EasyJet, Europe’s leading low-fares airline, announced the introduction of a new daily route to Bucharest from October 29th which represents the airline’s commitment to growth in Central Eastern Europe.

Located on the Dambovita River, the historic Romanian capital was once known as ‘Little Paris’ thanks to its French inspired architecture and is now returning to its former cosmopolitan glory after overthrowing the communist regime in 1989. With its renewed vigour focusing on tourism, this friendly city provides a fascinating mixture of history and cultural heritage combining Romanian aristocracy, French and German influences and communist society. The city is home to a variety of museums, art galleries, concert halls and 18th and 19th century palaces on wide tree lined boulevards. The most famous sights being the city’s very own Triumphal Arch on the elegant Soseaua Kiseleff boulevard, the grand Royal Palace and the majestic Palace of Parliament - the world’s second largest building after the US Pentagon, which is a powerful reminder of the communist years. Bucharest is also well known for vibrant nightlife, with a wide range of bars and cool nightclubs for partying until the early hours or for gambling away your Romanian Leu (the local currency) at one of the converted 18th century palace casinos.

This new route will undoubtely increase the level of interest by foreign investors looking to purchase properties in Bucharest.

Romania is known for its strong computing and language skills coupled with cheap labor.

Romanian programmers are among the most sought-after in the world as large international IT companies turn to the east European country to take advantage of strong computing and language skills coupled with cheap labor.

IT is one of Romania’s fastest growing export sectors with turnover of about 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion).

Roughly 90 percent of some 1,000 IT companies in Romania are foreign-owned and the government hopes exports will reach 1 billion euros in the next couple of years.

In February, Bill Gates opened a Microsoft Corp. technical support center in Bucharest. The investment followed, among others, the launch of a development center by Amazon.com Inc in the university town of Iasi in 2005.

That is the online retailer’s only software development hub in Europe besides one in Scotland’s Edinburgh.

The creativity of Romanian programmers, prospects for large cash inflows from the European Union after Romania joined the bloc this January, cut-rate taxes and low wages add to Romania’s appeal.

“In Eastern Europe, Romania is appreciated as having the biggest growth potential together with Turkey and Russia,” said Stefan Cojanu, head of Oracle Corp in Romania.

The software maker, which has a support and software development center in Romania, has doubled its local staff to 1,000 over the last year since opening a tower office in central Bucharest. It plans to hire an additional 500 employees.

“The geographical distance, the similar time zone and business mentality argue for us to develop our activities in a country where costs are also lower,” Cojanu said.

Romania’s low wages of around $600 a month compare with $1,050 in Poland and $950 in the Czech Republic. Both countries also attract hefty investment in the IT sector.