Will You Pass the Passport Test?
British holidaymakers applying for their first adult passports can no longer take advantage of a fast-track service because they now have to face interviews as part of the process
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is advising holidaymakers to allow six weeks for a first-time passport application.
It also advises travellers not to finalise travel arrangements until they have received their passport.
The new regulations mean anyone aged 16 or older applying for a passport must take part in a short interview to confirm their identity where they will be asked questions about themselves and their families to ensure that they are who they say they are.
For more information on the passport interviews visit www.passport.gov.uk
Spain on Jellyfish Alert
Measures to tackle the growing threat of jellyfish are being implemented by the Spanish Government among the country's most popular resorts.
In recent years incidents of bathers and tourists being stung on the beaches around Spain, including the Balearic islands of Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca have increased dramatically.
The measures include fixed barrier nets and the use, by fishing boats, of deep sea fishing nets which could be used to capture jellyfish off the main beaches tourist beaches but not in all areas.
For advice on dealing with jellyfish stings see our Holiday Health Guide
US Airport Security
Tightens
The US is moving ahead with stringent checks on foreign passengers, Secretary of State for Homeland Security Micheal Chertoff has confirmed.
These will include taking all ten fingerprints of passengers on their arrival and before take-off, airlines flying to the US must transmit to the American security services the passports details of all on board, plus their addresses, phone numbers and credit card details.
This allows the secret service computers to cross check in case they have a record of anyone on board also having been in a terrorist training camp in, for example, Pakistan or Afghanistan.
The EU reluctantly agreed to this on a temporary basis, but that agreement runs out in July.
Some countries and privacy advocates say handing over passengers details may infringe their rights and data protection legislation.
It appears certain, according to reports in the UK, the US will insist on getting the information even after July.
Currently passengers entering the USA have their iris scanned and both index fingers recorded. This will increase to all ten fingers by the end of the year.
The more digits they record, the more chance they say they have of cross checking and catching offenders.
Civil rights groups and others will continue to try and protect our privacy, the US will continue to try and protect the US and people travelling to the US.
Tunisia's Top for Bargains
Tunisia has come out top in a survey of the cheapest short-haul destinations to offer real bargains for eating, drinking and souvenirs.
The annual Thomas Cook Cost of Holiday Living Index surveys prices on 16 typical holiday items across 23 popular destinations.
A bottle of wine with a Tunisian meal can be bought for less than £4. Even closer to home, Bulgaria offers a bargain holiday experience, with a beer for under a pound and three-course meal around £10 per head.
In general, the non-European destinations are the cheapest to head for. Tunisia offers the lowest prices, then Bulgaria, followed by Morocco, Gambia and Cuba.
Interestingly, prices in Majorca have been steadily decreasing, so that in many cases items are even cheaper than in Turkey. Other Spanish destinations and Greece have higher prices.
Without exception, however, every holiday destination examined offers cheaper prices than in the UK, so every Briton will enjoy good prices and holiday bargains no matter what their destination for this summer.
Cyprus Jet ski Tragedy - Outrage
There's outrage that a beach trader was only fined £523 for allowing under age British tourists to ride jet skis which resulted in a fatal accident.
The court in Cyprus ruled Aristos Ioannou should have insisted on seeing their passports to prove the pair were at least 18 before hiring them the machines, which can reach 45 mph.
The judge in Limassol could have sent him to prison for three years. He could have imposed a £3,000 fine. But the court decided that £523 was the correct penalty for Ioannou, 30, who has continued to run the beach business at Pissouri with his father.
John Pollard, coroner for South Manchester, expressed his shock at how easily the “dangerous machines” could be hired.
Disney Bans Smoking
Disney World has banned cigarettes and cigars for good in its hotels and time-share buildings this summer, making it the largest single-site resort complex to take such an action.
The ban includes all Disney-owned hotel rooms and time-share rooms, and on their balconies, patios and other areas except designated smoking zones.
"We've just continued to see the demand for smoking decline, and in the last several years it has really begun to fall off dramatically," Disney World Senior Vice President Erin Wallace said. "Less than 4 percent of our rooms today are being reserved for smokers. It's time to go the whole way."
As with its policy in the theme parks, Disney World will designate outdoor smoking areas in fairly private locations at all its hotels. Disney instituted a similar policy last year at its Disneyland hotels in California.
Dubai Land Theme Park
A Universal Studios theme park will be a centre piece attraction in the huge 'Dubailand' holiday resort rapidly rising in the United Arab Emirates.
The park, to be called Universal Studios Dubailand, will be comparable in size to Universal Studios Orlando, should open by 2010 and is projected to eventually draw up to 5 million visitors a year.
Officials of Orlando-based Universal Parks & Resorts and the United Arab Emirates announced that a Universal park will be built in the quickly developing Arabic vacation land.
The region already features world renowned landmark hotels, a gigantic Mall of Arabia, stadiums, museums, golf courses and beaches and plans also have been discussed for a water park and other parks.
Universal Parks & Resorts won't own or run the theme park but will license the company's name, expertise, training, operational methods, products and top attractions, such as Revenge of the Mummy.
That arrangement makes Universal Studios Dubailand much like what Universal Parks & Resorts has in Japan and Spain, and especially like the new Universal Studios planned in another multi-attraction tourism city being built from scratch in Singapore.
Villa v Investment
The top places to invest in an overseas property this summer are Morocco, Dubai, Cyprus, Budapest and the Caribbean, according to some experts.
A study, based on rental, price growth potential and current prices claims Morocco's "lush gardens, olive groves, medieval alleyways and the vibrant market stalls" was a key reason for its increased popularity with investors, as well as more cheap flights.
Flight bookings to the country were up 295 per cent in 2006 compared with the previous year, and Real Holiday Guides Editor, Paul Lockitt said: "Cheap flights definitely make destinations a more attractive investment prospect for those in search of a holiday home."
Prices for Moroccan properties range between £100,000 and £125,000 on average, with the cheapest properties around £50,000 and the top-end luxury homes costing millions.
Dubai
Dubai's combination of luxury, glamour, ambitious tourist developments and city living, making it a good place to invest this summer, the website predicts.
Two-bedroom apartments with panoramic views can be bought for £146,000, with luxury freehold condominium properties available for £400,000.
Cyprus
A high quality of life, relatively inexpensive living costs and great climate has seen investors becoming more interested in buying property on the island of Cyprus.
The full adoption of the euro in 2008 is also set to see more investment on the island, which has the top tourist destinations of Paphos, Larnaca and Limassol.
Caribbean
The Caribbean meanwhile has good returns on holiday buy-to-lets, especially during the international cricket season
Two-bedroom homes with private gardens in St Lucia are available from £106,500, with large four-bedroom houses with sea and mountain views in St Kitts and Nevis for £227,100.
An apartment in the Bahamas is available for £124,000 with two-bedroom penthouses in the Dominican Republic costing around £191,000.
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