2 CONTENTS
ABOUT US Publisher
Jonathan Adair
Jonathan@nitravelnews.com Editorial
Kirsty Johnston
Kirsty@nitravelnews.com Sarah Pickering
Sarah@nitravelnews.com Erin English
Erin@nitravelnews.com Advertising
Jordan McCluskey
Jordanm@nitravelnews.com
Christine McCleery
Christine@nitravelnews.com Events Chelsea Cousins
Chelsea@nitravelnews.com Emma McAllister
Emma@nitravelnews.com
Northern Ireland Travel News Unit 1,
Windsor Business Park, 16-18 Lower Windsor Avenue, Belfast, BT9 7DW
Tel: 028 9066 6151
www.nitravelnews.com
Contributors: John Trew, Nigel Heath, Robin Nowacki, Patric Baird, Andrea McVeigh, Heidi McAlpin, Ciaran Mulligan, Yasmin Latif, Vicky Richards, Ally Thompson, The Holiday NInja, Paul Clements, Michael Beattie, Natasha Warcholak, Margaret Carragher
FIGHT FOR IRISH PASSPORT OFFICE
IN BELFAST
...continued from page 1
The authorisation will be valid for 3-year- periods and allow an unlimited amount of entries.
The EU has said that British applicants under 18 or over 70 will not have to pay for an ETIAS visa waiver.
Britons outside of this age range will be expected to pay €7 to enter European Union territory from this time. Irish passport holders are experiencing a different move of fees to their British passport holder neighbours with a difference in fee expectancy. They
have also
experienced covid-19 travel restrictions differ from their British counterparts, as EU citizens could freely move around Europe at the time.
Despite inconvenience, this is a result of
If you would like to receive a copy of Northern Ireland Travel News posted direct to you, please contact
Christine@nitravelnews.com
Brexit in relation to travel and as British citizens have revoked their EU citizenship, it too was expected.
But what does this move mean from Irish passport holders living within Northern Ireland? The UK government confirmed that, due to Brexit, EU citizens will be expected to pay a fee for their visas to travel to the UK in 2023 just as
72 62 22 18
Sept/Oct 2022 Travel News Contents
3. Mela Celebrates 16th Festival:The festival seen over 60,000 people in attendance over the week
4. It’s in the blood: Exclusive Interview with New George Best Belfast City Airport CEO Matthew Hall
12-19. The Local Tourist: From family days out to our top eats - NI Travel News is out and about
20-26. Born in the USA: Heidi McAlpin takes on an American adventure...
27-58. Cruising Special: Cruise News, Editors pick of no-fly cruising and everything in between in this 32-page cruise special
59-74. Your Spain and Portugal Fill: From Costa Dorada to the Algarve, NI Travel News have you covered!
76-77. Piste of the Action: Check out our in the know’ guide to skiing this winter
80-81. Peer Through the Years - Picture Special: With the 30th Anniversary NI Travel and Tourism Awards approaching, we’ve taken a journey back in time... 83-84. Trade News: Find all the latest travel trade news including exclusive interviews from the industry experts...
News Extra
British passport holders are expected to pay their visa fee to enter the EU after this time. However, this fee implemented by the British government will not affect any Irish passport holders on the entire island of Ireland. This is due to maintaining the common travel area which includes more than the basic right to travel freely between both countries. Therefore, British passport holders here in Northern Ireland will be expected to pay for their travel to the EU whilst Irish passport holders in Northern Ireland will be able to travel freely to both the EU and Great Britain. With changes such as the above it is clear to see why the Irish passport has grown in strength in Northern Ireland, with the number of Irish passport applications outnumbering British passport applications for the first time ever. According to Her Majesty’s Passport Office, it confirmed that 48,555 citizens of Northern Ireland applied for a British passport in 2020, whilst 48,911 citizens applied
for an Irish
passport here in the same period.
Calls have also grown to introduce an Irish
passport office in Belfast to accommodate the surge in Irish passports after mass backlogging in applications was recorded from the Irish passport Office in Dublin. Sinn Fein have led the calls in this, highlighting how “the clear need for such an office can’t be ignored by [The Irish] Government any longer’. This was back in June 2022, when
Left: Sinn Féin - Niall Ó Donnghaile, CC BY 2.0, https://
commons.wikimedia. org/w/index. php?curid=54054035
Seanad member Niall Ó Donnghaile tweeted
Simon Coveney, stating he had “signatories from Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Independent Senators” and awaited the Irish Governement’s approval of the passport office opening in Northern Ireland.
NI Travel News reached out to both Mr Coveney and Mr Ó Donnghaile to find out if the motion had moved forward or was being considered- Both failed to comment. In the wake of a new UK Prime Minister passing through the door at number 10 and Northern Ireland without a sitting executive, it is hard to determine what travel fees, borders and rights the people of Northern Ireland will be expected to face in the coming weeks, let alone months and years as the endless Brexit/ protocol debate fires on.
Passport delays, yet less timely, still exist and renewals and first time applications for both passports are encourages to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment and ensure eligibility to travel this coming year. After all, travel is bursting at he seams as it hurdles towards pre-pandemic numbers after the detriment of a two year pandemic struggle. We await the response from the new UK PM in relation to travel and how it is to be helped through this period of recovery.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
