Travel/Tourism
London, Tokyo, New York Remain World’s Most Attractive Cities
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Global Power City Index (GPCI) 2017 report published by the Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies has named London, New York, and Tokyo as the most comprehensively attractive cities in the world.
The Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies is a research institute established by Mori Building, a leading urban developer in Tokyo.
First released in 2008, the annual GPCI report evaluates and ranks 44 major cities according to their “magnetism,” or their overall power to attract creative individuals and enterprises from around the world. Cities are rated on the basis of 70 detailed indicators in six categories: “Economy”, “R&D”, “Cultural Interaction”, “Livability”, “Environment”, and “Accessibility”.
This year, the top three cities – London, New York and Tokyo – all retained their slots, with London maintaining its number one position for the sixth year running.
Tokyo, which claimed the number three position for the first time last year, further improved its scores in the field of “Cultural Interaction”, closing the gap on second-placed New York.
Paris experienced a significant decline in its ranking in the “Livability” category, due largely to the recent terrorist attacks, but the host city of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is expected to rise above the competition in the coming years by further strengthening its “Accessibility” scores and recovering its “Cultural Interaction” ratings.
Overall, European cities scored highly on “Livability” and “Environment”, maintaining their reputations as the world’s most livable cities, while U.S. cities maintained their high scores in the areas of “R&D”, underscoring the attraction of these cities for researchers and innovators.
Seven Asian cities, topped by Beijing, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong, featured in the top 10 in the “Economy” category, followed by Dubai, which featured for the first time in this year’s report and achieved strong ratings for its corporate tax rates, ranking number 11 in that indicator category.
Commenting, Hiroo Ichikawa, Executive Director of The Mori Memorial Foundation, stated that, “In the last 10 years, the report has shown that the power of cities has been changing as a result of changes in the macro environment.
“Our report suggests that a city’s overall power cannot be determined by a single factor, such as economy, but needs to take into account the many factors that define the city.
“Rapid urbanization and globalization pose both challenges and opportunities for cities, so for cities to thrive, they need to accurately assess their specific strengths and weaknesses, as well as their relative positioning against other cities.
“We believe that our GPCI report can help policy makers and global companies achieve smarter planning and decision-making in their efforts to thrive in today’s highly competitive global environment.”
London’s core strengths lay in the category of “Cultural Interaction”, which helped the city keep its No.1 position overall for the tenth consecutive year. London continued to maximize its overall strengths by improved scores in the indicators of GDP Growth Rate and Level of Political, Economic and Business Risk. While there remains some uncertainty surrounding the UK’s exit from the EU, London’s balanced strengths across several categories mean the city has the potential to turn challenges into opportunities, extending its commanding lead and continuing forward as the top-ranked city in which to live and work.
New York, in second place overall, increased its scores in the “Economy” category due to improvements in its Nominal GDP and GDP Growth Rate, but failed to make any significant headway in its overall score, owing to weaker showings this year in the category of “Cultural Interaction”.
Tokyo maintained its number three position and further closed the gap on New York, largely due to improved “Cultural Interaction” indicators, in particular the Number of Visitors from Abroad. Tokyo also further improved its scores in the field of “Accessibility”, due largely to an increase in the number of direct flight connections between Tokyo and overseas cities.
Dubai and Buenos Aires made their first-ever appearances in the GPCI in 2017 with respective overall rankings of 23rd and 40th. Dubai posted strengths in “Cultural Interaction” (9th) and the “Economy” (11th), thanks mainly to strong evaluations in the area of Number of Luxury Hotel Guest Rooms and Corporate Tax Rates.
In other parts of the world, Sydney climbed four spots this year to edge its way into the top 10 for the first time in seven years.
Cities such as Los Angeles (in 11th position overall), Beijing (13th), San Francisco (17th), Amsterdam (7th), Berlin (8th) and Frankfurt (12th) all significantly improved their rankings from last year, as did Vienna (14th), Stockholm (16th), Zurich (18th) and Copenhagen (20th).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 14.12 per cent stake in Ikeja Hotel Plc has been acquired by Honeywell Group Limited, a notice on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has revealed.
Honeywell Group took up the part of the hospitality firm through one of its affiliates known as HGL Real Estate Limited.
