EU: The Commission has announced a new fee for non-EU travellers who do not need a visa to enter 30 European countries. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) fee will be EUR 20 instead of the previous EUR 7. This increase aims to cover the operational costs of ETIAS, taking into account all its functionalities and inflation rates, and align the EU fee to the ones of other countries that have similar travel authorisation programmes.
The ETIAS system will start operations at the end of 2026.
Read the full article here.
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Scam sites a growing nuisance when applying for ETA and ESTA authorisations
The use of ETA and ESTA travel forms by scam websites is on the rise.
Scam websites using ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) and ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) travel forms have been reported to the Cybersecurity Centre of the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom. Victims have suffered financial loss and personal data has fallen into the wrong hands.
The full article published in Ikkunapaika on 17.6. is available in here.
BT4Europe proposes abolition of the A1 certificate for short business trips
European travel buyers network BT4Europe has urged the European Commission to reduce administrative burdens and reform the "outdated" A1 certification requirements for short-term business travel.
Full BTN Europe article
Spring meeting report 24.4.2025
The Finnish Business Travel Association FBTA gathered 70 of its activists for its Spring Meeting on 24 April in the renovated premises of the Scandic Simonkenttä Hotel in Helsinki. The meeting day started with separate group meetings for both buyer and partner members. In the afternoon, both the seminar programme and the statutory part of the meeting took place..
Eero Havia's report on the Spring meeting is available in full here.
BT4Europe Press Release: Travel to the USA
In April, BT4Europe collected information from member associations on business travel to the US following the new administration's revised immigration guidelines.
A press release on the subject is available at here.
#NBTS25 in Oslo - what topics were discussed?
The Nordic Business Travel Summit (NBTS), powered by the four Nordic business travel associations, DBTA, FBTA, SBTA and the host country NBTA, brought together more than 400 business travel and travel management professionals from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland in Oslo on 17-18 March.
At NBTS, under the shelter of Clarion the HUB hotel in Oslo's city centre, current topics in business travel trade and travel management were discussed, with artificial intelligence (AI) and, subsequently and partly related to it, sustainable development (i.e. sustainalibity, climate concerns and the green transition. The meetings were chaired by an excellent and lively lady Aurelie Krau said in his opening remarks: "We are on the threshold of a new era where the rules of technology are being rewritten and will shape every aspect of our lives."
The full report of the Travel Week by Eero Havia can be read in full here.