Category: TRAVEL

A photographer has captured the ‘darker side’ of Las Vegas in his gritty sequence of black and white shots featuring a juxtaposition of hopeful holidaymakers wanting to hit it significant at the casinos and destitute locals on the road.  

In an post posted by Bored Panda, Kurtz Frausun wrote that he was on his honeymoon with his spouse when he took the evocative photos, indicating he ‘was equipped to locate that hidden attractiveness in the urine-soaked streets.’ 

The filmmaker and photographer from Dallas, Texas, explained that he required to check out the stark distinction involving the ‘Haves and Have-Nots’ in Vegas as opposed to the glitz and glamour of the casinos and reveals. 

‘There’s a desperation in all people,’ he claimed. The tourists wanting to strike it rich at the casinos, the hustlers earning money off of them, and the destitute wanting for scraps. I hate the “obvious” shots men and women can acquire in a town like Vegas, the straightforward photographs, the selfies though acquiring drunk. 

‘I preferred to photograph what other men and women tried not to see, the person crying about a damaged coronary heart, the person yelling for his mom, the few hugging and not certain of their upcoming way.’

The style is metallic, medicinal and faintly milky — and I’m battling to detect any of the health benefits promised by the water that as soon as captivated tens of thousands of website visitors.

Surrounded by lush woods of oak, ash, rowan and hazel, I reach down to the marble fountain in Rock Park, Llandrindod Wells, fill my water bottle and consider more compact sips, hoping this may well launch its magic.

Victorian and Edwardian city-dwellers, together with Edward Elgar, Neville Chamberlain and David Lloyd George, applied to flock to this 40 square-mile region — encompassing Llandrindod Wells, Builth Wells, Llangammarch Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells — hoping to benefit from the restorative powers of the chalybeate and barium springs.

Gargantuan resorts were created to accommodate the hordes, who stayed as extensive as three weeks, when they would drink the waters a few moments a working day and flock to elaborately decorated spas for programs of massage, and electric existing and warmth therapy.

Llandrindod Wells, a city with a inhabitants of barely 5,000, is property to the Metropole Lodge, a dark inexperienced-painted monolith with turrets and broad grounds which, a century back, had far more than 400 rooms. 

These days, ensuite additions and space expansions have minimized it to 109, but its scale in a city this smaller is utterly incongruous like parking a Boeing 747 following to a microlight.

It is from here that I start off to examine the cities, none of which are much more than 30 minutes’ push from every other. Each one particular has produced a character of its individual, to test to adapt to everyday living just after the vanished spa tourism market.

I travel very first to Builth Wells, with its energetic Higher Street whole of unbiased suppliers providing almost everything from milk churns to regionally sourced cuts of lamb shoulder.

Llanwrtyd Wells, additional spread out, is dwelling to once-a-year bog snorkelling and ‘man compared to horse’ competitions.

The Heart of Wales brewery, powering the Neuadd Arms Resort, tends to make award-profitable ales and the former church is now a museum that tells the whole story of the spas’ golden age below. 

I could blink and miss out on Llangammarch Wells a minuscule village of slate roofs, a Methodist chapel and a write-up business that feels as though it is set at the edges of Underneath Milk Wooden.

I just can’t find Dylan Thomas or Captain Cat, but up a lane lined with frothy hedgerows lies the Lake Region Home Hotel, a mock-Tudor retreat on the banks of the River Irfon, from which salmon are acknowledged to leap.

Run by the similar family members for virtually four decades, this is a put where by the owner’s pet, Molly, roams free of charge, and major rugs, pianos and quirky, framed Victorian photographs in some way combine to make a splendidly unstuffy environment.

A barium properly and pump area after stood in this article and was frequented by Kaiser Wilhelm. 

In the modernised spa lodge, I ultimately get to knowledge a restorative scalp and back massage right before a soak in the outdoor very hot tub overlooking the lake and croquet lawn past.

My drinking water bottle remains untouched throughout. 

A century on from the mild masochism of the Victorian spa treatment method, I have identified the fashionable, improved variation of a Powys spa break — one I feel absolutely sure Kaiser Wilhelm and Elgar also would have appreciated. 

For families who have been longing to get away for a real taste of overseas adventure, the autumn half-term break is proving more popular than summer did, so get in quick! 

Here are some of the best breaks available now.

Portugal’s castles and camps

Tuck into the local speciality of custard tarts during a couple of nights in Lisbon along with a trip to the fairytale castles of Sintra. Then it’s time to explore the dramatic rocky coastline of the Arrabida Natural Park by sea kayak. Should you wish, you can camp on a secluded beach.

In nearby Alentejo there’s the chance to go horse riding, cycling or to take surf lessons. End the week on the Algarve where you can recover from all that activity before the flight home.

Book: Seven nights for a family of four from £4,250, with flights into Lisbon and out of Faro, car hire, B&B and activities (stubbornmuletravel.com).

Getting busy in Barbados

Among the many great things about staying in the all-inclusive Turtle Beach resort in Barbados is taking the free water taxi to use the facilities and restaurants in the other Elegant Hotel resorts of Waves Hotel & Spa, Crystal Cove and Tamarind. There’s everything from beach cricket to calypso dance lessons, and non-motorised water sports are complimentary too, including boogie boarding, sailing, kayaking and surfing lessons.

Book: Seven nights from £3,099 per adult and £1,899 per child under 12, including flights (caribtours.co.uk).

Tackle bears in Greece

Book your teenagers in for some fun at the Bear Grylls Survival Academy in the Sani Resort in northern Greece, where they’ll learn shelter building, how to scavenge wild food, navigation by the stars and enjoy an evening around a camp fire.

Or take a family course with children aged eight and above and make spears and rafts, and track and catch your dinner.

The academy is new to the resort in Halkidiki, which also features football coaching in association with Chelsea Football Club and tennis lessons at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre.

Book: A week’s half-board for a family of three costs from £5,075 with flights (sovereign.com). Bear Grylls sessions are €40 a day, football academy is €95 a day and tennis from €250 for five daily 90-minute lessons.

Hot stuff in the Azores

The geological hotspot that is the Azores is a great place for kids to experience the geographic features they’ll learn about in the classroom – but much more fun.

Kayak in a volcanic crater lake at Sete Cidades as part of a full-day jeep tour, where you’ll explore smoking fumaroles and bubbling hot springs and go caving in grottoes formed from solidified lava.

There’s also time for whale watching and swimming with dolphins. Add on coasteering – a fun scramble along the wild coastline – and you have an amazing family adventure, returning each night to the Grand Hotel Acores Atlantico in Ponta Delgada. An added bonus? It’s way cheaper than similar trips to Iceland.

Book: Six days with flights via Lisbon, activities and car hire, costs from £1,125pp (bushbabytravel.com).

Waves of fun in France

If you’d rather stay close to home, nip over the Channel for a break at this waterside retreat on the border of Normandy and Picardy.

Domaine du Lieu Dieu has floating wooden water cabins sleeping four, some with hot tubs. There are onsite activities including horse riding, paddle boarding and boating, and you can go sand yachting or seal watching on the wide open stretches of nearby beaches.

