Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me Simon Calder and I'm at

Trays Union Congress Congress House in central London but I'm not here for any of the many

strikes which are bedeviling travellers at the moment I'm here because there is a convention

a conference called New Deal Europe, and it's all about

the Balkans. And there's hundreds of people here. It's a completely full house. And one of them is the

notable tour guide and historian. My good friend James Hill from Chicharoni Travel. James, what are you doing here?

You do Italy and stuff like that.

What are you doing in the Balkans?

Well, good morning, Simon.

Gosh, what am I doing in the Balkans?

What I'm doing in London?

Well, I flew in from Italy the other day

to see lots of colleagues and friends from across the region. And this is a

terrific fair because it features a number of tourist boards, tour operations in those particular

countries to promote a part of the world that is as interesting historically as it is culturally,

as it is gastronomically. So I suppose it's worth mentioning that not all the countries here are in the Balkans. Slovenia, yes, a part of the ex-Ugaslavia, one of the six constituent republics that made up the ex-Eugoslavia, but not a Balkan country. In fact, if you want to put your foot in it, Simon, rather royally, go to Lumbiana and say, it's so nice to be in one of the Balkan countries,

because they'll look a little mift.

Okay, so we know that Slovenia isn't technically in full a Balkan country.

So let's run through them. Let me guess what I think they are.

So certainly Bulgaria, probably Romania, definitely Serbia,

Kosovo to the south, North Macedonia, previously the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania,

and I guess Croatia, which is a long-time favourite.

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