Move brings an end to a 60 day visa-free stay that was agreed with 93 countries, including the UK, US and much of Europe
Thailand is drastically cutting the length of visa-free stays for tourists from more than 90 countries in an effort to curb crime involving foreign nationals, officials said on Tuesday.
Tourism is vital to the south-east Asian nation’s economy, but foreign arrivals are yet to return to their pre-Covid levels.
Continue reading...New rules would enable single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators throughout Europe
Cross-border train journeys through several European countries are the stuff of many a holidaymaker’s dreams.
But the reality of trying to buy the tickets, navigating multiple websites without knowing who can help if a connection is missed, can prove less than relaxing. As one MEP puts it, it can often require “five tabs, three apps and a prayer”.
Continue reading...Revocations will start on Friday for those who owe $100,000 or more, and then expand to those who owe $2,500 or more
The US state department will begin revoking the US passports of thousands of parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support.
The department told the Associated Press on Thursday that the revocations would begin on Friday and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. That would apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, according to figures supplied to the state department by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Continue reading...Haris Doukas warns that with 700,000 residents and 8 million tourists, people are being pushed out of their neighbourhoods
In the heart of ancient Athens, on narrow streets and around archaeological sites, visitor groups appear to be everywhere, snaking their way behind tour guides.
At other times, officials would have welcomed such scenes. But for Haris Doukas, the socialist mayor who is determined to reclaim the capital’s congested city centre for its citizens, the start of the tourist season leaves much of its historic heart at risk of “over-saturation.” Entire neighbourhoods, he believes, are in danger of losing their authenticity because of uncontrolled tourist development.
Continue reading...Carriers will retain airport slots if they cancel services as passengers are urged to continue with travel plans
Penalties on airlines that cancel UK flights because of jet fuel shortages have been eased, it has emerged, as the government issued fresh advice to reassure the public they can still fly and should stick to travel plans.
Airlines that cancel owing to a lack of fuel will not lose their rights to valuable takeoff and landing slots at busy airports, which can be forfeited when flights fail to operate over a period.
Continue reading...Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dare
A tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank.
Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria.
Continue reading...Summer holidays could be hit unless oil flows through strait of Hormuz recommence within three weeks
Airports have warned that jet fuel could run short within three weeks in Europe if oil supplies do not start to flow through the strait of Hormuz, raising concerns over flight cancellations in the UK and EU going into the summer holiday season.
Jet fuel shortages will become so acute without the resumption of supplies from the Middle East that cancellations across Europe will be inevitable, disrupting travel plans for potentially millions of passengers.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Environmental impact assessments are ‘incomplete’, say leaders, and private beach club could harm fragile ecosystems
Indigenous community leaders in Vanuatu have raised concerns over plans by the cruise operator Royal Caribbean to build a private beach club on the island of Lelepa, arguing environmental impact assessments by the company are “incomplete” and “misleading”.
The community leaders outlined the issues in a letter sent to Royal Caribbean on 26 February, which has been seen by the Guardian. The leaders also said the development could harm fragile ecosystems and a nearby Unesco world heritage site.
Continue reading...Bypassing animal health certificate system by using cheaper pet passport issued abroad could backfire, experts say
British pet owners who want to take their furry friends elsewhere in Europe have been warned not to try to dodge expensive health certificates by using a pet passport issued abroad.
Before Brexit, taking a cat, dog or ferret to the EU was relatively simple: the Pet Travel Scheme meant an animal needed a microchip, vaccination against rabies, a pet passport and, for dogs, there were also requirements concerning tapeworm treatment.
Continue reading...Limiting access to German church to well-off visitors would be ‘socially unjust’, critics say
Plans at Cologne Cathedral to start charging visitor fees have sparked an outcry, with critics warning against limiting access to the majestic gothic building to the well-off.
Officials said this month that the cathedral, the tallest twin-spired church in the world and a tourist magnet in Germany’s fourth largest city, could only be maintained with a new revenue stream.
Continue reading...Select departures organised as US state department warns Americans to leave on commercial flights ‘due to safety risks’
Travellers stranded by a widening war in the Middle East began departing the United Arab Emirates onboard a small number of evacuation flights on Monday, as governments around the world worked to extract their citizens from the region.
Etihad Airways and Emirates, the airlines based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively, and the budget carrier FlyDubai said they would operate limited flights after the chaos and damaged caused by Iranian missiles and drones.