It’s just over an hour and a half from Calais, and there are yurts, wagons and cottages to stay in, too.

Book: Three nights for four from €489 (lieudieu.com).

On your bike in Majorca

Explore the lanes and cycle paths of the quieter, southern part of Majorca.

Starting at the idyllic beaches and salt flats of the Migjorn region, head towards the rural heart of the island through the rolling plains of Es Pla.

The terrain is largely flat and you’ll cover between eight to 23 miles a day, with options for shorter or more challenging routes.

Book: Six nights’ half-board from £945 per adult and £728 per child, with luggage transfer between accommodation, cycle hire but not flights (inntravel.co.uk). E-bikes are available for £70 extra.

Swim with whales in Dominica

Dominica is the Jurassic Park of the Caribbean, with lush rainforest, volcanoes and national parks rarely visited by UK tourists. And it’s a great place for an active holiday, hiking to the ‘boiling’ lake in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park with its fumaroles, hot springs, lakes and volcanoes, abseiling down the waterfalls or even swimming with sperm whales in the surrounding sea. The last option isn’t cheap – it’s a real bucket-list activity – but you’ll remember it for ever.

Book: Seven nights’ B&B at the Fort Young Hotel And Dive Resort from £1,795pp with flights via Barbados (steppestravel.com). Or spend a week on a private catamaran with three days’ swimming with whales, three scuba dives and three land tours from £4,125pp with flights (diversetravel.co.uk).

The wild side of Canada

If your children get a two-week half-term break and are either vaccinated or under 12, head across the Atlantic to see autumn colours at their best.

This 13-night tour starts in Toronto with a private guide to take you around the city, before you pick up a car to hit the road and explore the forests and waterways around Lake Huron. There’s plenty of hiking, cycling and fishing along the way, with nights in cottages and rustic hotels.

The trip ends with two nights in a tented camp on the shores of Lake Ontario in Algonquin Provincial Park, home to moose, beavers and white-tailed deer.

Book: 13 nights’ B&B with flights and car hire from £4,300pp (originaltravel.co.uk).

Gorge walking in Crete

The dramatic Samaria Gorge is only a few feet wide in some places, where its sides seemingly reach to the sky. It makes a scenic full-day hike.

You can also cycle the foothills of the White Mountains, through olive and orange groves, walk to the fishing village of Loutro and try sea kayaking at Sfakion. There’s plenty of time to explore the old town and Venetian harbour of Chania and to relax on the beach.

Book: Seven nights’ B&B costs from £4,880pp with flights and activities included (stubbornmuletravel.com).

Fun on the Catalonian coast

Enjoy an active holiday at the family-run Hotel Garbi, based in the fishing village of Calella de Palafrugell where the rocky coastline has plenty of small coves to explore. There are numerous fully researched, self-guided walking and cycling routes, and a complimentary bike for each guest’s exclusive use.

Cycle to Palafrugell, which has daily food markets and a cork museum, or walk to the lighthouse of Sant Sebastian, continuing to the little resort of Tamariu.

Book: Seven nights’ B&B costs from £1,179pp with flights and bike hire included (headwater.com).

Take it easy in Cyprus

You’ll still get temperatures in the high 20s in October in Cyprus, so you don’t have to go long-haul for a simple beach holiday.

The Columbia Beach Resort in Pissouri on the south coast is on a long Blue Flag beach. You can hire a mountain bike to explore or take advantage of the hotel’s pools (there’s a heated indoor one too) five restaurants, kids’ club and spa. Activities include everything from archery to aerobics and boules to basketball.

Book: A week’s B&B at the Columbia Beach Resort costs from £2,142pp with flights (sunvil.co.uk).

The magic of Morocco

Explore the souks of Marrakesh and visit the Djemaa El Fna square at dusk with its snake charmers, story tellers and exotic food stalls.

Then join a guided trek into the Atlas Mountains, with donkeys to carry your kit. A final stop takes in the fortified seaside town of Essaouira, with kite surfing and camel rides across the sand.

This trip is tailor-made so you can add-on activities or extra nights, or trim it if your children get only a week at half-term.

Book: Ten nights’ B&B costs from £1,375pp including flights (originaltravel.co.uk).

An odyssey in Sicily

From the Minareto hotel you can take a boat across the stunning bay to explore the historical centre of Syracuse. Stroll past the ancient buildings, including a cathedral that was originally built as the Temple of Athena with Greek doric columns, elements of the Norman period and a Baroque facade.

Back at the hotel there are 97 rooms, including some modern suites with private pools, as well as a beach in the protected marine reserve.

Book: Seven nights’ B&B costs from £1,099pp with flights (britishairways.com).

Baltic island-hopping

While others are flocking to the Canaries or Crete, take a Baltic island-hopping tour instead.

Starting in the fairy-tale medieval city of Tallinn, drive to Lahemaa National Park to explore magnificent waterfalls, forests and lakes.

A ferry ride to Muhu island and a land bridge crossing takes you to Saaremaa, the largest island in the Estonian archipelago, with its impressive limestone cliffs and a medieval church.

Another ferry from the mainland takes you to Kihnu island – known as the Island of Women due to its seafaring and fishing traditions which keep the menfolk away for long periods.

Book: Six nights’ B&B costs from £876pp (baltictravelcompany.com).

• All trips and prices are for the week from October 23 unless otherwise stated. All the countries allow UK holidaymakers but requirements may vary for non-vaccinated visitors. Check the latest details at gov.uk.

Here I am — mud-spattered with grit in my teeth — peering in excess of a cliff at the ruffled floor of Lake Garda.

The surface area has been whipped up by the heat thermal wind that funnels down from the Ballino Move. To the west, mountains plunge into its dim blue depths, though the shoreline is dotted with brightly painted villages just about as ancient as the lava on which they perch.

I’m cheerful, verging on exuberant, in spite of currently being nearer 60 than 50 — and about as healthy as a lard cake. We’ve bounced around potholes, tree roots and slithered alongside mud and gravel tracks and I’m even now up for additional.

At the major of the ridge around the minor inexperienced lake we lunch very well, if not properly, in the interesting of a wayside inn.

Substantial helpings of Trentino beef stew with polenta are served with an Amarone crimson, right before we head back again down to Riva del Garda, the Roman port on the northern shore of Italy’s greatest lake. The autumn and winter season are great periods to go cycling along Lake Garda — and, luckily, the region is now open with no limits for the completely vaccinated. This was my off-road debut, even though it is time to confess: I am tests an electric powered prototype bike with a small team of cycle nuts just before heading off all over the lake on my possess. My steed is a new ‘e-gravel’ bicycle, as snug on-highway as it is off, and excellent for a person like me.

So immediately after a few of days on mountain trails I bid farewell to Johan, Ben and the techies and head off sedately on my lakeside odyssey, wending my way by means of Riva’s general public park towards the southern conclude of the lake.

It is a flat and uncomplicated 40-mile ride alongside sunlight-dappled streets down to Peschiera del Garda — but I stop soon after 25 miles at a lakeside resort at Torri del Benaco for lunch.

