A holiday in Prague - for your stuffed toy

Mar 11, 2010, 9:36 GMT

Prague - If you have ever considered sending your favourite teddy bear or stuffed toy on a journey then think about calling upon the services of an agency based in the Czech capital.

In addition to organising the itinerary, the agency also offers clients spectacular souvenir photos of their toy's journey. 'This idea is not a joke,' says the agency's owner, Tomio Okamura. 'We're thinking of expanding to Munich, Berlin, Budapest and Vienna this year.'

Planning your toy's trip begins with a visit to www.sendyourdarling.com online. A standard travel package costs 90 euros (122 dollars) while a luxury deal including 'aromatherapy' and massage costs 150 euros. Daily email communication is part of every package 'so that no-one needs to get worried,' says Okamura.

Once your toy is in the post it is sent to Prague's famous castle, the Charles Bridge and other attractions the city has to offer where its visit is immortalised with a photograph. For the return journey your bear receives its own passport and photo album. Toys heavier than three kilograms are charged extra for the service. The agency's owners are planning to offer the website in a number of languages including Japanese.

'We got the idea from a contest and were inspired by the French film Amelie where a garden gnome is sent on a trip,' Okamura says. Okamura and his four business partners have invested 37,000 dollars in the project which went online in February.

Several dozen customers have already signed up but the company needs 100 a month to go into profit. There are 1.2 billion soft toys in the world, 'all of them potential customers,' says Okamura.