The industry of human happiness is finally waking up again

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( [Travel] Simon Calder’s Travel Week [Simon Calder]( Written by Simon Calder | November 05, 2021 Confirmation that travel was back in business materialised in east London on Monday morning, in the unmistakably exuberant shape of Richard Quest, international business correspondent for CNN. Early in the coronavirus pandemic, the ExCeL exhibition space in Docklands was transformed into a Nightingale hospital with room for 4,000 Covid patients. This week, it has hosted World Travel Market, the UK’s leading travel industry event. The timing was optimal: six hours before the show opened, the last seven nations were released from the UK’s red list; two hours ahead, the first Qantas scheduled service for 19 months departed from Sydney to London. And Mr Quest flew in from New York to mark the occasion. He broadcast to the world from just east of Japan and south of the Maldives, at least in terms of where their stands were located in the mixed-up world of World Travel Market. The industry of human happiness has a smile on its face – and, I am obliged to report, a new slogan on its lips. East of Japan, south of the Maldives: Richard Quest broadcasts on CNN from World Travel Market Straplines are manufactured by marketing departments desperate to condense their location’s geography, climate and culture into a few words. The Beatles prescribed that all you need is love, but according to the government in Athens, “All you want is Greece”. Hostilities could break out with Genoa in Italy, which makes the counter-claim that it is “All you ever wanted”. Only plucky Panama opts for practicality, with a coronavirus-era invitation to “Get your Covid-19 vaccine in Panama” – a remarkable offer that provides free jabs for tourists at selected shopping malls in the capital. Next stop: vaccination. Buses in Panama City, where tourists can line up for free jabs Were you to infer a location’s scale and influence from the size of its presence at World Travel Market, three global superpowers emerge: Florida, Saudi Arabia and Spain. Of these, the Spanish sloganeers have been busiest during lockdown. With a dozen regions competing for attention, Spain provides a bumper crop this year. Some, like the Canary Islands, have doubled up on slogans to make up for last year’s cancellation. Take your pick from “Latitude of life” and “Come to the other winter”. “No joy in life is small,” ripostes Andalucia – which also claims to be “The emotion factory”. For “Mediterranean live and safe”, move northeast up the coastline to Valencia. For a nugget of truth, though, pause between them on the Murcia region’s Costa Calida: “Makes you happy”. That’ll do. Destination of the week: Depot, Rotterdam In store: Ina Klaassen, director of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam A transformational cultural opening deserves a big celebration – and in Rotterdam today, King Willem-Alexander will open the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (the public are welcome from tomorrow). The Depot is a dramatic addition to the stunning Rotterdam skyline, resembling a newly arrived spaceship. It is also the first art storage facility in the world that offers access to a museum’s complete collection, breaking with the tradition of hiding works in vaults or warehouses and making all 151,000 pieces visible. The Depot provides another reason to visit the much-underrated and always innovative second city of the the Netherlands. Don’t miss my daily travel podcast [Green List Travel]( For all the latest travel tips, advice and news listen to my podcast ‘Green List Travel with Simon Calder and The Independent’. It's available now for free on [Spotify](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Pocket Casts]( or [Acast](. Deals of the week: northeast trains and Tunisia - While [Lumo](, the new train operator from London to Edinburgh, is largely sold out for the next four weeks, there always seem to be spaces available between Newcastle – where lots of passengers get off – and the Scottish capital. Book a few days ahead and you can make the 104-mile journey for £4.90 one way, or one-third less with a railcard. - One month after leaving the “red list”, Tunisia gets its first Tui charter flights from today. The weekly departures from Manchester serve the main resort airport, Enfidha, and the holiday company is offering some outstanding deals. A week’s all-inclusive at the Paradis Palace Hotel in Hammamet, departing next Friday 12 November, is just £273 per person including flights (with baggage), transfers, accommodation and all meals and drinks. Question of the week: Australia for Christmas? Question: What are chances of Australia tourism opening up to British visitors before Christmas? Answer: Zero. While London-Sydney flights resumed this week, they are open only to Australian citizens and permanent residents. The authorities will wait to see what effect the opening up has before even considering tourism – and Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, is set against any return of international travellers until 2022. The continuing ban is causing much emotional as well as economic damage. But the informal soundings I take with interested parties in the travel industry are now more optimistic. Previously July next year was the most optimistic; that has moved to March, which is when British Airways plans to resume Australian flights. But please don’t book anything yet. 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