My table appears across the water to the west lender. I can make out the little city of Gargnano, where by D. H. Lawrence wrote Sons And Enthusiasts when conducting an affair with the married German aristocrat who later became his wife, Frieda von Richthofen. He data the adventure touchingly in Twilight In Italy.

The lake has been a writers’ haven for more than two millennia, given that Catullus penned erotic verse from his fantastic ‘grotto’ in Sirmione, seemingly stirred by the curiously suggestive form of Lago di Garda (just take a seem — you are going to see what I signify).

At Peschiera, I check out into the Garda Bike Resort, a shrine to biking if ever there was 1.

A fleet of Pinarello bikes is there for the guests, and the proprietor, Nicola Verdolin, can take me up to the winery of Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde, in the heart of Valpolicella region. This is a bit of a climb, but I breeze it.

Right after a wine tasting with some goats’ cheese, savouring the mulberry overtones of a recent vintage from this scenic little vineyard, we then hurtle down the mountain, by Marano di Valpolicella and to the lakeside vacation resort of Bardolino, exactly where waterside bars do a brisk trade in the blazing afternoon sunshine.

Back at the hotel, where by a team of cycle pros appear right after all your cycling requirements, food items is uncompromisingly but toothsomely geared in direction of good well being as most of the friends are additional picture-conscious than me.

In the cavernous bike garage my machine, a joint undertaking concerning Shimano, the Japanese suppliers of cycle widgets, and BMC, who are Swiss bicycle makers, fascinates the pros.

It is the Tesla of bicycles, boasting enormous distances less than battery and the most up-to-date light-weight technological innovation, adequate to electric power an individual like me to areas I have no proper to be, with no way too a great deal chance of a coronary heart attack. 

You do have to pedal, even though, make no mistake.

Selecting up his Pinarello with one particular finger, Nicola seems witheringly at my machine: ‘It’s like evaluating a BMW with a Ferrari.’

Lake Garda is a patchwork of boat and ferry routes and you can hop about as you desire, some of them even getting automobiles. I cycle on to Sirmione, the prettiest of the Garda villages.

It’s at the stop of a pencil-slender peninsula and has a best fortress and ramparts, oozing fashionable prosperity. I admire the landscapes above a plate of cassoeula, a Po Valley stew that goes back to Roman occasions.

There are heaps of routes up in the hills. 

They are conveniently available and nicely signed, and a excellent way of keeping away from the summertime lakeside jams. You can also get the ferry, which is what I do concerning Sirmione and Gardone ahead of heading north to Limone for the ultimate night time.

But 1st I choose in one particular of the most impressive museums I have ever found, advisable by a expensive good friend as a should. Vittoriale degli Italiani in Gardone is the previous household of Gabriele D’Annunzio, the Italian poet, novelist and serial seducer.

He was also a war hero whose energy and intimate picture was exploited by Mussolini to symbolise the flame of Italian fascism. 

The dwelling is a paradoxical shrine to tasteful kitsch, stuffed with classical collectible figurines, chinoiserie and even a full-sized battleship in the stately yard.

I bid farewell to the lake over a Negroni sundowner in the Porto Vecchio, the bike properly shackled to a railing.

A fitting farewell to the good lake and a unhappy parting of the methods with the bicycle, to which I have grow to be sadly attached.

Mark Porter is the author of Coast To Coast Cycle Routes (baytreepress.com). 

Savings of more than 50 per cent are on offer on winter sun getaways as tour operators slash prices to entice holidaymakers into booking trips.

With rules for travel set to change on October 4, making going abroad easier than ever, now is the time to bag a bargain. If you’re after some winter heat, there’s masses to choose from — and deals galore. Here are some of the best…

DON’T MISS MALTA

Moderate temperatures linger into the winter months making Malta ideal for those seeking heat, but it’s far from stifling. It was the first EU country to ban people who are not vaccinated.

You’ll need proof of a double jab to enter. Masks are still mandatory in public spaces and, while social distancing isn’t a legal requirement, it is still advised.

DON’T MISS: Hiking to the Blue Grotto via a five-mile scenic loop.

GRAB A DEAL: Save £190 pp on seven nights at the Inter-continental Malta from £488pp B&B with Gatwick flights (olympicholidays.com).

BALMY BARBADOS

With temperatures touching a summery 26c (78f) in December, Barbados is a guaranteed winter hotspot that has been on the green list since June. Visitors must present a negative PCR test to travel, test again and quarantine on arrival (one day if double-jabbed, five days non-jabbed). Social distancing and masks are still mandatory.

DON’T MISS: Seafood doesn’t come fresher than at The Fish Pot overlooking the north-west coast (fishpotbarbados.com).

GRAB A DEAL: Enjoy a week’s five-star, all-inclusive break at the O2 Beach Club and Spa from £2,049 pp, saving £1,099 pp, including Heathrow flights and private transfers (caribtours.co.uk). Must book by September 30. 

LOW-COST ST LUCIA

With daily highs of 29c (84f) in our mid-winter, St Lucia is another Caribbean favourite. Entry is straightforward; visitors must have proof of a negative PCR test taken up to five days before travel and undergo screening on arrival.

DON’T MISS: Hike under forest canopy to the top of Gros Piton, one of the two cone-shaped peaks (grospiton.com).

GRAB A DEAL: Save £156 pp on seven nights at the Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort & Spa with Heathrow flights from £1,853 pp all-inclusive (virginholidays.co.uk).

MARVEL AT MAURITIUS

Expect daily high temperatures of 28c (82f) in Mauritius during our winter. From October 1 onwards, those who are fully vaccinated will only need a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival. Those who are unvaccinated will still need to quarantine in an approved hotel for 14 days.

DON’T MISS: Spot playful dolphins and snorkel around the La Preneuse reef on a day cruise (jph.mu/dolphin-cruises).

GRAB A DEAL: Save up to £599 pp on seven nights at the elegant and comfortable Constance Prince Maurice hotel, now from £2,255 pp B&B including flights (abercrombiekent.co.uk).

ALL GO IN MOROCCO  

While you’ll still have some lovely warm days at this time of year, you won’t have to share them with the usual tourist hordes, meaning you can wander the souks and medinas in relative peace and quiet. Proof of a double vaccination or a PCR test 72 hours before arrival is required.

DON’T MISS: A half-day private walking tour takes in the Koutoubia Mosque, Saadian Tombs and the markets in the Medina (getyourguide.co.uk)

GRAB A DEAL: Save 39 per cent (£204 pp) on a seven-night, all-inclusive stay at the adults-only TUI BLUE Riu Tikida Garden in Marrakech, now from £322 pp including Gatwick flights and transfers (tui.co.uk).

CUT-PRICE CYPRUS

Cyprus is ideal for those who are seeking some sun but who don’t want to travel too far.

A four-hour flight from London, you’ll find daily highs of 19c (66f). If you’re double jabbed, there is no need for a PCR test or quarantining on arrival.

DON’T MISS: You’ll most likely have the important archaeological sites in Paphos, including Kato Paphos Archaeological Park and the Tomb of the Kings, all to yourself.

