Travel Unpacked: Sri Lanka scraps visa fees and Kuwait's Failaka Island Unesco bid

The National rounds up the most interesting tourism news you might have missed

The Heritage Village in Failaka Island, off the coast of Kuwait, in 2010. Gustavo Ferrari for The National

The end of the summer holidays are exceptionally busy times for travel around the world, and the UAE is no exception, as families return for the start of a new academic year. This week, Emirates is expecting to fly 900 children travelling on their own to the city, in what is peak season for its unaccompanied minors service.

In Kuwait, a small island rich in history is set to be inscribed on Unesco's World Heritage List, while Sri Lanka is opening its doors to more tourists with new visa rules. Finally, destination inspiration in the UK comes from photography experts who have listed the most picturesque villages across the country.

Here's a round-up of recent travel and tourism news – in case you missed it.

Kuwait plans to enlist Failaka Island on Unesco World Heritage List

A small ancient island off the coast of Kuwait is set to be inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List.

On Thursday, Kuwait's National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters and the World Monuments Fund signed a memorandum of understanding in New York to enlist Failaka island in Unesco's World Heritage List.

The island is located 20km off the coast of Kuwait, is more than 4,200 years old and has borne witness to five different civilisations. Once an outpost of Alexander the Great’s army, the island is also famed for its history and has Mesopotamian-era ruins, including the remains of a citadel.

Frozen in time following the Gulf War, the island was last inhabited three decades ago. It boasts rows of abandoned 1950s-style houses and bullet-riddled buildings, including the National Bank of Kuwait, which was destroyed before it ever opened.

A tank graveyard – filled with rusting tanks and vehicles – and a small farm for goats also have a place on the island.

Most recently, the island made headlines after it hosted a Red Bull-sponsored duel race between parkour athlete Mohammed Al Attar and rally driver Abdo Feghali, with the pair racing and jumping around the island's abandoned streets and buildings.

The enlisting process for its inclusion on Unesco's World Heritage List is supported by the World Monument Fund and will include scanning archaeology sites on the island to determine the plan to turn them into a cultural tourism attraction.

Emirates to fly 900 unaccompanied minors to Dubai

With the summer holidays now over, Emirates is gearing up for one of its busiest periods of flying unaccompanied minors.

Every year, as the new school year begins, the Dubai airline sees a spike in the number of passengers booking its Unaccompanied Minors Service. This week, the airline is expecting to fly about 900 children from destinations across its network to Dubai International Airport.

Designed for children aged between five and 11, the service ensures that young people are supervised and safe at all points of their journey. Over the past five years, more than 120,000 children have used the service. British families lead the way for booking the service, followed by bookings from India, America, the Philippines and France.

Children travelling solo are supervised from check-in until they reach their destination. The service includes access to an unaccompanied lounge for minors when departing from Dubai International Airport. Each child is accompanied by an Emirates specialist ground staff member who stays with the child as they journey through the airport, helping them navigate through security and immigration and then facilitating priority boarding to the flight.

In-flight, Emirates cabin crew are trained to regularly check on the child and can assist with seat adjustments and meal requests. Upon landing, a dedicated Emirates team member will greet children at the aircraft door, and escort them through the airport to meet their parent or guardian. Proof of identification is checked by Emirates before the parent or guardian can collect the child.

There is no additional fee for the compulsory service for children under 12, but tickets must be booked on an adult fare basis. Children aged 12 to 15 are permitted to fly alone without using the Unaccompanied Minors Service on Emirates, but can also opt for the service for an additional fee of $50 per flight.

Sri Lanka to trial free entry for 35 countries, including UAE

Travellers from 35 destinations will be able to travel to Sri Lanka without paying for visas from October 1.

The Sri Lankan government is introducing a six-month pilot scheme that will allow citizens from a number of countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, to travel to the teardrop island on free 30-day tourist visas.

Designed to boost tourism and help revive Sri Lanka's crisis-hit economy, the move allows visitors from countries including the UK, China, Australia, India and Russia to visit for 30 days on a free visa. The scheme will run until March and waives the current $50 fee.

“The aim of the government is to transform Sri Lanka into a free visa country, much like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, to tap into the benefits of a rapidly growing tourism industry,” cabinet spokesman and transport minister Bandula Gunawardana told Reuters.

Famed for its tropical beaches, tea plantations and some of the world's prettiest train journeys, Sri Lanka's tourism economy suffered heavily during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent financial crisis.

Since then, efforts to turn the country's tourism industry around have been ongoing and more than two million people visited the country in mid-August, the highest number of tourists to Sri Lanka since before the global pandemic.

The launch of a 300km walking trail; the renovation of Cape Weligama, one of the island's best luxury hotels; and solid network expansion from Sri Lankan airlines are among several developments aiming to further boost tourism in Sri Lanka.

The UK's most picturesque villages, from Portmeirion to St Abbs

From European-inspired pastel architecture to clifftop lighthouses and boat-lined harbours, the UK is home to hundreds of villages famed for their charming hotels, seaside vibes and old-fashioned charm.

With so many small towns to choose from, many of the UK's prettiest spots can often fly under the radar, which is why photography experts at Parrotprint, a photo-to-canvas printer in the UK, have rounded up their favourite places across the country for a postcard-perfect visit.

Topping the list is Portmeirion in Wales. Nestled in Gwynedd in the north of the country, the Italian-style village was built by Welsh architect Clough Wlliams-Ellis to show off the natural beauty of the area. Most famous for being the setting of hit 1960s TV show The Prisoner, it offers hectares of forest filled with lakes, temples and perfect viewpoints.

St Abbs in the Scottish Borders is the UK's second-prettiest town, according to the photography experts at Parrotprint. Known for its rugged coastline and rich wildlife, the seaside village is the place to go for outdoor pursuits with a stunning walking trail to the St Abbs's Head Nature Reserve. A lighthouse, volcanic clifftops, grey seals and uninterrupted views to the North Sea make it a visual feast.

Not quite off the radar, but worthy of a visit, is Broadway, a well-known Cotswolds beauty spot in Worcestershire that is famed for its honey-coloured buildings. Don't miss the walk up Broadway Tower, where you will have a bird's-eye view of the town from a 312-metre viewpoint.

Travellers seeking out a quintessential English village experience can head to Long Crendon in Buckinghamshire, a picturesque village that viewers may recognise as the backdrop for the long-running detective drama Midsomer Murders. Thatched cottages, 15th-century courthouses, village pubs and cute restaurants abound.

Cornwall is one of the UK's most popular summer destinations and Polperro on the east coast is one of the best spots in the country. Narrow, traffic-free streets lined with colourful cottages lead to a harbour dotted with seafront shops, cafes and restaurants. The fishing village was once a haven for smugglers and bootleggers, and travellers can get the lowdown on this and more at the Polperro Heritage Museum.

Keen amblers might want to head to Amble, ranked the sixth prettiest town in the UK where you can wander around a pretty coastline. Located at the edge of the Northumberland Coast Area of Natural Beauty, it has pastel-painted beach huts, quaint fish and chip shops and a shoreline that throngs with puffins.

Rounding up the top seven is the village of Helmsley in North Yorkshire. From its dramatic castle ruins to its charming tea rooms, and the only market town in the North York Moors National Park, it offers everything travellers need for a small-town escape.