BRASÍLIA – In our travel roundup this week, the luxury death trap that was the world’s first passenger plane, a forgotten but beautiful Bauhaus airport, and the rising cost of travel entry fees. The must-have travel accessory du jour is a big fat wallet. You likely have heard about the United States introducing a new $250 “visa integrity fee” for international visitors. The European Union has also been busy on the travel fee front, recently raising its upcoming European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) fee from 7 to 20 euros (about $23). The fee will apply to non-EU nationals from visa-free countries — so that means the US, the UK, Canada, Japan and more — and the plan is for it to be up and running by late 2026. The European Commission attributes this hefty increase to rising inflation, additional operational costs — and also to bringing it in line with other travel authorization programs, such as ESTAs in the US (with a price tag of $21) and ETAs in the UK. The UK hiked up the cost of its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in April, going from £10 to £16 (also around $21). Making a permanent move to another country proved just the change these Americans needed. Retired US veteran Christopher Boris was struggling to cope with the rising cost of living, so in 2024 he and his wife Maria Jesus moved from Maryland to Brazil. “I could not afford the American Dream,” Boris tells CNN. “But here, it’s not about making money. It’s establishing other factors, like friendships.” Janet Blaser, originally from New York, relocated from California to Mexico nearly two decades ago. As a single mother of three “living paycheck to paycheck,” she says she always felt like she “didn’t have enough.” She started a magazine business and got herself a permanent resident visa. “I feel like I succeeded here,” she tells CNN. “I’ve given myself a wonderful life.” Nashville woman Linda Leaming was blown away by the beauty of the Kingdom of Bhutan when she visited in 1994. “I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life here,” she tells CNN. Three years later, she made the move, and has since found love and happiness in the Himalayas. “Moving to Bhutan taught me to live mindfully,” she says.