GRAB A DEAL: Seven nights at the stylish Annabelle Hotel, Paphos, from £495 pp B&B, including a 15 per cent saving on accommodation, Gatwick flights and private transfers (sovereign.com).

MAKE IT MADEIRA

It’s still T-shirt weather on Madeira during our winters. The volcanic Atlantic island averages daily highs of 20c (68f) in December, making it ideal for hiking — and a consistently low rate of infection.

This is in part thanks to stringent safety measures still in place; masks must be worn in public (although not on the beach) and social distancing maintained. Visitors need a negative PCR test or vaccination certificate.

DON’T MISS: For sea and city views, ride the Funchal cable car from the old town to Monte (madeiracablecar.com).

GRAB A DEAL: Save £300 pp on a seven-night stay at Quinta Da Casa Branca from £619 pp B&B with Gatwick flights and private transfers (tropicalsky.co.uk).

HOT IN FUERTEVENTURA  

The nearest of the Canary Islands to the African continent, Fuerteventura is magical in the winter and still hot enough to sunbathe. A pre-travel declaration form and negative Covid-19 test or proof of vaccination are required for entry.

DON’T MISS: Spend a day exploring the dunes and glassy waters of the Corralejo Natural Park (hellocanaryislands.com).

GRAB A DEAL: Seven nights at Alua Suites Fuerteventura with Gatwick flights and transfers from £474 pp (easyjet.com).

DAZZLING DUBAI

Dubai’s a guaranteed sizzler with temperatures climbing as high as 31c (87f) during our winter. You’ll need a negative PCR test to enter, as well as to register your details on the Covid-19 DXB app and undergo thermal screening at the airport.

DON’T MISS: Take a breather from the heat with at Wild Wadi waterpark (jumeirah.com).

GRAB A DEAL: Save up to 55 per cent on seven nights at Sofitel Dubai The Palm from £939 pp B&B with Heathrow flights (destination2.co.uk).

LOVELY LANZAROTE

Outside of the busy summer months, Lanzarote’s beaches, bodegas and volcanic scenery are all beautifully peaceful. And the weather reaches highs of 22c (71f). You’ll need a pre-travel declaration form and proof of a vaccine or a negative PCR test.

DON’T MISS: It’s the best time to enjoy the normally crowded sands and coves of Papagayo Beach in Los Ajaches Natural Park.

GRAB A DEAL: Enjoy seven nights at the family-friendly Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort in Playa Blanca from £974 pp, saving up to £220pp, with Heathrow flights (kuoni.co.uk). Must book by September 30.

Spectacular indeed.

We’ve scoured the world to bring you the world’s most edifying royal edifices – palaces that are big on beauty and plain big in scale.

Behold the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the heaviest building on the planet with its 700,000 tonnes of steel and bronze.

Marvel at Hampton Court Palace with its vast kitchens, where 200 cooks would rustle up feeds for Henry VIII and his entourage.

And feel your jaw drop as you gaze upon Italy’s Palace of Caserta, with its 1,742 windows and 1,200 rooms.

Then there’s the palatial Potala Palace in Tibet, which is the world’s highest palace at 12,139ft (3,699m) above sea level. Scroll down to feast your eyes on these vast premises and more, which take the art of housebuilding to a whole new level…

Is a large moon set to touch down in Las Vegas? Apparently, there’s a single in the pipeline.

Renderings have been introduced of an eye-opening Las Vegas resort that will take the sort of a large moon. Its name? ‘Moon’, normally.   

In accordance to the Canadian business owners guiding it, it would value £3.6billion ($5billion) to make and, with a peak of 224 metres (735ft), would turn out to be the joint-second-tallest building in Sin Town with the JW Marriott, which is at present the second-loftiest structure at the rear of the 350m- (1,149ft) tall Strat Observation Tower.

The celestial retreat – which would be the world’s premier sphere – functions 4,000 resort rooms, a ‘crater café’, a spa, a on line casino, a lagoon and company in search of a house-age experience will be equipped to take a moon shuttle to a ‘lunar colony’.

You can find additional.

Other points of interest at the otherworldly vacation resort would include things like an function centre for up to 5,000 attendees, a theatre for resident performers and touring acts, a piano bar, boutiques, a number of lounges and a conference centre.

The resort would also attribute a nightclub that would sit beneath a huge design spaceship, with lights beaming down to the dancefloor.

A glass-bottomed ‘Enviromax’ walkway is pencilled in to present simulated sights of the earth’s climate styles, allowing attendees to see ‘the eye of the hurricane from within the eye’.

Designed to replicate the surface area of the moon, the ‘active lunar colony’ is the exceptional offering stage for the ambitious vacation resort.

To entry the colony, which would be in the higher half of the sphere, visitors would head to shuttle stations, to waiting around moon shuttles. Created like autos on a roller coaster journey, the shuttles, it can be stated, will snake all-around the exterior of the resort suites as they ferry guests upwards.

The moment there, attendees will invest 90 minutes discovering the 10-acre (4-hectare) space, whizzing around craters in a ‘moon buggy’. The colony claims to ‘precisely mimic these [lunar colonies] now beneath serious energetic organizing by Nasa, ESA and many others’. Tickets would value £361 ($500) a pop.

‘Without concern, when attendees undertaking on to the lunar surface area, for the initial time in their life, they will imagine they are on the Moon,’ explains Michael Henderson, who established Moon Environment Resorts (MWR) with his business husband or wife Sandra Matthews.

The ‘lunar colony’ expertise was intrinsic to the all round style and design. MWR’s model statement says: ‘The burgeoning room tourism marketplace is virtually blasting off. Nevertheless, the price tag of entry is prohibitive!

‘Moon delivers the essential “bridge” enabling a mass audience to actively and affordably take part in the exhilaration.’

Henderson and Matthews to start with made a decision to conceptualise a location resort back in 2000.

How did they arrive up with the strategy? ‘In quick, it was really a classic “aha second”, drastically assisted by a total moon and a splash or two of Guinness,’ suggests Henderson.

He provides: ‘The goal was to develop an reliable, mega-scale reproduction of planet Earth’s Moon, incorporating the world’s largest sphere.’

The sphere diameter would be 198 meters (650ft), and would rest on a significant disc 259 metres (850ft) in diameter. Nevertheless, these measurements may vary dependent on regional airspace and domestically mandated top restrictions.

Designed from concrete, steel, glass, aluminium and carbon fibre composite, it is approximated the resort would acquire five several years to build.

‘Guests at Moon will take pleasure in a spectacular very first-hand contact and truly feel preview of exactly what daily life will be like for humans’ future habitable celestial body,’ Henderson states.

Moon isn’t really in production yet, but Henderson and Matthews intention to work with important worldwide firms that previously have all the funding essential to absolutely create the resort.

Moon Planet Resorts would license the layout in 4 spots – North The us, Europe, the Center East Gulf and Asia.

Henderson states MWR is in ‘active conversations with likely regional licensees in a variety of worldwide locations’.

