Category Archives: Travel

Orient Express to axe UK section after 41 years due to Brexit

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Luxury train operator cuts service ahead of biometric passport checks so passengers will have to join train in Paris

When the Orient Express began operating in the 19th century, passports were optional – the only paperwork required by British travellers was a copy of the Thomas Cook Continental Timetable.

But Brexit and 21st-century biometric checks are killing off the romance of crossing borders for modern passengers looking for the nostalgia of the luxury train journey that inspired Agatha Christie and Hollywood.

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Indonesia considers tourist tax to curb bad behaviour in Bali

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Business groups fear cost could damage tourism sector still recovering from effects of pandemic

Indonesia is considering imposing a tax for tourists after a series of incidents in which badly behaved foreigners have violated laws or customs, according to local media.

The tourism and creative economy minister, Sandiaga Uno, told reporters this week that the possibility of a tourism tax was “currently being studied”.

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‘A plague of locusts’: Barcelona battles port authorities to curb cruise tourists

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Councillors and residents hope to limit the number of daytrippers arriving by boat to preserve the city’s streets and character

The ships, at times dwarfing the average apartment building, begin lumbering into Barcelona while much of the city is still asleep. Stretching as long as five buses, some come to embark or disembark passengers, while others disgorge thousands of daytrippers keen to glimpse the city’s modernist architecture and stroll the narrow streets of the gothic quarter.

It’s a scene that plays out daily in Barcelona – much to the chagrin of some local officials. Last Monday, five cruise ships were slated to arrive; this Friday, on 14 April, eight are expected.

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US teen to cycle across Europe after completing perilous ride from Alaska to Argentina

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Liam Garner’s Pan-American adventure lasted a year – now he’s eyeing another odyssey, and planning to write a book about it

A US teenager who reported being robbed and even hospitalized while spending more than a year bicycling from northern Alaska to southern Argentina is now mulling plans for a similar trip from Europe to Asia.

Liam Garner and his trip across the Americas, which he completed in January, has drawn headlines from international news outlets including CNN, Insider and the BBC. But he is insisting he’s not done with his efforts, which he says demonstrate that one doesn’t have to be rich to travel internationally.

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Port of Dover adds overnight sailings to help clear severe coach backlog

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School holiday delays of up to 14 hours blamed on ‘French border processes and sheer volume’

Extra sailings are to run overnight at the Port of Dover to try to clear a backlog that left passengers stuck in Easter school-holiday traffic for hours on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the port, which declared a critical incident on Friday, said it was hoping to clear the backlog by lunchtime on Sunday as some travellers said they had been held up for 14 hours.

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Plans for rail pass for UK staycationers axed over cost concerns

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Exclusive: extensive consultations since idea was proposed 18 months ago have found it would not be commercially viable

Plans to boost domestic tourism by introducing a rail pass for British staycationers have been axed, the Guardian can reveal.

The idea was initially heralded by the government as a way to help struggling businesses get back on their feet as the final Covid restrictions were being lifted in the summer of 2021, but extensive consultations since have found that the plan would not be commercially viable.

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BBC’s Race Across the World stirs Canadian hopes of UK tourist boom

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British viewers are showing an interest in travelling to Canada after launch of reality show’s third series

Canada’s tourism industry this week expressed hopes for a rise in UK visitors after the third series of BBC’s Race Across the World launched in the UK to rave reviews.

The reality show, in which five couples travel 10,000 miles (16,000km) from one side of Canada to another on a shoestring and without flying, could be a boon to the country’s recovering tourism sector. Arrivals were down 40% in 2022 from their high in 2019, but there are hopes for an increase with UK viewers inspired by the epic scenery and charmed by helpful Canadians.

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Visitors to the UK’s leading attractions down 25% on pre-Covid numbers

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Perfect storm of Covid, Brexit, energy prices and cost of living crisis blamed for disappointing figures

Visitor numbers at the UK’s leading attractions are still almost a quarter lower than before the pandemic, thanks to a perfect storm of Covid, Brexit, energy prices and the wider financial crisis, according to the sector’s trade body.

Figures published on Friday by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions show that while the number of visits to its sites rose by 69% in 2022 compared with the year before, this was still 23% lower than in 2019.

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Kefalonia claims the title of best Greek island in Which? Travel survey

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Scenery, sandy beaches and solitude are key to the Ionian island’s appeal, according to the report, which put party-loving Mykonos in last place

Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian islands, with its emerald-coloured mountains, secluded coves and underground lakes, has been crowned the best Greek island by Which?.

Abundant sandy beaches, scenery uninterrupted by high-rise buildings and access to much-sought-after solitude sealed the deal for the island, off the west coast of mainland Greece, in the consumer body’s annual survey. Which? asked more than 1,000 visitors to rate the 10 main Greek islands on factors including beaches, attractions, scenery and value for money.

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Heathrow told to cut passenger charges in move that could lower fares

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Decision by Civil Aviation Authority comes despite airport having argued for higher fees

Heathrow airport has been ordered to cut average passenger charges by about 20% next year, in a move that could translate to lower ticket prices for travellers.

