Visiting the US is about to get much more costly for overseas vacationers

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In journey information this week: a glance inside North Korea’s answer to Waikiki, a style of Turkey’s beloved brew, plus charges for vacationers to the US will rise on the finish of September.

Visitors to the US from a number of the nation’s closest allies will quickly be required to pay larger charges outlined within the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Specifically, a hike to the charges related to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which processes journey functions from residents of greater than 40 nations which can be a part of the Visa Waiver Program.

Those nations embody the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and most of Europe, in addition to a handful of nations in different areas, together with Qatar within the Middle East.

Prior to the passage of President Trump’s signature laws, candidates to the ESTA system, because it’s recognized, paid $21. Now that obligatory payment will almost double on September 30 to $40.

It’s one in every of a number of payment will increase related to journey to the US from overseas. Travelers arriving by way of a land border can even see their charges go up with a rise in the I-94 Arrival/Departure Record price. Right now, vacationers required to pay the payment solely should half with $6.
That quantity jumps to $30 on the finish of the month.

Lastly, vacationers from China can be requested to pay a $30 enrollment payment for the Electronic Visa Update System. The September 30 efficient date for the payment will increase was outlined in a latest notice in the Federal Register.

The improve in charges, mixed with the looming $250 “visa integrity fee” for a lot of vacationers from non-visa waiver nations, comes at a time when journey to the US from overseas is in a serious stoop.

As CNN’s Natasha Chen reported, many Canadians and different worldwide guests to the US are staying away. The World Travel and Tourism Council projected in May that the United States will lose $12.5 billion in worldwide customer spending in 2025. It was the one nation out of 184 economies analyzed by the council, a world tourism advocacy group, that may see a decline this yr.

The new visa integrity payment has not but been utilized. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security repeated to CNN that it “requires cross-agency coordination before implementation.”

Houston-based immigration lawyer Steven Brown mentioned he didn’t assume the rise in charges can be a lot of a “hindrance” for many vacationers. But he mentioned the visa integrity payment is a completely new factor.

“It will be intriguing to see because lots of questions are out there,” he instructed CNN Travel. “So we pay the fee, but how does it get refunded? Who is tracking compliance? How do you prove compliance?”

At the newly constructed Wonsan-Kalma resort, guests will discover miles of white sand, turquoise waters, and rows of pristine lodges. None apart from North Korean chief Kim Jong Un hopes the event can be his nation’s reply to Waikiki.

With just a few variations, nevertheless. The resort is split into home and worldwide zones. And within the worldwide part, a bunch of Russian vacationers just lately had been among the many few guests to be discovered. CNN talked to a few of them to listen to about their trip.

What’s it like to go to a 1,600-year-old house of worship that has outlasted empires?

Well, to place it merely: in contrast to some other expertise. That’s as a result of no different place on Earth has Christian mosaics of saints and Byzantine rulers juxtaposed with Islamic calligraphy, also called Hüsn-i Hat (they’re massive roundels displaying the names of Allah, the Prophet Mohammed and the 4 caliphs, the leaders of Islam following the demise of Mohammed).

Coffee is a much-beloved drink in Turkey. It additionally has a historical past that stretches again centuries.

Turkish espresso is a ritual and arguably the ancestor of all fashionable bean-based caffeine kicks. It’s an almost 500-year-old piece of historical past, inscribed by UNESCO on its intangible cultural heritage of humanity checklist.

The story of Turkish espresso, nevertheless, begins not in Turkey, however in Yemen. Here’s how it all started brewing

From nurse to nomad: She’s dwelling full-time on cruise ships

From nurse to nomad: She’s dwelling full-time on cruise ships

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Belencia Wallace resides the dream, if quitting work and dwelling full-time on a cruise ship is your concept of a great time — and it needs to be. Wallace, often called Ladybug Travel, is a registered nurse who offered almost the whole lot she owned to spend 15 months straight at sea.

Even if you happen to aren’t planning a 15-month sea-based journey, a water resistant sunscreen is a trip important if you happen to’re hitting some waves. Our companions at CNN Underscored, a product opinions and suggestions information owned by CNN, have this guide to one of the best.

Southwest Airlines’ new planes are geared up with a barrier by the cockpit.

It’s for cover when the door is opened mid-flight.

China’s bullet trains whisk vacationers between cities.

They additionally make vacationers really feel they’ve been whisked back 1,200 years.

Mall runs and night time swims save the summer time within the United Arab Emirates.

Daytime temperatures prime 104 levels on this sun-scorched nation.