Where’s the very best site for Moon in Las Vegas? ‘Currently, the ideal land choice is owned by the very acclaimed Wynn Resorts Company,’ Henderson describes.

Yet another rendering of the breathtaking vacation resort shows Moon in Dubai on the site of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. The founders estimate just about every resort could create £1.3billion ($1.8billion) yearly as soon as opened.

On the lookout to the potential, Henderson states: ‘Some 20 years following the to start with initial pencil scribbles began to produce, Moon is finally prepared to split floor.’ 

If which is genuinely the situation, then it can be just one giant leap for tourism in Las Vegas. 

Even so, some in the tourism sector have voiced scepticism about ‘Moon’.

The challenge was originally earmarked for Coachella, California, back again in 2016, as documented in the Desert Sun.

At the time Aftab Dada, the Hilton Palm Springs basic supervisor, instructed the paper that Moon Earth Resort is ‘impossible’, including ‘if there was a phrase to supersede not possible, I might use that’.    

David Garcia, in the meantime, the then Coachella town manager, told Vice.com that it was ‘hard to express any opinion about a task that exists only as inadequately rendered graphic designs’. And Bob Rogers, founder of BRC Imagination Arts, which patterns attractions for businesses and museums, instructed the web site that he considered Moon was extremely formidable in scale.

And as for the Vegas iteration of Moon, Henderson even now has his do the job cut out to convert feeling about.

Author, podcaster and Vegas expert Michael Trager, who runs travel web site TravelZork, told MailOnline Journey that he does not think you will find a current market for Moon.

He stated: ‘When an individual mentions the moon, I straight away assume of 1 of the legends of Las Vegas, Bob Stupak. Other than Stupak’s vision of the moon was exhibiting his lunar stones at the Moon Rock Cafe. Do people today yearn for a moon-themed on line casino resort in Las Vegas? My brief solution is no. They want built-in sporting activities and amusement venues like Stadium Swim at Circa and epic headliners like the line-up of performers at Resorts Entire world Las Vegas.’

So is it all pie in the sky? Watch this room…

Behold Zanzibar Domino – a spectacular island vacation resort skyscraper that appears to be like, as the identify indicates, like a giant match of dominoes.

It was, in fact, impressed by the preferred tile-primarily based video game.

Jean-Paul Cassia, the founder and design and style director of the New York and Dubai-dependent architecture business powering the style and design, xCassia, reported that the tower was 1st sketched in Paris in 2009 ‘after my late father, two sons and I performed a round of dominoes’.

He included: ‘I dreamed of creating this task for over a ten years. Among its innate mathematical purchase and geometries located in character, its pure strains and proportions that evoke growth, progress and flexibility, it experienced all the bearings of an icon any one could keep in mind and attract on a paper napkin.’

The tower will be designed on a 370,000 m sq (3,982,646 sq ft) guy-built island linked by a bridge to the west coast of Zanzibar, 15 minutes from the Unesco Planet Heritage web-site of Stone Town – and within the location sophisticated will be a dazzling array of capabilities and facilities.

In the reduce element of the growth, disclosed xCassia, will be a marina, an aquarium, an exhibition and cultural pavilion and an international conferencing facility for up to 1,000 delegates.

On the outer spiral will be a blend of retail and foodstuff and drinks outlets, a yacht club and rooftop infinity pool, and a cinema.

On a section of the intricate called the Zanzibar Domino Island Resort and privately accessed possibly by helicopter, boat or bridge will be 104 ‘exclusive’ more than-drinking water villas with dedicated concierge kiosks, 4 helipads and berth arrival docks linking the residences to ‘a lighthouse structure that serves as a visual beacon, transport junction and amenities centre’.

The vacation resort will also boast a golfing class with a clubhouse and a wedding ceremony chapel accessed by an above-water bridge.

The tower, meanwhile, will house residences, spas, a ‘five and six-star hotel’, panoramic lifts and a dedicated observation platform.

What is far more, said xCassia, ‘in a sweeping descent from the top-down, all resort and household units will have impressive outer terraces oriented south-southwest for gorgeous views of Stone Town, the shoreline and ethereal Zanzibar sunsets’.

The undertaking, originally prepared for Hạ Prolonged Bay in Vietnam but switched to Zanzibar previous yr, is backed by the Tanzanian AICL Team and Crowland Administration Ltd.

Youssef S. Amour, Executive Chairman of AICL Group, mentioned: ‘Positioned as just one of Africa’s first really iconic worldwide locations for tourism, enjoyment, society and conferencing, the Zanzibar Domino will offer website visitors, citizens and enterprises a multi-faceted application intended to generate exclusive 12 months-spherical activities, specialist pathways and financial commitment alternatives.

‘We are thrilled to be functioning with Jean-Paul Cassia and his exceptional partners and crew for the growth of this ground-breaking challenge.’

Building of Zanzibar Domino is owing to begin in the up coming 6 months – and its top is remaining retained underneath wraps for now.

Epic road trips across vast prairies, luxury rail journeys through mountain ranges and a fabulous choice of ski resorts – these are the obvious holiday options when heading to Canada. But travellers risk missing the country’s most exciting places – its cities. 

They are scattered across a vast expanse: the city of St John’s on the east coast is actually closer to London than Vancouver on Canada’s distant west coast. But each of the ten cities described here is packed with art, excitement and history and worth a visit in its own right. And every one gives you a chance to discover the heart of Canada.

At noon on summer days in St John’s, in the Newfoundland and Labrador province, you can hear the boom of the three-pounder gun ceremonially fired next to Cabot Tower. It’s a reminder of North America’s last battle of the Seven Years’ War, which took place at Signal Hill in 1762.

Reminiscent of a castle keep, the landmark overlooks the Narrows – the rocky, gate-like entrance to St John’s Harbour – and on to the North Atlantic. 

From late spring into summer, the hilltop is a brilliant vantage point for watching mountainous chunks of ice drift southwards on the stretch of ocean known as Iceberg Alley.

Walking trails drop towards Quidi Vidi, the fishing village where the Quidi Vidi Brewery uses water from icebergs to brew lager sold in cobalt blue bottles. Stop by the waterfront taproom on Fridays for some foot-stomping live music.

Eat: Expect hearty portions at the cosy Mallard Cottage restaurant in the heart of the village (mallardcottage.ca).

Stay: Double rooms at Jag Boutique Hotel cost from £74 a night (steelehotels.com).

History-lovers should head to Halifax in Nova Scotia to visit its extraordinary star-shaped fortress, Citadel Hill. It is one of five historic Halifax Defence Complex fortifications, and the ramparts offer outstanding views over the seaside city whose deep harbour was strategically important during the days of the British Empire. Today, you’ll spot a cruise ship or two.

Do explore the waterfront Maritime Museum Of The Atlantic where you’ll learn about the accidental collision between munition ships on December 6, 1917 which wrought more damage on Nova Scotia’s provincial capital than any enemy action. Known as the Halifax Explosion, it is rated as the pre-nuclear age’s most powerful man-made blast.

Exhibits also examine the city’s role following the Titanic disaster of 1912 and you can pay your respects at the Baron de Hirsch and Fairview Lawn cemeteries where more than 100 victims are buried.

