No more queuing at the border: Finland tests digital passports in world first

Between Estonia and Lithuania lies the unspoilt parkland of Latvia.

While travelling for wellness feels like a modern phenomenon, the Romans were known to travel to thermal baths as early as the 2nd century BC. The earliest spas—the Latin word for which, ‘salus per aquam,’ translates to ‘health from water’—were considered integral to a healthy life. Roman legionaries would sooth their sore muscles in natural spring water and thermal treatments were prescribed to relieve physical ailments. Centuries later and Italy continues to take their spas seriously.

France will seek support from other EU nations for a minimum price on flights in an effort to cut the aviation sector's carbon emissions. 

ITB Asia, Asia’s leading travel trade show, is pleased to announce its top exhibitors for the highly anticipated 16th edition, set to take place from 25 – 27 October 2023 in Singapore.

What countries spring to mind when thinking of the Viking Age? Chances are it’s the likes of Norway, Denmark, Iceland, or Sweden that you most closely associate with the seafaring Norsemen of the 8th to 11th centuries.

For generations, designers have adopted towns, villages, and other enclaves as second homes and visited them again and again, imprinting a touch of their own sensibility on their chosen place—and importing something of its essence into their own work. It’s the kind of symbiosis that Coco Chanel and Le Corbusier, who summered in neighboring homes, enjoyed with the Cote d’Azur’s Rouquebrune Cap-Martine, or Yves Saint Laurent with Marrakech and Tangier. More recently, Christian Louboutin popularized the Portuguese village of Melides, eventually opening Vermelho Hotel there earlier this year. Here, five designers on the places they go, and why they continue to be pulled back.

As the travel industry continues to recover from the pandemic, one sector remains undeniably healthy—the six-figure vacation. According to several leading luxury tour operators, the ultra-rich are booking more trips that cost upwards of $100,000, including around-the-world excursions and extended journeys to Asia and Africa. Says Justin Huxter, cofounder of Cartology Travel, “the focus is shifting to spending more on the experiences rather than the primary focus being on the accommodation.”

Just like airline boarding passes and public transit tickets, our passports might soon make the leap to our personal devices—and turn our beloved stamp collections into a relic of the past.

The Sámi, the Indigenous people of northern Europe, have a complicated relationship with tourism. Growing numbers of visitors to their homeland, Sápmi (which stretches across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, and includes popular destinations like Lapland) bring economic potential, but often the Sámi themselves only feel tourism’s negative impact.

When planning a city break, modern travelers consider a range of pros and cons. Are the hotels up to standard? Where are the tastiest places to eat? And what exactly is there to do in the city?

For the first time, a nation is allowing travelers to cross its border with a digital passport on their smartphone instead of a physical passport. While the trial is happening in Finland, the European Union wants at least 80% of citizens in the 27-country bloc to be using a digital ID by 2030.

The Finnish Border Guard will allow passengers on selected Finnair flights to and from the UK to pass through border control at Helsinki Airport using new Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) from 28 August 2023.