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1. Britain imposes new travel requirement for visitors from Europe
Travelers from Europe to Britain who don't need a visa will be required to purchase a permit online. The Electronic Travel Authorisation requirement that begins Wednesday will cost visitors £10, but that fee rises to £16 starting April 9. The move is made in an effort to strengthen immigration security, Reuters reports.
Irish citizens will be excluded from the requirement, which was implemented for travelers from the United States, Canada and Australia last year. When applying for the ETA, individuals have to upload a photo and biographic details, as well as respond to prompts on suitability and criminality. If approved, the ETA is linked to the traveler's passport. The ETA is good for up to six months in the country across two years.
"Expanding ETA worldwide cements our commitment to enhance security through technology and innovation," migration minister Seema Malhotra said last month.
2. Canada cancels consumer carbon tax
It just got cheaper to take a road trip in Canada. In one of his first moves as Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney canceled the consumer carbon tax, which applied at the pump. Gas cost an extra 17.6 Canadian cents a liter, and natural gas was taxed at 15.25 Canadian cents per cubic meter, CBC reports.
Justin Trudeau implemented the tax as prime minister in 2019. The industrial tax for large-scale polluters remains in effect. Consumers will feel the savings at the pump, but with the tax also goes the associated carbon rebate.
"The federal carbon price for consumers will disappear today in all provinces except Quebec, where a provincial price on carbon meant the federal price didn't apply. B.C. also had its own consumer carbon tax, but that province's carbon price is lifted as of today, too," the CBC article states.
3. European hoteliers optimistic on 2025's potential
Day 2 of the International Hospitality Investment Forum EMEA had a tone of optimism across programming, HNN's Bryan Wroten and Terence Baker report. While ongoing trade wars, travel advisories and potential economic hardships are concerns for hoteliers, conference speakers emphasized the strength of consumers' desire to travel. Europe, the Middle East and Africa, might even attract more travelers as they avoid the U.S.
Hotel transactions in the region are still slow, but an interest in individual deals and portfolio sales is piqued, and once deals begin to flow, experts said to expect a wave of owners selling off non-core hotels as they try to right-size their portfolios.
4. United to expand long-haul flights to Pacific destinations
With long-haul flights offering a beacon of hope to U.S. airlines amid slow domestic demand, United Airlines said on Wednesday that it's adding new flights this fall to the Pacific region, including Thailand and Vietnam. The airline also said in the same news release it will launch a nonstop route between the U.S. and Adelaide, Australia, beginning Dec. 11 and a second daily flight between San Francisco and Manila, Philippines, starting on Oct. 25.
Once the new flights are launched, United will have routes to 32 different cities in the Pacific region — four times that of any other U.S. carrier, per the airline.
5. Marriott opens latest AC hotel in Pasadena
The AC Hotel Pasadena officially opened this week. The new 194-room property has more than 9,500 square feet of flexible meeting and event space and a rooftop restaurant and bar that's slated to open this quarter.
The hotel has been in the works since late 2020, with construction starting in August 2023. It is owned by California-based Welcome Group, which owns and operates a portfolio of 11 hotels.