Eat: Tuck into outstanding seafood in Five Fishermen Restaurant, infamous for its role as a temporary mortuary after the Titanic sank (fivefishermen.com).

Stay: Double rooms at the soon-to-open Muir Halifax hotel cost from £220 a night (muirhotel.com).

The province of Prince Edward Island, or PEI, is the setting for Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel, Anne Of Green Gables, which was first published in 1908. See where the author found inspiration for one of Canada’s most-loved fictional characters at Green Gables Heritage Place, near Cavendish, where a restored farmhouse with shuttered windows has interiors like those in the books. The visitor centre also tells the author’s life story.

There’s also The Anne Of Green Gables Museum near Park Corner and Montgomery’s birthplace at New London.

PEI’s provincial capital, Charlottetown, is regarded as the birthplace of modern Canada. The Confederation Centre Of The Arts introduces the story of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, where Canada’s federal structure was initially discussed.

Eat: Join locals feasting on platters of shellfish at the Claddagh Oyster House (claddaghoysterhouse.com).

Stay: Double rooms at the Sydney Boutique Inn in Charlottetown cost from £85 a night (sydneyinn.com).

The gorgeous town of St Andrews by-the-Sea in New Brunswick has charming pastel-fronted shops on Water Street. From the harbour, whale-watching tours sail into the Bay of Fundy, with humpbacks among the species that visit during summer.

The USA lies across the St Croix River and St Andrews Blockhouse on the waterfront was built for protection during the War of 1812.

Kingsbrae Garden is today one of the treasures that attracts visitors from across the border. Spread across 27 acres, it features a maze, sculptures and is a pretty spot for an al fresco lunch. Cross to Ministers Island during low tide to visit the sprawling summer estate of Sir William van Horne, who oversaw the construction of Canada’s first transcontinental railway.

Eat: Pre-shelled ‘naked’ lobster is one of the beautifully presented dishes at the Rossmount Inn (rossmountinn.com).

Stay: Double rooms at Algonquin Resort cost from £139 a night (marriott.com/hotels).

The Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts in Quebec has the most gallery space in the country. Spot the Dali and Miro works among Canadian works, including Inuit art. For more contemporary art, head to the stylishly refurbished industrial premises that house the Bradley Ertaskiran gallery.

As ever, walking tours – and easy-paced ones at that – help give a brilliant insight into the city. Try Spade & Palacio tours and you’ll be taken past street art while visiting a selection of the city’s top gastro spots.

Eat: Chips and gravy are elevated to a different level in poutine, a traditional dish which is topped with cheese curds and foie gras, served at Au Pied de Cochon (aupieddecochon.ca/en).

Stay: Double rooms at Le Germain Montreal cost from £168 a night (germainhotels.com).

Take a lift to the CN Tower observation decks to view the layout of Toronto – Canada’s most populated city. If you’re a thrill seeker, book the tower’s EdgeWalk – it puts a different perspective on the phrase ‘hanging out downtown’.

Or if you’re into sport, the city has a number of pro teams, but for a thoroughly Torontonian experience head to the Rogers Centre to watch a Blue Jays baseball game. It’s as much about chomping a foot-long sub with all the toppings and sinking cold beer as the on-field action. At Hanlan’s Point on Toronto Islands you can find a board that commemorates the place where baseball legend ‘Babe’ Ruth hit his first home run as a professional.

Eat: Relax with beer and smokehouse-style food by the waterfront at Amsterdam Brewhouse (amsterdambeer.com).

Stay: Double rooms at the Fairmont Royal York cost from £211 a night (fairmont.com).

The Manitoba Legislative Building is one of grandest landmarks in Winnipeg.

Frank Albo’s engrossing Hermetic Code Tours tell the story of its architect, Frank Worthington Simon, and of symbolism relating to freemasonry that is hidden in plain sight. Albo asserts that measurements and underlying meanings indicate Simon made efforts to faithfully recreate the Temple of Solomon.

Unwind at Thermea By Nordik Spa-Nature. The heated outdoor pools and relaxation areas are perfect for recovering after the intense warmth of a ritual ‘aufguss’ infusion in the Finnish sauna.

Eat: Head to the Exchange District for the refined tasting menu at Deer + Almond (deerandalmond.com).

Stay: Double rooms at Inn At The Forks cost from £96 a night (innforks.com).

If you appreciate art, the Remai Modern is a reason to stop by the prairie city of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan province – it displays the world’s largest collection of linocuts by Pablo Picasso and paintings by Lawren Harris of Canada’s influential Group Of Seven.

View the angular building from the South Saskatchewan River during a cruise aboard The Prairie Lily. Combine sightseeing with a delicious Sunday brunch in the vessel decked to resemble one of the vintage steamboats from the 1880s.

Eat: Share a charcuterie board then sip cocktails at Ayden Kitchen & Bar (aydenkitchenandbar.com).

Stay: Double rooms at The James Hotel cost from £136 a night (thejameshotel.ca).

Studio Bell is the home of Canada’s National Music Centre. Based in Calgary, Alberta, it houses the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame plus the national songwriters and country music equivalents. Among exhibits displayed over five floors are the white piano used by Elton John while composing his first five albums and the Rolling Stones’ mobile recording studio.

Head across the Elbow River into the Inglewood district to kick back with an evening of live music at The Blues Can. The long-established venue hosts gigs seven nights a week, while the surrounding streets are home to craft breweries.

Eat: Order plates of Japanese dishes made with west coast seafood and Albertan ingredients at Shokunin (shokuninyyc.ca).

Stay: B&B doubles with parking at the Hotel Arts Kensington cost from £125 a night (hotelartskensington.com).

With totem poles and fine views of Vancouver’s skyline, it’s easy to spend a day in Stanley Park. The city in British Columbia is bicycle-friendly and you’ll find a handful of rental shops on streets close to the park. Or you could always opt for a romantic moment on Lovers’ Walk before a sundowner at the park’s elegant teahouse.

While on two wheels, head to Kitsilano Beach for a dip in the heated outdoor pool, then continue on to Jericho Beach for a picnic and views on to Burrard Inlet.

Eat: Visit Granville Island for the seafood platters at The Sandbar (vancouverdine.com/sandbar).

Stay: Double rooms at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver cost from £128 a night (fairmont.com/hotel-vancouver). 

Holiday bookings soared yesterday after punitive travel restrictions were finally lifted.

Within minutes of the official announcement, travel agents were deluged with inquiries and predicted this weekend would be their busiest of the year.

Demand for October half-term trips was three times higher than in August as firms slashed prices.

Turkey and the Maldives, both removed from the red list yesterday, were among the most sought after destinations. 

The traffic light system is also being replaced with a simpler ‘go/no-go’ regime with far less coronavirus testing.

The fully vaccinated will no longer have to pay for costly PCR swabs or pre-return tests. 

Instead they will need to purchase only a cheaper lateral flow test within two days of returning, taking a free PCR swab if this is positive.

The shake-up means testing bills faced by families will be slashed by hundreds of pounds.