Ikeja Hotel, in the disclosure filed with the NGX on July 2, 2026, said the stake comprised 305,323,525 units of its equities.
“Ikeja Hotel hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the general public that it has received notification from HGL Real Estate Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, that it has acquired 305,323,525 units of Ikeja Hotel Plc’s shares, representing 14.12 per cent shareholding in the company,” the notice stated.
Ikeja Hotel is one of Nigeria’s leading hospitality investment and hotel management companies with premium hospitality assets.
It operates two leading hospitality organisations in Lagos, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel and Balmoral Convention Centre.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About 10 hospitality establishments, including hotels and restaurants, were sealed on Wednesday by officials of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
The affected businesses are located in different locations in the Alimosho Local Government Area of the metropolis, Business Post learned from a statement from the agency.
It was stated that they were sealed by LASEPA for persistent violations of environmental regulations despite repeated warnings, abatement notices, and several opportunities to comply with the agency’s directives.
According to the notice, the enforcement exercise was carried out in line with the directives of the Lagos State government to ensure strict compliance with environmental laws and to safeguard public health.
The affected facilities were said to have breached various environmental regulations, including noise pollution, air pollution, unlawful discharge of untreated effluent, obstruction of official duties, among others.
LASEPA closed the premises of Granduer Meridian at Obasa Akiniyi Street, Oluwaga, Ipaja for non-compliance with the agency’s directives; Lasola (Spazio Bar), located on Ipaja Road, Fatolu Bus Stop, Ipaja, was sealed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives; Millennium Restaurant, located at Gate Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo, was shut down for non-compliance with directives; O2 Exquisite Suites & Tower on Jimoh Akinremi Street, Jimoh Bus Stop, Akowonjo, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; and Chirozz Hotel & Suites, located on Samuel Street, Akowonjo, by Vulcanizer Bus Stop, Egbeda, was closed for noise pollution and non-compliance with directives.
In addition, House 7 Hotel, located at Remi Akande Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with LASEPA’s directives; House 48 on Isiba Oluwo Street, Egbeda, was sealed for non-compliance with directives; Exclusive Hotel, located at Ishan Kimishe, Akesan Bus Stop, was shut down by non-compliance with directives; Sabola Ventures Limited, Iocated at Km 11, LASU–Isheri Road, Igando, was shut down for operating without evidence of an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), and discharging untreated effluent into public drains; and City Int’l Motel, located at Chief Olu-Adegbite Street, off Oladun Street, Council Bus Stop, Idimu, was sealed for non-compliance with directives.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Emirates has become the first airline cargo carrier to deploy the Boeing 777-300ERSF passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft.
The aircraft (A6-EBK) will enter commercial service with a flight from Hong Kong to Dubai carrying over 100 tonnes of cargo, a statement from the airline operator stated.
The converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF offers 100 tonnes of payload capacity and 811 m³ of cargo volume, representing a 25 per cent increase in cargo volume over the Boeing 777-F production freighter.
At 47 pallet positions, the converted aircraft also accommodates 10 additional pallet positions when compared with the Boeing 777-F production freighter, making it ideal for transporting volumetric cargo such as e-commerce goods, which currently constitute around 20 per cent of global air cargo tonnage with further growth projected in the next few years.
The converted Boeing 777-300ERSF is the sixth new freighter, following five Boeing 777-F production freighters, to join Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet since March 2026.
As part of its ambitious expansion strategy, Emirates SkyCargo will also be taking delivery of five additional Boeing 777-F aircraft as well as one additional converted Boeing 777-300ERSF by December 2026.
Emirates SkyCargo will also be introducing three additional converted Boeing 777-ERSFs into its fleet in 2027.
“The induction of the first converted Emirates Boeing 777-300ERSF into operational service represents the next step in the expansion of our fleet and operational agility.
“We are optimising our fleet assets by converting older Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft to meet the growing demand for air cargo capacity to transport goods rapidly across the world,” Emirates SkyCargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President, Badr Abbas, commented.
“Combined with our growing fleet of Boeing 777-F production freighters, we have already been able to scale our global freighter network from just over 40 destinations in February this year to 62 destinations currently and growing.
“We are providing our global customers with scalable cargo capacity and ultimate flexibility and connectivity when moving cargo to and through our hub in Dubai,” Abbas added.
