travel news review

9 March '99
While duty free shopping is officially scheduled to end in the member countries of the European Union (EU) on 1 July, 1999, many countries are hopeful duty-free shopping can be extended for another couple of years. Of the 15 member countries in the EU, Germany, France and Britain are the main campaigners for an extension for duty-free shopping. It is estimated that if duty-free shopping goes, more than 140,000 jobs would also go. When the end of duty-free sales in EU countries eventually does come into place, travellers to Europe will still be able to obtain duty free items, as the new restrictions will only apply to intra-EU travel. As an example, if you travel between Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, and France, duty-free purchases will still be possible. Current member countries of the EU are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

16 February '99
Edinburgh is planning to open a number of tourist attractions this year. The new Museum of Scotland has recently opened and the new multi-media Dynamic Earth, featuring all things relating to the geography and environment of Scotland, opens in May. A new gallery, situated next to the existing Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, housing the works of Eduardo Paolozzi and other modern Scottish artists, will also open later this year. If you are planning to be in Edinburgh for Hogmanay 1999/2000, start looking for a place to stay pronto as it's already hard to find a bed. The top Caledonian hotel, it is rumoured, is asking (10,000 for it very best suite on the night.

15 February '99
Finding a clean beach in the United Kingdom is not as easy as it used to be according to a recently released report from the Tidy Britain Group. The group surveyed 153 beaches in England, Scotland and Wales, compared the results with an earlier 1996 survey, and announced an overall decline in beach cleanliness. England's north-eastern beaches, the midlands east coast beaches and a number of beaches in Wales fared the worst in the survey, which looked at issues such as beach litter, toilet facilities, dog control and water safety. If you want a day at the beach, head for the beaches at Barmouth, Cromer, Herne Bay, Poole or Shanklin. Give the beaches at Aberdeen, Hembsy, Largs and Prestwick a miss.

20 October '98
A new generation in youth hostels now poses a threat to the old fashioned backpacker establishments of Scotland. Commercial alternatives to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) have sprung up around the country, offering cheap accommodation but loosening up traditional hostel restrictions such as curfews, alcohol bans and single sex dormitories. The new hostels are attracting many backpackers who prefer the more relaxed atmosphere. Stories abound of people being locked out of the SYHA hostels at 11pm and being kept in line by 'wardens'. One popular misconception is that SYHA has a religious mission; its objective since its founding in 1931 has been to encourage travellers to experience and understand the Scottish countryside and places of historical interest.

28 September '98
We're not sure what this says about the British psyche, but of the 50 new tourist attractions opened last year in Britain, the three most visited sites were aquariums. The Aquarium of the Lakes in Cumbria, the Macduff Marine Aquarium in Aberdeenshire and the Maryport Aquaria in Cumbria attracted, in total, more than 374, 000 visitors during the past year. The number of tourist attractions , especially outdoor attractions, continues to grow in Britain.

7 September '98
Europe's cheapest airline, the Dublin-based Ryanair, has seriously cut its fares to Europe. Travellers are being offered a fare of just US$28 (one-way) to get from London's Stansted airport to Rimini in Italy, Kristianstad in Sweden or St Etienne in France. While not every fare is as low as $28, all fares on Ryanair's 13 routes from the UK to Europe have been reduced as part of an 'autumn seat sale'. The reduced fares will be available for flights between 22 September and 6 December, but they must be booked and paid for by 15 September. British Airways budget airline Go, which was launched earlier this year despite a legal challenge from other budget airlines, has also joined the fare sale offering a return fare London to Edinburgh for $116.

7 September '98
In an attempt to control unruly behaviour on its flights, British Airways is to issue disruptive passengers a yellow warning card. The yellow warning cards are based on soccer cards - a yellow card equals a warning and instead of a red card, you get arrested on arrival if you don't start behaving. There have been more than 260 incidents of disruptive behaviour on BA flights over the past year, but only 32 of these incidents were alcohol related.

12 August '98
The 52nd Edinburgh Festival Fringe began on the weekend with a parade of flesh-baring Bangkok transvestities and worm-eating Hungarian midgets. More than 10,000 artists will perform in Fringe events which will be held this week in the lead up to the more conservative Edinburgh International Festival, which begins next weekend. The month long festival attracts more than 1 million visitors to Edinburgh each year.

15 July '98
The Department of Health has announced that the current system of free vaccinations for travelers is to be canceled. Currently travelers are able to obtain vaccination jabs and malaria medications from their local doctor for free under National Health Service funding. While most doctors support the Department's decision to charge for travel vaccinations, some doctors believe the travelers who most require vaccinations - those who are young, traveling in high-risk countries and with limited funds - are unlikely to be able to afford the vaccinations.