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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.”
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Two refused countries will try again after Austria raised concerns about unauthorised immigration
Croatia has been given the green light to join Europe’s open travel zone, but Bulgaria and Romania were kept out because of opposition led by Austria over concerns about unauthorised immigration.
Croatia was cleared to become the Schengen zone’s 27th member after talks between the bloc’s interior ministers in Brussels. From 2023, people will not have to stop for border checks as they pass between Croatia and the rest of the zone.
Continue reading...Publishers praised UK city’s arts scene and gastronomic diversity as it makes the list of 30 best places to go
Lonely Planet has chosen Manchester as one of its must-visit destinations for 2023, the only UK destination to make the guidebook’s annual Best in Travel list.
The city is described as “one of the best – if not the best – cities in the UK, with something for everyone” in a roll of honour that includes Sydney, Lima, Montevideo, Marseille and Dresden.
Continue reading...Airport vows passengers will not face daily cap during biggest festive getaway in three years
Heathrow airport has said it is prepared for the biggest Christmas getaway in three years and promised that passengers will not have to face a return of the daily cap that was introduced as summer holiday travel descended into chaos.
Europe’s busiest airport, which said last month that on the busiest travel days over the festive period travellers may have to fly outside peak times to manage the festive rush, said it was working on contingency plans for potential strike action over the period.
Continue reading...A prototype craft that will fly network telecoms starts trials with north Wales mountain rescue services next year
Drones circling above the peaks of Snowdonia, providing an airborne mobile network in remote areas, may soon become a feature of the region’s mountain rescue operation.
The drones – like small unmanned gliders but with twin engines – would carry equipment providing 4G and 5G connectivity that would link mountain rescue teams and other emergency services with people stranded, lost or injured in remote hills where the mobile phone signal is often patchy or nonexistent.
Continue reading...Airport still has shortage of 25,000 staff and is keen to avoid disruption of summer
Heathrow has said passengers may have to fly outside peak times on some days in the run-up to Christmas to avoid further travel chaos, as Europe’s busiest airport admitted it is still short of 25,000 staff to meet high demand.
The airport, which this Sunday is due to lift the current cap of 100,000 passengers a day that was introduced in July as summer holiday travel descended into chaos, said it was in talks with airlines over the selective cap.
Continue reading...In Kyoto, local shop owners are ready to welcome back tourists but there is a way to go before a return to pre-Covid days
After more than two years of near-total isolation, Japan has reopened its borders to overseas visitors – but the road back to the pre-Covid tourism boom could be long and bumpy.
Last week, the country lifted some of the strictest pandemic border controls in the world when it removed a 50,000 daily cap on arrivals, reinstated waivers for short-term visas and dropped a rule requiring tourists to visit as part of group tours.
Continue reading...Entry rules to island lifted to allow unfettered access, while mainland China remains one of the few places keeping borders closed
Taiwan lifted all its Covid-19 entry restrictions on Thursday, allowing tourists unfettered access the self-ruled island after more than 2.5 years of border controls.
Hong Kong and Taiwan, together with mainland China, required most visitors to complete a mandatory quarantine period throughout the pandemic, even as most countries reopened their borders to tourists.
Continue reading...Operators catering for inbound tourists enjoy best month for bookings in three years
The plunging pound may cause British holidaymakers to choke at the prices if and when they next choose to go abroad. But one slice of the travel industry is seeing a silver lining in the storm clouds.
Tour operators catering for visitors are quietly calling it their best month for bookings since October 2019 as US tourists take advantage of sterling’s tumble.
Continue reading...Australia Post offers a priority service for $225 but there are fears it will just push those already waiting further into a backlog
Thousands of Australians are heading into school holidays anxiously waiting for new passports to arrive, with longer wait times for first-time adult and children’s passports amid ongoing delays.
The Australian Passport Office (APO) continues to see unprecedented demand post-Covid, receiving up to 15,000 applications per day and experiencing around six weeks of work in the processing queue.
Continue reading...Airline had started offering a single meal option on shorter Australian flights, prompting ire from travellers with dietary restrictions
Qantas will start serving vegetarian meals on all domestic flights again after a backlash from travellers.
At the start of the pandemic in 2020 Qantas reduced its meal offerings on board all domestic flights under 3.5 hours, which meant only providing a single option on some flights.
Continue reading...Approximately 40 flights due to land in or depart Sydney were cancelled on Thursday morning, leading to cancellations in Melbourne
Hundreds of people have had their travel plans thrown into chaos as high winds and heavy rainfall led airlines to cancel dozens of flights in and out of Sydney airport in the lead-up to the AFL grand final.
Approximately 40 flights due to land in or depart from Sydney were cancelled on Thursday morning, leading to knock-on cancellations in Melbourne, as severe weather warnings were issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) for heavy falls and thunderstorms across New South Wales’ east coast.
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Continue reading...Guests in middle of holiday will have to spend night elsewhere or go home early
Center Parcs has been accused by customers of “ruining people’s holidays” after it announced that it would close its UK sites for 24 hours from Monday morning to mark the Queen’s funeral.
The criticism came after the holiday company announced that guests at its five UK parks would have to leave by 10am on Monday, even if they are in the middle of their stay, and will not be able to return until the same time on Tuesday morning.
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