Continue reading...European Sleeper will operate the new service from March 2026, replacing the Nightjet train that is being axed next month
The resurgence of sleeper trains on the continent hit a kink in the tracks in September, when the Austrian state operator ÖBB announced that it would be axing its two Nightjet services – Paris to Vienna and Paris to Berlin – from 14 December. ÖBB cited the French government’s ending of subsidies, dealing a blow to the night-train renaissance.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. European Sleeper has told the Guardian that it will be taking over the route from Paris to Berlin, with the first train to run on 26 March 2026. The train will operate three times a week with departures likely to be from Paris Gare du Nord on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings and the return service from Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The current Nightjet service departs Paris Gare de l’Est just after 7pm and winds east via Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Erfurt and Halle before arriving in Berlin around 8.30am. European Sleeper intends to make the journey via Brussels, with precise route details and timings currently being confirmed with infrastructure managers in France, Belgium and Germany.
Continue reading...Grand Egyptian Museum next to pyramids of Giza billed as world’s largest archaeological facility for single civilisation
A vast $1bn museum billed as the world’s largest archaeological facility dedicated to a single civilisation will open outside Cairo on Saturday, after countless delays over the course of its two-decade construction.
The Grand Egyptian Museum, located a mile away from the pyramids of Giza, covers an area of 470,000 sq metres. The complex was announced in 1992 but it was not until 2005 that construction began. Some areas of the museum opened in a soft launch in 2024.
Continue reading...UK rail regulator approves Richard Branson firm’s application to use Temple Mills site in London
Richard Branson’s train company is a step closer to challenging Eurostar’s monopoly on transporting passengers across the Channel after the UK rail regulator approved Virgin Train’s application to use a key depot in east London.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) approved Virgin’s application to use the Temple Mills depot in Leyton – which is used for maintaining and storing trains. It said the move would unlock £700m of investment in new services and create 400 jobs.
Continue reading...Firm will instead invest A$2m a year in ‘climate impact fund’ supporting renewables and switching to EVs
One of the travel industry’s most environmentally focused tour operators, Intrepid, is scrapping carbon offsets and abandoning its emissions targets as unreachable.
The Australian-headquartered global travel company said it would instead invest A$2m (£980,000) a year in an audited “climate impact fund” supporting immediate practical measures such as switching to electric vehicles and investing in renewable energy.
Continue reading...Some Nightjet services suspended from mid-December after French withdrawal amid public budget crisis
Night train services linking Paris, Berlin and Vienna are to end from mid-December because of the French government’s withdrawal of funding, the Austrian national rail operator has said, in a blow to sleeper travel on important European routes.
ÖBB, the largest provider of such trains in Europe, has led a drive to revive a once popular form of low-emission transport as an alternative to flying.
Continue reading...Zaventem asks airlines to cancel half of Monday departures, while most of Heathrow flights expected to operate
Hundreds of thousands of passengers at Heathrow and Berlin airports faced flight delays on Sunday after a cyber-attack hit check-in desk software, while cancellations at Brussels airport suggested that disruption of Europe’s air travel would continue into Monday.
Airlines were forced to revert to slower manual check-ins from Friday night after the attack hit Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in desk technology to various airlines.
Continue reading...Attack raises questions over security as Brussels and Berlin airports’ check-in and boarding systems also affected
Flights have been delayed and cancelled at three leading European airports – including London’s largest, Heathrow – after the company behind the software used for check-in and boarding said it was hit by a cyber-attack.
Airports in Brussels and Berlin are also experiencing delays and disruption as a result of the problem affecting Collins Aerospace, which works for several airlines at airports across the world.
Continue reading...Restrictions to prevent travel for healthcare and college and come after denying visas to Palestinian Authority leaders
The United States has suspended visa approvals for nearly everyone who holds a Palestinian passport, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
The restrictions go beyond those Donald Trump’s administration had previously announced on visitors from Gaza. They would prevent Palestinians from traveling to the United States for medical treatment, attending college and business travel, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified officials.
Continue reading...Holiday company boss says tourists are opting instead for destinations such as Canada, Africa and Asia
Tighter border rules are putting European tourists off holidaying in the US, according to Europe’s biggest package trip operator.
Tui’s chief executive, Sebastian Ebel, said there had been a “significant decline” in travel to the US, due to a multitude of factors including “the atmosphere, what you hear from border control”.
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