DORKING, England, February 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Kuoni, a leading luxury travel brand, has opened a sumptuous new store in the Whitefriars Shopping Centre in Canterbury, with an unusual 'meet and greet' desk. The desk is knitted from 3,250 metres of Merino lambs-wool, other mixed wools and cotton in a variety of eye-catching colours.

Mrs Margit Viola of Augsburg in Germany is the lady who spent weeks lovingly knitting the desk using 34 balls of wool in colours: orange, bright blue, grey, black, brown and white. The completed piece was then flown to the UK and installed, ready to meet Canterbury's Lord Major and other VIP guests from Canterbury on the 31 January 2012 at the store's official opening party. Mrs Viola, well known for her knitting prowess, was commissioned by Kuoni to start knitting the desk back in 2011.

The inspiration for the knitted desk came from Julie Day, Facilities Manager at Kuoni, who says: "I wanted to create a dramatic first impression to the store as well as an unusual feature. The knitted desk is a real talking point and people love to touch and feel its texture. There is something about wool that is naturally warm and welcoming; this feel links with what Kuoni wants to convey - the warm welcomes our travellers receive from our staff across the world."

In addition to the meet and greet desk, the store also boasts a dramatic 16 metre long rug that runs the length of the floor and up a wall to ceiling height in a dramatic mix of terracotta, mustard, olive green and beige colours. Authentic artefacts from different countries such as Bali and Africa make visitors feel a sense of far flung places and exotic travel from the moment they arrive in store.

Kuoni's Personal Travel Experts are on hand in the Canterbury store to help advise-on and plan the best holiday for you. Customers can find the store at 16 Marlowe Arcade, Whitefriars Shopping Centre, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2TJ or phone on 01227-463-800.

About Kuoni:

Kuoni was established in 1906 in Switzerland by Alfred Kuoni, a visionary adventurer and explorer of his time who opened some of Europe's first travel agencies. Today it has branch operations in over 40 countries. For 105 years Kuoni has been creating holidays with a spirit of adventure and has been recognised consistently, winning coveted awards such as The World's Leading Tour Operator for 11 years in a row at the World Travel Awards, Best Large Tour Operator at the 2011 Daily Telegraph Ultratravel 100 Awards for five consecutive years, best Luxury Tour Operator at the Sunday Times Travel Magazine Readers' Awards and scored most highly in the Which? top 20 travel company survey 2011. Kuoni has also been voted Britain's Best Long-haul Tour Operator by travel agents for the past 29 years. Kuoni offers holidays in a wide variety of destinations, such as USA holidays including Hawaii holidays and Las Vegas holidays as well as many packages for honeymoons and weddings abroad.

Kuoni is ABTA and ATOL protected, giving customers financial protection and ensuring they won't be stranded abroad. And customers are safe in the knowledge while they are abroad that Kuoni have professional ground agents and English speaking guides to ensure they have an enjoyable stay.

PR contact:
Anne-Marie Hansen
Kuoni Travel Ltd
Kuoni House
Deepdene Avenue
Dorking
Surrey
RH5 4AZ
+44(0)1306-744-173
http://www.kuoni.co.uk

SOURCE Kuoni