Travellers

Travel Health Pro has issued a reminder to holidaymakers

Brits planning overseas holidays are being urged to complete one crucial task before jetting off. According to experts, this applies to “all” travellers.

In an update posted on the Travel Health Pro website, holidaymakers were reminded to thoroughly research their destinations ahead of their trip. This includes reviewing guidance from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) regarding the country you’re heading to.

Adhering to this advice, which addresses any possible health and security concerns, will help you “stay safe”. Travel Health Pro said: “Most travellers have a safe, enjoyable trip without any problems, but basic precautions should be taken to help maintain personal safety.

“The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recommend all travellers from the United Kingdom (UK) prepare well and research their destinations before they go.” It continued: “FCDO travel advice provides country-specific safety and security advice, along with information about local laws and customs.

“Researching destinations before departure (ideally before booking a trip) and following FCDO advice helps you stay safe.” Should the FCDO deem the risk of travel to be “unacceptably high”, they will formally advise British nationals against “all but essential travel” or “all travel” to a specific country or region.

This information can be accessed by searching for a specific country via the FCDO country page. Additionally, you can also receive FCDO email alerts regarding particular countries by registering through a link on the FCDO country page for your chosen destination.

It’s crucial to note that your travel insurance could be rendered void should you travel against FCDO guidance. Travel Health Pro also provided the following general advice for those heading abroad.

Take care

It encouraged people to “take care” with important documents, insurance details, contact numbers and belongings.

Dress and behave appropriately

Avoid obvious displays of wealth, dress suitably and behave appropriately, it said. “For example, public displays of affection are unacceptable in some regions and alcohol is banned in certain countries,” the website said.

Alcohol

It continued: “Some accidents and injuries can be prevented by careful behaviour. Alcohol may be a factor, as it can affect judgment and lower inhibitions. Ideally, if you drink alcohol, only do so in moderation.”

Further to this, you should not drink alcohol in countries where it is prohibited.

Drugs

Possessing or smuggling illegal drugs, even in tiny amounts, are serious crimes in many countries. This includes cannabis.

Travel Health Pro said: “UK residents caught carrying illegal drugs while visiting or passing through a country will face that country’s laws. These can be much stricter than UK laws, as some countries have a zero-tolerance policy to drug offences.

“Punishment could include arrest and detention, with a long prison sentence if charged and convicted. Many international airports, train stations and ports have excellent technology and security for detecting illegal items, which may be used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers.”

LGBTQ+ travellers

It added: “FCDO advise that attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) travellers worldwide can be very different to those in the UK. They advise LGBT+ travellers to find out about local laws and social attitudes towards same-sex relationships, gender expression and identity before you visit a country.”

To check specific advice on your destination, visit the FCDO country pages here.

Depending on where people stay, they could be paying more than £13 a night in the municipal surcharge

UK travellers to Spain have been told of a ‘doubling’ of a charge for all tourists going to a popular hotspot from today. It has been reported in Spain that the doubling of the municipal surcharge comes into effect on April 1.

Depending on the type of accommodation, tourists may pay up to €15 more per night in Barcelona. This is due to an increase in the tourist tax on the one hand now ranging from €1 to €7 depending on the category of accommodation and a municipal tax which rises from €4 to €8.

Applicable to stays in hotels, hostels and short-term rentals, these taxes can, when combined, amount to up to €15 per night per person, LeFigaro reported.

The measure was announced in March 2025 but was only approved by the Catalan parliament a few weeks ago. Barcelona City Council has voted in favour of increasing the council tax by one euro per year until 2029. The aim is to tackle the housing crisis. Residents regularly protest against rising rents, which they believe are partly due to the growing number of short-term rentals such as Airbnb.

In a four-star hotel – which accounts for nearly half of the local hotel stock – a two-night stay for a couple could therefore cost up to €45 more. Cruise ship passengers must also pay these taxes: they will pay €12 – instead of €8 – if they disembark for more than twelve hours, or €14 (instead of €11) if they stay for less than twelve hours. One exception remains for a specific category of accommodation: hostels listed in the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Youth Hostel Register, for which the fee remains at €1.

With these new rules, the Autonomous Community of Catalonia hopes to raise 200 million euros a year. On its website, the Catalan government states that “25% of the revenue from the tourist tax will be allocated to the Generalitat’s housing policies, whilst 75% will be channelled into the Tourism Promotion Fund, [in particular] for housing policies [and] economic development policies.”

