Shoppers taking advantage of over-the-border bargains
U.K. travel
One-bag carry-on rule may be lifted soon
Starting early next year, travelers may no longer need to worry about stuffing all their carry-on items, including purses and laptops, into a single bag at British airports.
London Heathrow and other airports in the United Kingdom are now eligible to lift the one-bag rule as early as Jan. 7.
That unpopular rule - in place more than a year - has meant that travelers leaving a U.K. airport can carry just one bag into the aircraft cabin vs. two bags elsewhere in the world. The limit forces passengers with two bags to check a bag or cram items into a single bag.
U.K. Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said airports can earn permission to scrap the one-bag rule after they’ve proved they can handle the screening of additional carry-on bags.
U.S. fliers traveling to a U.K. airport can take two bags when they board in the U.S., but if they’re connecting to another country at Heathrow, say, they’re forced to check one of their carry-on bags.
The U.K. government adopted the one-bag rule after British authorities in August 2006 said they had foiled a plot to bomb trans-Atlantic jetliners using small amounts of explosives disguised as ordinary liquids. No other country adopted a one-bag rule.
In the past year, airlines pushed the British government to drop the rule. The rule even prompted some travelers to switch airlines.
The rule also triggered a surge in checked baggage, which often overwhelmed Heathrow’s baggage systems and caused long check-in lines as passengers repacked their bags.
India
Authorities say “no” to weaker U.S. dollar
Indian authorities have ruled that tourists visiting the country’s monuments must pay at a fixed local rupee rate rather than in dollars to shore up revenues as the greenback falls against major currencies.
Entrance to many sites for foreign tourists in India is priced in dollars and then converted to rupees, meaning that authorities have been losing money this year as the dollar slid more than 12 percent against the local currency.
The government had fixed a $5 entrance fee for World Heritage sites like the Taj Mahal and $2 for other monuments at a time when the dollar was worth about 50 rupees. The dollar is now worth around 39 rupees. The new rate for World Heritage Sites is fixed at 250 rupees, meaning a foreign tourist will pay the equivalent of about $6.50.
Italy
Naples to smokers: Stop outdoors, or risk fines
Naples has taken its smoking ban outdoors, forbidding lighting up in public parks and during demonstrations and cultural events if children or pregnant women are nearby.
Violators risk fines from $40-$370, according to a city ordinance that went into effect recently. Already, smoking in Naples - like the rest of Italy - is banned in restaurants, offices and other closed public places like airports.
Naples decided to expand its ban outside because health officials recently reported that the death rate of victims from respiratory illness and lung cancer was “significantly” higher in Naples than the rest of the country, according to the ordinance.
Canadians made more same-day trips to the U.S. in September than at any time in six years, as they rushed to take advantage of a strengthening currency to buy cheaper goods in the U.S.
Same-day car trips to the U.S. by Canadians rose to 2.11 million in September, the highest since 2001 and a 7.8 percent increase from a year earlier. Overnight trips to the U.S. were up 15 percent from a year ago.
Canadian shoppers have been flocking across the border to buy clothes, electronics and cars more cheaply in the U.S. since the country’s currency reached parity against the U.S. dollar. The Canadian dollar reached parity with the U.S. dollar on Sept. 20 for the first time since 1976. It has been trading above that level since then.
Washington state
Historical Spokane theater reopens
The elegant Fox Theater, which was scheduled to be torn down for a parking garage seven years ago, has reopened after a $31 million makeover that restored its Art Deco glory. The theater was restored with a combination of private donations and $8 million in state funds and will be the new home of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra.
It’s part of Spokane’s growing Davenport Arts District, a new area that includes the restored Davenport Hotel, the 800-seat Bing Crosby Theater, The Big Easy concert hall, nightclubs and art galleries.
Compiled by Times staff and news services.