The only destinations that will remain off limits for the double jabbed are on the red list. All arrivals from these countries will still have to quarantine in hotels for 11 nights on arrival in England at a cost of £2,285, regardless of vaccination status.

The rule changes will apply to visiting foreigners jabbed with UK-recognised vaccines, meaning a boost to domestic businesses starved of tourist spending.

The new regime will be introduced in three steps, starting with eight countries being removed from the red list at 4am on Wednesday.

Pre-return tests will be scrapped for the double jabbed on October 4, when the new ‘go/no-go’ system will come into force. 

The traffic light system will remain until then. Costly PCR swabs will then be ditched for the fully vaccinated towards the end of October.

The changes to the travel rules came as:

• The vaccine booster programme got under way yesterday, with a maternity support worker among the first to receive the jab; 
•  Industry leaders warned that care homes will be forced to shut, break the law or drop standards if ministers fail to push back the deadline for compulsory jabs;
•  Nicola Sturgeon has called in the British Army to deal with Scotland’s ambulance crisis after she was forced to apologise for life-threatening delays;
•  A survey found that a majority of people believe workers will never return to the office full-time after the pandemic;
•  The latest figures showed that Covid infections appear to be falling in all regions of England, even after children have returned to school.

Ministers did not specify a date but said they were aiming to have this in place ‘for when people return from half-term breaks’. 

Another crucial change means passengers who transit through a red-list destination, having been in a safe country, will not be subjected to hotel quarantine.

The unvaccinated face even tougher rules under the new regime in a bid by ministers to encourage more people to get jabbed. 

Even when returning from countries on the ‘go’ list, they will have to isolate at home for ten days and take PCR tests on days two and eight.

They will still have the option of taking an extra post-arrival PCR test on the fifth day to be released from self-solation early.

MPs and the travel industry welcomed the shake-up, having warned for weeks that failure to overhaul the system could lead to thousands more job losses. 

But some questioned why ministers were not scrapping PCR tests for the double jabbed for another month, and stepped up calls for all testing to be scrapped.

Alan French, chief executive of Thomas Cook, was among those reporting a bookings rush.

He said: ‘The news today is a shot in the arm for both the travel industry and families up and down the country who are crying out for some much-needed late summer sun.  Based on our bookings already today, I would expect this weekend to be the biggest of the year so far.

‘Bookings for October half-term are up more than 200 per cent compared to August as people lock in great prices for beach breaks in their favourite Mediterranean sunspots.’

Package holiday giant Jet2.com also reported a bookings bonanza. 

Chief executive Steve Heapy said: ‘There has been an immediate and massive surge in bookings for flights and package holidays on the back of this welcome news for holidaymakers in England.’

The carrier will resume flights to Turkey from Thursday next week.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: ‘By reducing the number of red-list destinations and scrapping PCR testing, ministers have paved the way for people to get away this October half-term and into the winter following 18 months of uncertainty.’ 

John Holland-Kaye, chief executive of Heathrow, added: ‘This simplification of the travel rules is very welcome for businesses and families across the country but the decision to require fully vaccinated passengers to take more costly private lateral flow tests is an unnecessary barrier to travel, which keeps the UK out of step with the rest of the EU.’

Travel firms were offering discounts of more than a third on holidays to traditional hotspots such as Spain, Greece and Portugal.

The shake-up will apply to England only, with Scotland last night saying it would not follow suit. 

Holyrood said it had ‘concerns at the impact on public health’ of the changes and would not be adopting them. Wales and Northern Ireland have not yet said whether they will fall in line.

In a further boost for families, the new regime will carry over the current rules on children. It means under-18s will be treated as though they are fully jabbed, even if they are not.

However, returning holidaymakers will still be required to fill in a passenger locator form before travelling back to England. 

They will need to prove they have ordered a day two lateral flow test and input their order number into the form. Free NHS lateral flow tests will not be available.

Announcing the move last night, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘Today’s changes mean a simpler, more straightforward system.’      

The shake-up means that the amber list is officially dead, with those countries joining ‘green’ nations in the new ‘rest of the world’ category.  

The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK also welcomed the changes, with chief executive Dale Keller saying: ‘Greater freedom of movement for many vaccinated passengers, without the anxiety of pre-departure tests and the high cost of PCR testing on arrival, will help restore traveller confidence and set the aviation, travel and tourism sectors on what is still a long road to recovery.’

Mr Keller said moving to a binary system and creating a ‘two-tier entry regime’ based on vaccination status will help bring ‘greater clarity to entry requirements’.   

He said the announcement is a ‘step towards properly rebalancing international travel risk’ in the UK but warned the existing rules had ‘decimated’ passenger numbers which means firms must now try to ‘claw back lost ground’.

British Airways chief executive and chairman Sean Doyle urged the Government to go further and sweep away all testing requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers.   

Huw Merriman, the Tory chairman of the Transport Select Committee, also welcomed the overhaul of the ‘cumbersome’ existing rules.     

‘The need for caution is clear but with 80 per cent of our country now vaccinated, UK travel needs a shot in the arm and this could be it,’ he said. 

‘It’s a relief to see the Government move on these issues and this announcement, timed ahead of October half-term, could have an immediate impact on the UK’s travel industry.’    

Mr Shapps said the new system was ‘proportionate’ and ‘reflects the new landscape’ of the numbers of those who are fully-vaccinated. 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘Today we have simplified the travel rules to make them easier to understand and follow, opening up tourism and reducing the costs to go abroad.

‘As global vaccination efforts continue to accelerate and more people gain protection from this dreadful disease, it is right that our rules and regulations keep pace.’ 

The Department for Transport confirmed the eight countries coming off the red list as of 4am on Wednesday are Turkey, Pakistan, the Maldives, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya. 

British Airways chief executive and chairman Sean Doyle welcomed the changes but urged ministers to go further.

He said: ‘We welcome the simplification of the traffic light system, and the changes to the testing requirements allowing UK travellers to benefit from our world-leading vaccination programme and finally giving customers and business the confidence to book the journeys they’ve been waiting for.

‘Based on the scientific evidence, with fewer than one per cent of people returning from low-risk countries testing positive for Covid (lower than the UK’s rate), we urge ministers to keep this policy under review, eliminating all testing for fully vaccinated travellers as soon as possible in the future, in line with most other European countries.’

Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick Airport, said the changes were a ‘significant and welcome step towards recovery’ and a boost for travellers seeking to get away this winter.

He said: ‘Fully vaccinated passengers now have a larger choice of destinations and can book with more confidence in the months before Christmas and beyond – free from the need to arrange pre-departure tests before coming back into the UK.’

Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said: ‘This is a welcome step forward for our customers and a move that will make it significantly easier for the fully vaccinated to travel to Europe, opening up flying again for many more UK consumers.

‘Removing the pre-departure test coupled with the disbanding of the traffic light system will inject some much needed confidence into travel once again.

‘However, vaccinated travellers and those from low-risk countries will still have to do an unnecessary test after arriving in the UK, making travel less affordable for all.’  

