Shorts: Two Go writers picked up gongs at the Travel Extra awards last weekend.
Killian Forde won one for his ski column while Mal Rogers – the winner of last year's ski award – picked up the prize for long-haul travel writing, for Animal Magic, his piece on South Africa's Garden Route from our September 12th issue last year. Other winners included Kathryn Thomas, of RTÉ's No Frontierstravel programme, and, for the overall award, Mark Evans of the Evening Herald.
US tightens entry rules
The US embassy in Dublin has reminded travellers from Visa Waiver Program countries, which include the Republic and the UK, that it is now compulsory to get an electronic authorisation before visiting the US. It also suggests registering via dublin.usembassy.gov at least a fortnight before you go, so that you have time to make an appointment at the embassy if your electronic application is denied.The authorisation is valid for two years, and the embassy says you don’t need to have a specific journey in mind to apply for one.