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In this week’s travel news, looking at North Korea’s answer to Waikiki, the beloved brewed flavour of Turkey, the price for travelers to the US will rise at the end of September.
Visitors to the US from some of the US’s closest allies will be promptly requested to pay the higher fees outlined in the Trump administration’s “one big beautiful bill.” Specifically, hiking to fees associated with electronic systems for travel permits processing travel applications from residents of more than 40 countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program.
These countries include the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, most of Europe, and a few other countries in other regions, including Qatar in the Middle East.
Before President Trump’s signature law passed, applicants to the ESTA system paid $21, as known. This will almost double the number on September 30th.
This is one of several fee increases related to travel to the US from overseas. Travelers arriving through the land border may also increase their rates if the cost of an I-94 arrival/departure record increases. Currently, travelers had to pay.
That amount will jump to $30 at the end of the month.
Finally, travelers from China will be asked to pay a $30 registration fee for the e-visa update system. The effective date for the rate hike on September 30 was outlined in a recent notice in the Federal Register.
The rising rate, coupled with the looming $250 “visa integrity fee” for many travelers from non-Visa-exempt countries, comes at a time when travelling to the US from overseas is in a major slump.
As CNN’s Natasha Chen reported, many Canadians and other international visitors to the US are far apart. The World Travel and Tourism Council predicted in May that the US would lose $12.5 billion in international visitors spending in 2025. This was the only country out of 184 economies analyzed by the Council, a global tourism advocacy organization that is declining this year.
The integrity fee for the new visa has not yet been applied. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security reiterated that “ministerial coordination is required before implementation.”
Houston-based immigration attorney Stephen Brown said he doesn’t think the increased fees will be a “distance” for most travelers. However, he said the visa integrity fees are completely new.
“There’s a lot of questions so it’ll be interesting to watch,” he told CNN Travel. “So we pay the fee, how will we get a refund? Who is tracking compliance? How do we prove compliance?”
At the newly built Wonsan-Kalma resort, visitors will find miles of white sand, turquoise waters and a line of untouched hotels. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hopes that development will be his country’s answer to Waikiki.
However, there are some differences. The resort is divided into national and international zones. And in the International Section, a group of Russian tourists was one of the few visitors recently found. CNN spoke with some of them to hear about their vacation.
How about visiting a place of worship from 1,600 years ago that lasted longer than the Empire?
Well, to put it simply, it’s not like other experiences. That’s because no other places on Earth have a Christian mosaic of saints and Byzantine rulers. It is juxtaposed with Islamic calligraphy. Also known as Hyusun y Hat (they are big round things that display the names of Allah, the prophet Mohammed, the four caliphs, the afterlife of Mohammed’s Islam leaders).
Coffee is a very beloved drink in Türkiye. It also has history dating back centuries.
Turkish coffee is a ritual and undoubtedly the ancestor of all modern bean-based caffeine kicks. It is part of nearly 500 years of history and is engraved by UNESCO on its intangible cultural heritage.
However, the story of Turkish coffee begins in Yemen, not in Turkey. This is how I started brewing
From nurses to nomads: She lives full-time on a cruise ship
Belencia Wallace lives his dream. If quitting your job and living full-time on a cruise ship is a fun time idea, then that should be. Wallace, known as Ladybug Travel, is a registered nurse who sold almost everything he owned to stay straight at the ocean.
Even if you’re not planning a 15-month ocean-based adventure, if you’re riding the waves, water-resistant sunscreen is an essential holiday. CNN partners highlighted product reviews and recommendation guides owned by CNN.
Southwest Airlines’ new planes are equipped with a cockpit barrier.
This is for protection when the door is opened while flying.
Chinese bullet trains whisk intercity travelers.
They also make travelers feel like they’re whipping for 1, 200 years.
Mall running and night swims save summers in the United Arab Emirates.
In the country where this sun was sucked in, daytime temperatures are at the top of 104 degrees.
