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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Sikkim Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to climb Everest (and a former FT staffer), is returning to the Himalayas to lead a trek in memory of the pioneering mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine on the centenary of their ill-fated expedition. Both men disappeared near the summit of Everest and the question of whether they reached the top remains one of mountaineering’s enduring mysteries. The trek will follow some of their route to the mountain, not via Nepal, which was then closed to westerners, but through Sikkim, from where Mallory and Irvine passed into Tibet to approach Everest from the north. The trip runs from October 19 to November 3 and costs from £3,790 per person including all meals. worldexpeditions.com
Paris Hoteliers have reacted angrily to a threefold increase in tourist tax that comes into force this month ahead of the Olympics, which will be hosted by the city this summer. Rates vary according to the standard of accommodation: those staying in the top category “palace” hotels will find the nightly tax increased from €5 to €14.95, at four-star hotels it has risen from €2.88 to €8.13, at hostels and guesthouses from €1 to €2.60. “It is another hard blow for the competitiveness of our sector and for the image of France, at a time when all the spotlights are on Paris 2024,” said the Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie (UMIH) and Groupement National des Chaînes Hôtelières (GNC) in a joint statement. taxedesejour.paris.fr
London British Airways has announced plans to return to Stansted, the Essex airport 30 miles north-east of central London that has traditionally been a base for low-cost carriers. From May 18, BA will run weekend flights from the airport to Florence, Ibiza and Nice. The services will be flown by a subsidiary, BA Cityflyer, whose usual operating base, London City Airport, closes during parts of the weekend. Stansted was home to BA’s low-cost start-up airline Go Fly, which was bought by easyJet in 2002. More recently, BA had gradually scaled back its use of the airport, with the final scheduled service departing in 2020. britishairways.com
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