Best shoulder season cities to visit around the world
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ABC News
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- ABC News
Spain's Toxic Tourism: Is mass tourism killing Barcelona and Ibiza?
If you're dreaming of a summer in Spain, you're not alone. The nation is on track to overtake France as the world's most visited country with around one hundred million international visitors expected this year. But you may be met with a hostile reception. Protests and blockades against mass tourism have sprung up across the country with furious locals demanding action to quell the massive hordes of tourists taking over their cities and homes. On Foreign Correspondent Europe Bureau Chief Mazoe Ford travels to two of the major hotspots - Barcelona and Ibiza. She finds a housing crisis, that many blame on Airbnb and other holiday rentals. She meets essential workers and people servicing the tourism industry who have been priced out of their homes. Others lament their very way of life is being destroyed by the tourists wanting a slice of Spanish life. For them, tourists are loving Spain to death. While tourism is critical to the Spanish economy, employing more than three million people, many are asking is the cost of such success too high?
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
PANO BA: How to register for eTravel and extend your stay in the Philippines if you are a foreign passport holder
According to Director Purificacion Molintas, Tourism Attache of the Philippines in Australia and New Zealand, failing to secure an E-Travel authorization often causes delays for travelers and tourists. Australian citizens may enter the Philippines visa-free for up to 30 days. A free OFW Lounge is available at NAIA Terminal 3 for eligible Filipino workers traveling to and from the Philippines. PAKINGGAN ANG PODCAST SBS Filipino 06:58 Filipino 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Here's what customs officials and border officers see when they scan your passport
You might think your passport is just a simple travel document — a way to prove who you are when you cross borders —but in reality, border officials see a lot more than you realise. Melbourne woman Pauline Ryan was nearing the end of a 10-month trip through South and Central America when her journey turned into a nightmare. The semi-retired psychologist had travelled extensively with her partner — from Peru and Ecuador to Mexico — before flying into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on July 19, en route to Bali via Singapore. The pair arrived at 4:20pm and joined the long immigration queue. "The immigration officer was super friendly, super chatty… told us about his time in Australia and how well he was treated… then just abruptly said to my partner, 'You're going through. Pauline, you're being detained.' I literally said, 'You're joking.'" Ms Ryan said she was taken to a secondary holding area. "I was seriously patted down — hands up against the wall, legs parted, under the bra. Fingerprinted, all my jewellery taken, shoes and mouth searched. All my luggage was taken off me," she said. Ms Ryan was told her ESTA visa was invalid because of a trip she had declared to Iran in 2013. She said despite disclosing the visit months earlier during the online visa process — and having it approved — border officials informed her she was now ineligible and would be denied entry to the country. "They said because I'd been to Iran, I was not allowed to have an ESTA visa." Ms Ryan said she wasn't allowed to speak with her partner or access her phone and was made to board a last-minute, expensive flight to Singapore on the same night. "Two really big guys marched me through all of LA Airport… it was like a walk of shame." Once in Singapore, authorities questioned Ms Ryan again and denied her entry due to the US refusal, so she was forced to fly back to Australia. A US Customs and Border Protection spokesman said ESTA eligibility can be revoked if travellers visited "US designated sponsor of terrorism countries like Iran, Iraq, or Cuba". The spokesman said Ms Ryan's ESTA visa was revoked for false information about such travel. However, Ms Ryan said she did declare the holiday to Iran during the visa process. Dr Nina Toft Djanegara, a Technology, Law and Policy Fellow at the University of California (UCLA) School of Law, said a passport holds more than just your photo and details. "The chip embedded in your e-passport contains your photo and biometric data like fingerprints, which are compared in real-time," Dr Toft Djanegara said. It allows immigration officers to instantly verify your identity when they scan your passport. When a flight is booked, a passenger is assigned a Passenger Name Record (PNR), a six-digit code that links information about their trip. Dr Toft Djanegara said airlines send the information to the destination country up to 72 hours before your flight takes off. "Airlines share a huge amount of personal information internationally including your name, address, flight details, seat number, meal preferences, who you're travelling with, even how you paid for your ticket," she said. "It allows border authorities to build a detailed picture of your movements even before you arrive. It's designed to help with risk assessment and pre-screening." Besides passport and booking data, border officers access security databases sourced from Interpol, national watch lists, and terrorism or criminal records. "If you've been flagged on any watch lists, or have visa denials from other countries, that information can follow you and influence decisions at the border," Dr Toft Djanegara said. Immigration booths also have cameras comparing your live image with the one stored in your passport chip, confirming identity with a match or no-match response. A lot of it starts before you reach the border. Global IT company SITA runs many of the systems airlines use to send passenger information, including your name, passport number, itinerary and travel history to governments before flights, allowing authorities to track what people are doing, not just who they are. "The use of advanced data analytics and predictive surveillance is a double-edged sword. It enhances security but raises concerns about privacy and the potential for profiling or false positives," Dr Toft Djanegara said. As Ms Ryan found out, holding a valid visa doesn't automatically guarantee entry to the US because officers have a lot of discretion when deciding who gets in — and who doesn't. And it's not just the US. Australia's Border Force can also ask to check a traveller's electronic devices. "Border control officers operate in a complex legal environment…the discretion they wield is broad and often non-transparent," Dr Toft Djanegara said. So, while it might feel like you've ticked all the boxes, the final call at the border can sometimes come down to factors beyond just your paperwork. A 10-year Aussie passport now costs about $412, one of the most expensive in the world. The UK charge roughly $195 AUD, and a US passport is about $253 AUD. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said the price reflected high-tech security features and a strong global reputation — giving Australians visa-free access to more than 180 countries. Even so, Australia has slipped from sixth to seventh on the Henley Passport Index, which ranks passports by visa-free or visa-on-arrival access. It now sits alongside Malta and Poland, with Singapore leading, followed by Japan and South Korea.