The decision by the UK regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) comes despite Heathrow having argued for higher fees, which are charged to airlines and are used to fund baggage handling, security and other costs across the airport’s terminals.

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‘It’s a bit too castle-y’: plans to turn Cumbrian fortress into eco-attraction

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Young ‘custodian’ hopes to make ancestral home of Muncaster first carbon-zero castle in UK

In 1990, the year Ewan Frost-Pennington was born, the final bears left Muncaster Castle in the westernmost corner of the Lake District. Winnie, an Asiatic black bear, departed Cumbria for Dudley zoo, along with Inca, her daughter, and her sister, Gretel.

Three decades later, the bear pit has now been covered over with a solar farm. It is the brainchild of Frost-Pennington, the heir to the 800-year-old pink granite fortress, as he tries to make Muncaster the first carbon-zero castle in the UK.

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Record number of Britons head to Greece as nation enjoys tourism boom

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UK nationals outnumber Germans for first time, as post-pandemic rebound helps Greek economy to grow by 5.6% in 2022

UK travellers are leading an extraordinary rebound in tourism to Greece with arrivals up by 181% last year, according to the country’s central bank.

Almost 4.5 million Britons were registered at Greek entry points, a record number and nearly 3 million more than in 2021.

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Heathrow has busiest start to year since before Covid lockdowns

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More than 5.4m passengers travelled through airport in January, double the 2.6m from 2022

Heathrow airport had its busiest start to the year since before the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns in 2020 as travel restrictions continued to ease, according to data published on Monday.

More than 5.4 million passengers travelled through the UK’s and Europe’s busiest airport in January, double the 2.6 million from 2022, Heathrow said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

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Kylie, Ultra Violet, Kim Petras: WorldPride festival has ‘something for everyone’, CEO says

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Sydney is gearing up for a massive, global party — but it’s also an important reminder of the work still to be done on LGBTQ+ rights

Sydney’s WorldPride will have something for everyone, organisers say, as the city gears up for 17 days of festivities surrounding the 45th anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The festival – which will include more than 300 events – kicks off on Friday, and will end with an expected 50,000 people walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday 5 March.

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‘Ritual humiliations’: African music stars struggle to get visas to Europe

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A Kenyan DJ’s post of being denied transit through Amsterdam has put the spotlight on airlines’ alleged racist policies

Emma Nzioka, a Kenyan performer and DJ known as Coco Em, was looking forward to the Terra Sagrada festival in Cape Verde for nearly a year. Some of her favourite African artists, such as Boddhi Satva, would be playing.

But Nzioka did not make it to the festival last month, or out of the country, for that matter. At the check-in counter in Kenya, she was told she could not board her flight unless she bought a return ticket with the same airline (she had one with another airline) to “prove” she would return home. Although Nzioka was going to Cape Verde, she was transiting through Amsterdam.

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WHO urges Covid data ‘transparency’ as China prepares to open borders

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says WHO officials stressed to Beijing the importance of sharing data ahead of easing of travel restrictions on 8 January

The World Health Organisation again urged China’s health officials to regularly share specific, real-time information on the country’s Covid surge, as the UK joined other countries in bringing in travel restrictions, citing a lack of data as the reason.

WHO Covid experts met Chinese officials on Friday and “again stressed the importance of transparency and regular sharing of data to formulate accurate risk assessments and to inform effective response”, said the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

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‘Unacceptable’: Southwest flight chaos and cancellations lead to US inquiry

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The airline cancelled about 8,000 flights, stranding customers and leading to hours-long queues to speak with overworked staff

The US Department of Transportation will examine thousands of flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines over the holiday weekend, a massive disruption which left thousands of holiday travelers grounded, even in areas of the country not suffering from winter storms.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Joe Biden said: “Thousands of flights nationwide have been canceled around the holidays. Our administration is working to ensure airlines are held accountable.”

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Australia’s tourism body wants to lift working holiday visa age limit to 50

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Lifting age eligibility rules would help attract a wider range of skilled workers and professionals, Tourism and Transport Forum boss says

Australia’s peak tourism body wants the working holiday visa age cut-off to be lifted to provide a wider range of skilled workers and professionals.

The federal government is conducting a migration review to find ways of addressing worker shortages across Australia.

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TSA intercepted record number of guns at airports in 2022 and 88% were loaded

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Agency said it anticipates preventing a total of 6,600 from entering secure area of airports by end of year, a nearly 10% jump from 2021

The Transportation Security Administration has intercepted a record number of guns at airport safety checkpoints this year, and an overwhelming majority of them were loaded.

In a statement released late last week, TSA revealed that as of 16 December, its officers had intercepted 6,301 firearms. Out of those, 88% were loaded. The number marks an increase of more than 300 from the 5,972 firearms that were detected in 2021. About 86% of the firearms confiscated last year were loaded.

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