 2004.

Gibraltar is now in 18th place out of the 70 city-break destinations offered by Thomson Holidays, and carries a similar volume of holiday-makers as Budapest, Nice and Cracow.

Managing Director of My Vacations, the online city break specialist, Raj Kumar, confirmed growing demand for Gibraltar as a visitor destination. He informed the UKGTA that Gibraltar is its top selling destination. Sales increased following the launch and marketing of a dedicated website, www.mygibraltar.com.

Hon Joe Holliday, Minister with responsibility for tourism, commented, "We are delighted to have made the Thomson City Break Top Twenty, and to be enjoying such good results from City Vacations. Gibraltar is an attractive destination that appeals to the British market for many reasons. We are looking forward to coping with further demand from British visitors.

" Note to editors:

The UKGTA was formed in 1993. It meets regularly to collaborate on initiatives to advise the Gibraltar Tourist Board and to promote Gibraltar as a tourist destination. Its primary marketing tool is an annually produced commissionable brochure featuring packages to Gibraltar from a range of UK tour operators. The brochure is widely distributed, and is racked by independent travel agents.