Budding British travel operator Don Lucey is proposing to offer tours to Iraq.  Never mind the troops, killings and kidnappings, Don Lucey, a former soldier and policeman who worked in Iraq in 2003 has set up Bann Tours in Swindon, western England. “It has a lot to offer, a lot of history. It's not just all war and people killing each other. Obviously terrorists scare a lot of people, but people like myself want to prove that they are not in control,” he said in a telephone interview.

Lucey said tourism in Iraq had to start somewhere, and that he and his clients were determined to be the catalyst. The 10-day trip, which will take in some ancient sites, costs 1,200 pounds ($2,192) per person, not including insurance.

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The US government is dropping a plan to collect personal data on airline passengers to assess security risks because of privacy concerns.  Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said officials had all but scrapped plans for the controversial Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-screening System, known as CAPPS II, which has come under criticism from privacy advocates and some members of the US Congress.  The program, which has never been tested fully, was launched after September 11 2001 to refine electronic techniques for using personal information to identify and rate potential threats.

Ridge said a new program with a different name might be developed to replace CAPPS II. It could be replaced by a new “registered traveller” program if enough people volunteer to provide personal information, the report said.

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A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

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Want to check out how good the seat is on your next flight?  Take a look at this: http://www.seatguru.com/ which warns you of poor seats in the general seating arrangement of different types of aircraft operated by a wide range of airlines.

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Spanish police are targeting tourist resorts in a crackdown on holidaymakers who drink and drive.  Until this summer, penalties for drink-driving applied only to full-time residents with tourists being let off with a caution and a small fine.  But now visitors who commit the offence will face fines of up to £5,000 and a three-year ban from driving in Spain.  Those involved in accidents resulting in the death or injury of others will be jailed.  Despite its modern road system, Spain has one of Europe's worst safety records, with one person killed or injured every 11 minutes.

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According to the UK Foreign Office, there is a high threat to Western, including British, interests from terrorism in Somalia, as there is in a number of countries in East Africa and the Horn.  You should be aware that a number of British nationals and Westerners have been killed and injured in attacks in Somaliland. The Somaliland authorities believe these were terrorist inspired. Two British nationals were shot dead in Sheikh in Oct 2003. In the same month an Italian aid worker was murdered in Boroma near the border with Ethiopia. On 19 March 2004, a Kenyan woman working for a German Government aid organisation was shot dead in an ambush on the Hargeisa-Berbera road. Her German colleague was injured in the attack. Several suspects have been detained for this attack and for the two earlier similar incidents. This latter attack resulted in the temporary withdrawal of international aid personnel.

In May 2004, a remote-controlled landmine was found planted in a remote airstrip in the south of Somalia. UN and European Commission flights to Somalia are consequently now much restricted.

The Somaliland authorities have established a Special Protection Unit (SPU) which accompanies all UN missions outside Hargeisa. NGOs and individuals can also apply for an SPU escort at a cost of US$4.00 per day (or US$7.00 per 24 hours). British nationals who decide to stay in or visit Somaliland, despite our advice to the contrary, are urged to obtain details of the new system and to ensure that, when travelling, they take adequate security precautions.

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News comes from SE Asia that some airline ticket have fallen below the cost of bus fares, with a one-way ticket between Singapore and the Thai resort of Phuket advertised for as little as 29 Singapore cents.  No-frills airline Thai AirAsia offered one-way flights between Singapore and Phuket at 29 Singapore cents (17 US cents) for the first 3,000 seats.  The price did not include taxes and fees of about SGD$61 for insurance, a fuel surcharge and airport taxes.  (Sound like Ryanair?)   The tickets were snapped up within 2 days.  Tiger Airways, a venture between Singapore Airlines and the founder of our friends Ryanair, started the price war last month with one-way SGD$1 fares to Thailand for a limited period, which when added to taxes and fees amounted to SGD$62.  Singapore Airlines is offering return fares between Singapore and Bangkok ranging from SGD$178 to SGD$268 each compared with its normal ticket price of SGD$358.

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The Burma Campaign UK has released its latest list of companies that invest in Burma, or Myanmar as it is called by the country’s military dictatorship.  You may be interested to know that high class UK travel company Abercrombie and Kent are on the “dirty” list.  For more info, see: Burma Campaign

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Spotted by our Webmaster, Paul, this website tells you how to drive between different places in Europe.  It calculates the total number of miles, the best route and the amount payable in tolls.  Worked for the Beetle who tested it out from the Beetle lair in Central London to Brussels: 200 miles, taking approx. 4 ½ hours, including 2 hours 40 mins on express highways.  Not bad, hey!

Michelin Route Planner

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