With the new regulation, the tax will rise to seven euros per night in five-star accommodations in Barcelona and to 3.40 euros in four-star accommodations. It will also be more expensive for cruise passengers, especially those disembarking in the Catalan capital. Those staying for less than 12 hours will pay six euros in Barcelona and 4.50 euros in the rest of the ports in Catalonia , 20 Minutos reported.

The tax increase will be phased in over two years. The first increase will take place this April, while the remainder will be implemented a year later, in April 2027. At that point, the tourist tax will be completely doubled. However, in Barcelona, the increase will be more immediate and will begin this month to address the high tourist pressure the city experiences, unlike the rest of Catalonia.

The revenue from the tourist tax will be divided into two parts. 25% of the total income will be allocated to housing policies of the Generalitat (Catalan government), one of the main pillars of Catalan President Salvador Illa’s policies. The remaining 75% of the revenue will be integrated into the Tourism Promotion Fund.

The increase in the tourist tax in Catalonia already has the support of a majority of the parliamentary groups, as well as the backing of a large part of the population. This is especially true in Barcelona, where overtourism has wreaked havoc on both housing and community life. In fact, in the Catalan capital, there have already been demonstrations by residents against the massive influx of visitors, and proof of this is that 76.7% of the population says the city has reached its maximum capacity for receiving tourists.

These data are reflected in the latest survey on tourism perception in Barcelona, published by the city council itself, in which 56% of residents support the increase in the tourist surcharge.

Public support for the increase in the tourist tax contrasts sharply with the total opposition from the Catalan tourism sector. Following the announcement of the agreement between the PSC, ERC, and Comuns parties, business owners in Catalonia’s tourist accommodation sector expressed their “total and unanimous rejection.” The employers’ association Confecat asserted that the measure is “improvised, lacking strategic rigour, disconnected from the country’s real needs, and driven solely by revenue collection.”

Furthermore, the Catalan Federation of Tourist Apartments (Federatur) warned that the tax increase will lead to a loss of competitiveness for the region and make Catalans’ holidays more expensive. This position is also supported by other employers’ associations, trade groups, and federations within the sector, such as Foment del Treball, the Barcelona Hotel Guild, Pimec, and the Barcelona Tourist Apartment Association.

According to Jordi Clos, president of the Hotel Association, there is some concern among representatives of the tourism sector about how the tax increase will affect business. “It will be necessary to monitor the impact this measure may have to prevent a significant and lasting decline,” he stated after the Catalan Parliament approved the increase in February.

Talks broke down this week that would lead to widespread disruption for travellers over Easter to airports in places like Mallorca and the Canary Islands

UK tourists have been given a significant update over planned strike action at multiple airports in Spain. Talks broke down this week before officials announced that strikes would be held over several dates in March and April.

Airports set to be affected by the measures included Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, , Gran Canaria, Málaga, Alicante, and Tenerife (South and North). Now an update has been reported in the Spanish press.

Two sets of strikes at Spanish airports have been partly cancelled, according to Spanish media reports. There had been concerns about extensive disruption at major airports throughout Spain owing to industrial action.

Larazon now reports that trade unions have postponed imminent strikes due to start today that would have seen staff at airport services operators Groundforce and Menzies walk out. The update comes after advances in wage negotiations – but strikes planned for later on have yet to be cancelled, according to local media.

Spanish reports say that trade unions have called off the first day of strike action at Groundforce, Air Europa’s ground handling company, and the first two days of the strike scheduled for this weekend at Menzies, another airport ground handling operator. This is according to sources from the UGT trade union speaking to Efe.

The partial and indefinite strikes planned Groundforce strikes were set to began this Friday. They would have coincided with the beginning of the Easter holiday exodus.

Ultimahora reports that the industrial action at Groundforce had been scheduled for the morning, afternoon and night shifts (from 5am to 7am, from 11am to 5pm, and from 10pm to midnight) with plans set to continue indefinitely. Additionally, the UGT has agreed to call off the first two days of industrial action at Menzies, planned for this Saturday and Sunday. In Menzies’ case, the strike had been called exclusively by UGT – the main union at the firm – for 28 and 29 March, and between 2 and 6 April.

The English language Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that 24-hour strikes for Menzies staff from April 2 to April 6 have not yet been scrapped. It also reported that there is no sign of further suspensions to the other planned strike action for Groundforce staff.

The strike notice at the ground handling operator covered all businesses within the group (Menzies Aviation Ibérica and Menzies Ground Services) and around 3,000 employees. The union had cautioned that, should no deal be struck with the company, the strikes would be rolled out to every weekend until the year’s end.

