As a long-time (50 years this year, wow) journalist, I do occasionally consider the dark side of things. When I see a list of the safest cities in the world to visit, for example, I always wonder who finished at the bottom. That isn’t very nice, I suppose. But I guess it’s human nature. With that in mind, I was delighted to see that a recent study of the most welcoming countries in the world was followed up with a list (from a different source) of the LEAST welcoming nations in Europe. It it may not be very scientific, and Read more
cruise ships
A little bit of this and a little bit of that today. SAFEST EUROPEAN CITIES A story at InsiderMonkey.com lists the safest cities in the world, which is an important topic any time but seemingly more so now given global events. Using data from the Global Peace Index, they assigned cities with a safety score. In this, the lower the number the more safe the city is deemed to be. Here’s the top 25 in descending order 25. Vilnius, Lithuania, 1.671 24. Rome, 1.662 23. Bucharest, 1.649 23. Madrid, 1.649 21. Sofia, 1.643 20. Warsaw, 1.634 19. Stockholm, 1.625 (very Read more
A new study of downtown Toronto commerce shows the tourism industry has bounced back nicely from the pandemic. But we’re not out of the woods yet. The Toronto Star on Thursday ran a story that talked about a University of Toronto School of Cities study that looked at cellphone usage in the city centre to determine the number of daily visitors to various types of buildings. Looking at 2019 levels versus 2023, the study found that Toronto’s hospitality buildings had a 100% recovery rate in terms of visitors. The recovery rate for office buildings was only 69%, and for retail Read more
Air Canada has opened its brand-new Maple Leaf Lounge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the airline’s 28th lounge worldwide, and its third in the U.S. The modern and exclusive respite, located in Terminal 2, features Air Canada’s first outdoor lounge terrace, together with a range of premium amenities, food and beverages, making the travel experience for eligible customers even more comfortable and convenient before their flights to Canada and beyond. “We’re thrilled to bring our Maple Leaf Lounge experience to San Francisco International Airport, giving our Bay Area customers a way to enjoy Air Canada’s award-winning product and glowing-hearted Read more
NEW YORK CITY – Viking has quickly established itself as a leader in ocean cruising. A gorgeous new ship will put an added shine to the brand. A naming ceremony for the Viking Saturn was held on the Hudson River in New York City on Tuesday, June 6, and I was on hand for the occasion. New York Metropolitan Opera chair Ann Ziff, the ship’s godmother, christened the Saturn by using a steel sword from the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore and slashing at a red ribbon, which sent a bottle of Aquavit crashing against the white hull. Read more
