"He is due to visit ..."

[Odessa Dawn]

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"But given his advanced age he appears to be in reasonably good health and has made several foreign trips this year, including to Lebanon, Cuba and Mexico. He is due to visit Brazil next year."
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...t-XVI-declares-it-is-beautiful-to-be-old.html
Does is due to visit mean is expected to visit? I think that the preposition due to should be followed by noun. Can we say that to that goes after due is infinitive?

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes. He is due. Due to what? Due to visit. "To visit" is an infinitive.

"Due to" is a different phrase and is not what is being used here. The parade was cancelled due to inclement weather.

 

[Odessa Dawn]

"Due to" is a different phrase and is not what is being used here. The parade was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Yes, I see the difference. Excellent as always! Thank you so very much. Here is an another example:
"The shift is in large part due to new drilling technologies, including the rise of “fracking,” which now allow the U.S. to take full advantage of its vast oil and natural gas deposits."
More: U.S. seen passing Saudis as global oil king by 2020 - Washington Times

 

[Tdol]

A simple test- does due to have a meaning similar to because of? In your first post, it clearly doesn't, but in the second post it does.