Groundforce operates at Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Valencia, Ibiza, Bilbao, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Menzies operates at Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Alicante, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South and Tenerife North.

I thought I had all the time in the world, but it turns out I needed even more.

For over a year, I’ve been writing articles about the new Entry/Exit system introduced at European borders. This system, which mandates UK travellers to provide biometric data when entering or exiting the Schengen area, began its phased implementation in October 2025.

It’s expected to be fully operational across all airports by 10 April 2026. I’ve extensively covered the rollout and its potential to cause delays for travellers. However, when my partner and I flew back from Paris last month, it completely slipped my mind.

We were returning to London, and since we both prefer lounging in the airport rather than outside, we had some time to spare. We enjoyed a drink, a meal, and then decided it was time to meander towards our gate.

We had been awaiting the gate announcement, and as soon as it was made, we set off to locate it. Imagine my astonishment when we turned the corner to find a queue of people waiting for gate access.

I had entirely forgotten about the additional security checks. Even though I believed we had ample time, that time was now rapidly slipping away.

Only one kiosk was open, with a queue of at least 30 people, and the clock was ticking down to our flight’s departure. As we stood there, another 40 individuals joined the queue behind us, yet still, only one kiosk was operational.

Passengers were slowly allowed through, with groups permitted to approach the kiosk together to have their passports verified, fingers and faces scanned, before being sent on their way.

The process was painfully slow. The queue barely seemed to budge, and more people continued to join behind us. From the snippets of conversations I caught, everyone appeared as taken aback — and stressed — as I was.

I heard more than one person mutter something along the lines of “surely they won’t let us miss our flight?” Another responded: “I wouldn’t put it past them to be honest.”

Fortunately, my partner and I had started relatively close to the front, so we managed to reach the gate just in time. As for the people behind us, I have no clue.

This wasn’t even peak season, and it more than doubled the time it took to board our plane. We were flying at the end of February — very much the off-peak period. I can only envisage the chaos as the rollout completes across all of Europe, and summer travel commences.

Travelling during peak season is already stressful, and if my experience is anything to go by, it’s about to become even more so. All I can suggest is even if you think you have enough time at the airport, add more.

Experts have urged holidaymakers to make this check before jetting off

Brits planning a getaway have been warned to check one crucial detail beforehand or risk potentially losing hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Neglecting to do so could leave your travel insurance worthless, meaning you’d be left out of pocket should anything go wrong.

With the Easter break looming, countless families across the UK will be gearing up for trips overseas. However, experts have issued an important reminder about an essential check that must be completed before departing.

The team at Travel Health Pro stressed that travellers must always keep abreast of guidance regarding their destination from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). You should “keep checking” during the “days and weeks leading up to your trip” to ensure you don’t miss anything.

This guidance will inform you whether there are any present dangers associated with your chosen location. These could stem from severe weather conditions, criminal activity, political instability, conflict, or terrorism threats.

Occasionally, the advice may be severe enough to recommend not travelling altogether, whilst in other instances it might suggest steering clear of particular regions or remaining vigilant about certain circumstances. Travel Health Pro stated: “Planning to travel abroad?

“Before you book your trip, check Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) foreign travel advice for information on safety and security at your destination. Remember to keep checking FCDO advice in the days or weeks leading up to your trip too, as circumstances can change very quickly.” The guidance elaborated on the meaning of these warnings: “If the FCDO think the risk of travel is unacceptably high, they will formally advise British people against ‘all but essential travel’ or ‘all travel’ to a particular country or region.

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“The ‘warnings and insurance’ section of each FCDO country advice page lists all the areas (if appropriate) to which this applies. You can also receive FCDO email alerts about specific countries by signing up through a link on the FCDO country page for your destination.”

Neglecting to carry out this verification and venturing to a high-risk destination could result in your insurance policy becoming void. This could mean you’re left out of pocket for hundreds or even thousands of pounds if something goes wrong and your trip is cancelled or cut short.

Travel Health Pro warned: “Remember – your foreign travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against FCDO advice. If you travel, remember to check FCDO travel advice regularly, as situations can change quickly.”

Nations with an FCDO warning currently active

At the time of publication, numerous countries are currently subject to an FCDO travel warning. These include:

• Afghanistan
• Belarus
• Burkina Faso
• Haiti
• Iran
• Iraq
• Israel
• Mali
• Niger
• Russia
• South Sudan
• Syria
• Ukraine
• Yemen

The complete list of foreign travel advice for countries can be viewed online here.