Congratulations to the True North Strong and Free. A recent report by The Reputation Institute, a corporation with offices in Boston and Copenhagen, ranked the top countries in the world based on how the rest of the world perceives them. They considered such factors as natural beauty, the populace’s outlook and attitude towards their homeland, domestic safety and security, and the competence of the government. Canada came out on top, followed by Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Australia. The U.S. didn’t make the top 20, which seems to suggest what the rest of the world thinks of Donald Trump and his Read more
Norway
A look at where Canadians want to go for domestic trips this year, as well as surprising destinations for foreign visitors to Canada. Today’s post also looks at where to see the Northern Lights and how young people are looking for “roamance” on the road. CANADIAN HOT SPOTS FOR 2024: Moncton, Windsor, Vancouver and Richmond Hill? 2023 was, by many reports, considered the “return to travel”, with tourism reaching nearly 90% of pre-pandemic levels*. With travel showing no signs of slowing down, Canadians are eager to explore their own country, and far beyond, this year. Without further ado, here are Read more
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
Thinking of a trip to Europe this fall? Try flying into Oslo, Edinburgh or maybe Madrid if you want to save money. With help from Expedia, Travel + Leisure magazine has issued a list of 11 European airports and computed the cost of an airline ticket today, compared with during the peak summer months. Here’s what they found, with the percentage decline in ticket prices from summer to today in parentheses. Oslo (-40%). Stockholm (-35%) Hamburg (-35%) Ibiza (-35%) Copenhagen (-30%) Madrid (-30%) Dublin (-25%) Brussels (-25%) Geneva (-25%) Edinburgh (-25%) Florence (-20%) That’s a fun list. Not to rain Read more
CS Global Partners, the world’s leading government advisory and marketing firm, has released its much-anticipated World Citizenship Report (WCR). The WCR showcases the World Citizenship Index (WCI), a distinctive tool that compares world citizenships from the perspective of a global citizen. The index’s methodology evaluates 187 jurisdictions across five key motivators defining citizenship for the global citizen. Reliance was placed on official statistics to evaluate a score for the defined motivators of Safety and Security, Quality of Life, Economic Opportunity, Global Mobility and Financial Freedom. Backed by research from leading data banks, interviews and a survey undertaken by over 500 Read more
