Arrivals & Departures Weekly Travel News & Views 16 February 2026
TALKING TRAVEL
I will be talking “all things travel” at World Travel Fest Perth, at 11.30am on Sunday, February 22. It will be in conversation with Peter Williams, chief executive and managing director of Phil Hoffmann Travel — a familiar name in South Australia and new to Perth.
The World Travel Fest has many other information sessions, on Japan, ocean cruising, river cruising, Europe and more. World Travel Fest Perth is from 9am to 3pm at Parmelia Hilton Perth. It is free, but guests need to register at pht.com.
CINEMA 1
9.15am Britain & Ireland
10am Best of European River Cruising
10.45am Canada & Alaska
11.30am Q&A with Stephen Scourfield
12pm Italy, Greece & Croatia
12.30pm France, Spain & Portugal
1.15pm Britain & Ireland
2pm Best of European river cruising
CINEMA 2
9.45am Japan
10.30am Cruising the Mediterranean
11.15am Cruising close to home
1.00pm Japan
1.45pm Cruising the Mediterranean
Guests go into a draw to win travel prizes, including a Viking eight-day Paris and rhe Heart of Normandy River Cruise valued at $10,990.
7 PAINTINGS
Sofitel Brisbane Central hotel is launching 7 Paintings, an immersive dining experience where iconic artworks are projected across the table, with a seven-course dinner designed to mirror the emotion, energy and story of seven of the world’s most famous artists.
A spokesperson explains: “From a Pollock-inspired edible painting, to a surreal Dali dessert and a bold Banksy dish, this is dining as theatre — blending modern art, gastronomy, and storytelling in a way rarely seen in Australia.” It is available from February 20 to June 2026 and tickets are $195. 7paintings.com/ en/brisbane
... which has sent me back to one of my favourite books, Crazy About Women, by Irish poet Paul Durcan, who died last year. Each poem is inspired by a painting in the collections of the National Gallery of Ireland.
PASSPORT SUCCESSES
I have been receiving positive reports of people with dual Australian and UK nationality being able to quickly renew or apply for a UK passport, in line with entry changes from February 25.
People with Australian passports need an ETA — from gov.uk/eta/apply.
But reader Ben Sinagra writes: “My wife and I are planning our next holiday and part of that involves getting the newly introduced ETA to the UK.
“A few days ago, I googled ‘ETA UK’ and clicked on what looked like the appropriate link.
“The website was well designed and I completed my application quickly and paid the fee — approximately $135. I thought this was a bit steep but put it down to the cost of travel.
“Today, I completed an online ETA for my wife after googling ‘ETA UK’ and this time I looked more closely at the website’s link address and got the UK government site — gov.uk/eta. The form was different and the design not as slick, but I completed the form and paid the fee — approximately $35! I looked back at the emails I received for my ETA application and it appears it went through a company in Poland!
“This is typical of third-party companies who knowingly pay Google for the number one spot in the search engine listings and then charge more than the official rate for services provided by other companies/governments. I did a check to ensure my application was genuinely received and approved and fortunately it was. So I was just deviously scammed. Buyer beware!”