Karen Dee, Airport Operators Association chief executive, said: ‘The easing of travel restrictions is a good step forward. By reducing complexity and the cost of testing, this should encourage more people to travel this winter and allow airports to see a further uplift in passenger numbers.

‘However, this last formal checkpoint of the Global Travel Taskforce should have been the time to return to restriction-free travel at a time when nearly all of the population has been vaccinated. Instead, we continue to have a more onerous approach to travel than our European competitors.’ 

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss added that Boris Johnson should go further by negotiating the removal of transatlantic restrictions for UK citizens travelling to the US.

He said: ‘We urge the UK Government to use the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to the USA to work with the Biden administration to remove transatlantic restrictions for UK citizens, just as the UK has done for US travellers, helping loved ones to reunite safely and businesses to restore ties with our largest trading partner.’ 

Thomas Cook chief executive Alan French said October half-term bookings were up 200 per cent compared to August and he expects this figure to rise as a result of the simpler system.

He said: ‘The news today is a shot in the arm for both the travel industry and families up and down the country who are crying out for some much-needed late summer sun.

‘Based on our bookings already today, I would expect this weekend to be the biggest of the year so far as people take advantage of the great deals on offer, the new easier rules on testing and the simplified system for international travel.’

Managing director of TUI UK Andrew Flintham said he has already seen ‘an uptick in bookings for Turkey in October’ and expects customer confidence to have been boosted further by the new rules.

He added though that ‘fully vaccinated customers (in the UK) still have more travel restrictions in place than many other countries around the world, so as an industry we will not see the return of operations as we would like’. 

Many countries in Europe have seen their travel industries recover much quickly than the UK’s, having already dropped PCR testing rules for double-jabbed arrivals from low-risk countries.

There has also been huge controversy over the Government’s approved list of PCR testing providers, with a litany of complaints that the tests are too expensive, and a disincentive to foreign travel.

Although the travel ‘red list’ of countries deemed to pose a high risk from new Covid variants will remain in place, the number of countries will be reduced by more than half from the current 62, opening up the vast majority of destinations to those who are fully jabbed. 

However, the unvaccinated face an even tougher regime from today.

At present, unvaccinated travellers returning from green list countries such as Croatia, Denmark and Germany have to take a PCR test within two days of their arrival home.

Under the new system they will have to isolate at home for ten days and take PCR tests on both day two and day eight, as they currently do for amber list countries. 

The changes will be in place in time for the October half-term.

This evening a government source said the shake-up reflected growing confidence in the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines, coupled with a desire to cut travellers’ costs.

There will be widespread relief at the scrapping of the traffic light system. Since its launch in May, travellers have been subjected to a series of confusing and last-minute announcements.

Today’s changes could also see the number of red-list countries slashed to fewer than 30. Cape Verde, Egypt, the Maldives and Turkey are among the holiday destinations currently on the red list.

Airlines UK’s Mr Alderslade said: ‘Getting rid of PCR testing would be a real step forward but not if we still end up with two tests you have to pay for. We need to follow Europe’s example and remove these requirements if you’ve been vaccinated.’

Charlie Cornish, chief executive of the Manchester Airports Group, said: ‘People should be free to travel again to low-risk destinations without having to take any tests – whether that is PCR or lateral flow. The time for baby steps is over.’

Travel expert Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said earlier this week that 24 countries ‘should be taken off’, including Pakistan, South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Chile.

He added that he would be ‘very surprised’ if Turkey is removed due to ‘worsening’ coronavirus data. But coronavirus data analyst Tim White said: ‘With Grant Shapps and the travel lottery, no-one can be sure. 

‘But the data firmly support Turkey being removed as it has no threat of variants and a lot of genomic sequencing.’

However in a big boost to millions of Britons hoping to catch some late season sun, it was today reported that Turkey will be removed from the Government’s red list in time for the school half-term holidays.

According to the Times, the red list will be more than halved, with Turkey one of the countries set to be removed from the list.

The country is one of the UK’s most popular destinations for late autumn/winter sun – with average highs of around 26C.

More than two million Britons holidayed in the country in 2019, Officer for National Statistics figures show.  But the country has been on the red list since May.  

Meanwhile, Jamaica, which is currently on the amber list, is one of the countries which could find itself moved up rather than down when changes are announced today, experts warn.

The island’s seven-day average for Covid cases has been on the rise since July, peaking at 769 cases at the end of August. 

Yesterday Jamaica – a country of around 3 million people – recorded 510 new cases with a seven day average of 572.

Jamaica remained amber in the last traffic lights update, but the Foreign Office has since changed its guidance for the country and advises ‘against all but essential travel to the whole of Jamaica based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks’.

The Caribbean island of Grenada, which is currently on the green list, is also at risk of being move on to the red list, according to data expert Tim White. 

Covid figures have spiked since the start of September, with the country’s seven day average rising from 39 cases on September 1 to 164 in a fortnight. 

Serbia, Kosovo and Albania, according to data expert Tim White. Mr White told Sky News that Nigeria could also be vulnerable. 

The travel sector has been desperate for the testing and quarantine rules for international travel to be relaxed.

Heathrow said this week it had gone from being Europe’s busiest airport in 2019 to number 10 on the list, behind rivals in cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt. 

The transport hub announced it recorded a 48 per cent increase in passenger numbers in August compared with the previous month.

Some 2.2million passengers travelled through the west London airport last month, up from 1.5 million in July and the highest monthly passenger total of the coronavirus pandemic. 

However, the airport noted that demand was still down 71 per cent compared with before the coronavirus crisis. In August 2019, passenger numbers reached 7.7 million. 

Heathrow has urged the Government to ‘streamline’ the rules for international travel, calling for the amber list to be scrapped, and a two-tier system introduced.

Under the airport’s proposals, fully vaccinated arrivals from green list locations would no longer be required to take a test, whereas those who are not fully vaccinated would need to take lateral flow tests pre-departure and post-arrival.

Only those who test positive would need to take a more expensive PCR test. Hotel quarantine would be retained for arrivals from high-risk red list countries. 

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: ‘The Government has the tools to protect the UK’s international competitiveness which will boost the economic recovery and achieve its ‘global Britain’ ambitions.

‘If ministers fail to take this opportunity to streamline the travel rules then the UK will fall further behind as trade and tourists will increasingly bypass the UK.’ 

Meanwhile Gary Wilson, the chief executive of easyJet Holidays, earlier this week said Britain was lagging behind the rest of Europe in terms of travel.

For example, Germany, which has low case rates, has a red list but no countries currently appear on it. 

Mr Wilson told a Travel Weekly conference that the company was ‘back to pre-pandemic levels’ in Europe. He urged ministers to adopt a less restrictive approach to holidays.

He said: ‘The government throwing us scraps and expecting us to be grateful for that isn’t good enough. 

‘They may continue not to listen but it shows the disconnect between the government and the industry.’

Meanwhile, Steve Heapy, the chief executive of Jet2, the UK’s second biggest tour operator, said of the system: ‘It’s impossible for customers to plan.

Winter is very popular with city breaks and short breaks, [but] people are just not going to risk it for two or three days as long as this complexity remains.’  

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