Dutch budget train GoVolta postponed after not getting funds

Dutch start-up train operator GoVolta will not be able to start train services this year after Rabobank decided against granting the new rail company a loan. The train paths (‘slots’ on the rails) allocated for GoVolta’s budget trains to Berlin in Germany, Copenhagen in Denmark and Basel in Switzerland have now been returned. 

UN WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER | International tourism recovers pre-pandemic levels in 2024

With 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals recorded globally, 2024 marked the recovery of international tourism from the worst crisis in the sector’s history. A majority of destinations welcomed more international tourists in 2024 than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, while visitor spending also continued to grow strongly. For 2025, more growth is predicted.

2025: Overtourism overdose?

On 1 January 2024 we wrote about how rising prices affect travel. Not only the price of flights, but also the price of activities. Pricing was a topic the year before, 2023. In 2024, conventional and social media dug into the issue of overtourism. Articles about locals protesting, Instagrammers posting about big crowds in Japan…

The best cities to visit as a gay solo traveller

In September 2024 Instagram pushed me a post by Travel Gay, a website listing “the best gay bars, nightclubs, saunas, spas, beaches, shops and more, along with interesting travel ideas and fabulous offers”. There I saw the undated post (date your articles and posts, people) ‘LGBTQ+ Solo Travel: the Best Cities to Visit?‘ by Adam…

GoVolta wants to run trains from Amsterdam to Bruges

Dutch railway company GoVolta has submitted applications for three new international train services from January 2027. The new rail operator has submitted applications to the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM), the authority for consumer and market in the Netherlands for trains to Bruges in Belgium and Hamburg and Frankfurt in Germany.