Venice entry fee will start next year

Cities and countries across Europe have introduced visitor taxes as they battle the return of mass tourism following the pandemic. The extra fees can mean increasing the cost of your holiday by hundreds of dollars.

Skiers and riders, it’s time to start plotting out your 2023/24 season.

Visiting Iceland will soon cost a little more, but the increased expense will go to a good cause. The Nordic country plans to add a new tax for tourists that will support climate and sustainability goals.  “Tourism has really grown exponentially in Iceland in the last decade and that obviously is not just creating effects on the climate,” Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Iceland's prime minister, said in a television interview on Bloomberg this week while attending the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit 2023 in New York City. (Iceland saw a sharp rebound in tourism after COVID-19 lockdowns, with over 8.5 million travelers visiting the country in 2022.) While no specifics were provided on the exact cost, Jakobsdóttir noted the tariff would “not be high," and it would be implemented as city taxes for people staying in Iceland. Jakobsdóttir also said her administration has been working closely with tourism companies throughout the country to make changes that are sustainable for the environment, including companies moving their fleet of vehicles to electric.  Many cities globally already have tourism taxes in place as a way to increase investment in the community, however, tourism taxes to support sustainability efforts have begun to gain popularity around the world.

What we now know as Denmark was a home base for Viking expeditions far and wide. The Viking Age, characterized by sea travel, trading, exploration, and settlement, was not without its fair share of conflict even at home.

Tempted to move somewhere new? Why not make some money at the same time. In recent years, a new trend has emerged in the United States, with cities and destinations offering financial incentives to attract new residents. While these incentives might have once been reserved for places trying to lure new high-profile corporations, today, the money is being given to people seeking a fresh start.

UNESCO has once again spared Venice from its list of world heritage sites in danger, declining to add the famous Italian city after initially drawing the ire of the group due to the effects of climate change and over-tourism. 

A UNESCO committee has decided not to add Venice to the organization’s World Heritage List in Danger, disregarding a recommendation from experts and sparing the Italian government from an embarrassing verdict on the city’s condition.

This week sees the release of The Haunting in Venice, a Poirot thriller set in the titular canal city. Dozens of films have been shot in the tourist hotspot, many in some of the most frequented locations in the city including St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.

While many films have been set in Venice, Kenneth Branagh’s latest murder mystery reveals a less glimpsed—and more ghostly—side of the city. A Haunting in Venice, based on Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie, finds Hercule Poirot, played by Branagh himself, in retirement in the Italian city in 1947. However, given the Belgian detective's knack for getting ensnared in a mystery, he is soon enticed into attending a séance in a grand palazzo on Halloween night, where a murder reveals possible supernatural occurrences. Once inside the house, Poirot is haunted by unseen spirits in his search for the truth.

Venice will not be included on UNESCO’s list of “World Heritage in Danger” after a panel voted on Thursday to reject the recommendation of experts at the agency who had raised concerns that Italy had not done enough to protect the fragile city, which is threatened by climate change, mass tourism and development.

German airline Lufthansa is expanding its presence in the United States, adding new flights and new cities to its robust lineup of international flights. 

Apple is back with a brand-new iPhone, and it’s one every traveler will adore for a few key features. On Tuesday, Apple revealed the latest iteration of its famed phone, the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which come with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from the company. But this time, it’s also coming with its most advanced camera yet.