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.

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.

17 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.

17 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.

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.

8 July '98
The summit and surrounding national park of one of the highest peaks in Britain, Mount Snowdon, is for sale. Located in north-west Wales, Snowdonia is the second largest national park in Britain and at 1068m (3560ft) Mt Snowdon is its second highest peak. One of the three farms which reach the summit of Mt Snowdon is up for sale, with an asking price of close to US$5 million. Included in the sale is more than 1600 hectares (4000 acres) in the national park, two farms, fox hunting kennels and some fabulous views.