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
Air travellers flying through Emirates will enjoy Starlink Wi-Fi onboard after the completion of the installation of the internet service on the company’s flagship A380.
The introduction of Starlink on the A380 builds on Emirates’ ongoing investment into redefining the customer journey, including one of the most ambitious retrofit programmes in aviation history.
The airline operator recently test-run this on a flight to Dubai, and it allowed passengers to enjoy seamless broadband while flying at 40,000 feet.
The Emirates A380 was one of the first commercial aircraft in the world to offer internet to its customers, with first-generation systems offering a total aircraft bandwidth of less than 1 Mbps. The installation and certification were accomplished in Newquay, UK.
With more A380s scheduled for accelerated installation throughout 2026, Emirates customers will soon enjoy a transformative leap in onboard connectivity with the ability to stream, game, browse, and work throughout their journey on personal devices.
The service will be complimentary for all customers, across all cabins, with easy sign-up and access. Future enhancements will include Live TV streaming over Starlink, initially on personal devices and later integrated into seatback screens.
So far, more than 650,000 Emirates customers have already flown on Starlink‑equipped flights, experiencing the benefits of next‑generation onboard connectivity firsthand.
As the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the A380 presents unique engineering challenges and opportunities. This industry-first Starlink configuration is designed to meet the demands of the A380’s ‘double-decker’ layout and high passenger capacity and is capable of delivering more than 2 Gbps of total aircraft bandwidth across the cabin.
Compared with the Emirates Boeing 777, the Emirates A380 features additional wireless access points and a third antenna to deliver an enhanced connectivity experience for its higher passenger capacity. Optimised inter‑deck integration supports a seamless Wi‑Fi experience, with customers able to enjoy high speeds depending on usage and device capability.
Starlink installations will soon begin at Emirates Engineering facilities in Dubai to accelerate deployment across the fleet.
Emirates is committed to bringing the best possible connectivity to its entire fleet at the earliest opportunity, with 25 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft already equipped with Starlink and the first A380 now joining service.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian government is capping jet fuel prices and allowing airlines to get supplies on credit as part of efforts to avert flight disruptions caused by soaring fuel costs.
Reuters reported that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said in an internal document that aviation fuel should sell for N1,760 to N1,988 ($1.29 to $1.46) per litre in Lagos and N1,809 to N2,037 in Abuja, based on benchmarks from April 17 to April 23.
The decision follows emergency talks after airlines threatened to go on a strike, warning that jet fuel prices had jumped by more than 300 per cent, forcing fare increases and raising the risk of capacity cuts.
The strike was averted after the federal government met with the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and other stakeholders.
President Bola Tinubu last week approved 30 per cent relief on airlines’ debts to aviation agencies and ordered fuel marketers, airlines and regulators to agree on a “fair” fuel price within 72 hours to prevent the sector-wide shutdown that would have impacted the country’s economy.
The talks also agreed to grant airlines a 30-day credit window to pay for fuel and tasked the aviation ministry with mediating debt disputes between operators and oil marketers, according to the document.
The NMDPRA also formed a technical committee, which recommended that fuel marketers sell directly to airlines within the indicated price range to cut costs and improve supply-chain transparency.
The committee also urged regulators to engage Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals over the increased premiums applied to international benchmarks used to price jet fuel.
Other recommendations include validating airside fuel distributors with adequate infrastructure, potentially reducing the number of authorised suppliers at airports, and considering jet fuel for Nigeria’s Crude-for-Naira initiative to limit airlines’ foreign exchange exposure. So far, the Crude-for-Naira has only been for upstream operations.
The cost of fuel has generally risen in the last two months due to the escalating war with Iran by the US and Israel, which has triggered one of the most severe energy shocks in decades. Oil prices are currently above $100 per barrel as markets react to escalating tensions and the risk of prolonged disruption.
At the centre of the crisis is the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply flows. With shipping constrained, the effects are cascading across the global economy, raising fuel costs, fueling inflation, and increasing the risk of economic slowdown across many economies. This is forcing airlines to raise fares, curb growth plans and rethink forecasts.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United States (US) has warned that visa overstays by Nigerian travellers could deny future opportunities for other aspiring applicants.
The United States embassy had earlier in February stated that compliance would help protect visa access for students and business travellers.
In a reminder statement posted on its official X handle on Monday, the US Mission in Nigeria advised that strengthening compliance helps protect visa access for students, business travellers, and families who travel responsibly.
“#Reminder: Visa overstays by Nigerian travellers can affect opportunities for their fellow citizens. Strengthening compliance helps protect access for students, business travellers, and families who travel responsibly. If you are aware of visa fraud, please report it to [email protected] or [email protected],” the statement read.
Last August, the Mission also announced that all non-immigrant visa applicants must now provide details of their social media accounts from the past five years.
In a statement, the embassy said applicants are required to disclose usernames or handles from every platform used within the period when completing the DS-160 visa application form.
“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form. Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit,” the statement read.
The mission warned that omitting such information could result in visa denial and render applicants ineligible for future visas.
The DS-160 is the standard online form required for most US non-immigrant visas, including temporary business (B-1), tourism (B-2), student visas (F and M), and work-related categories such as the H-1B.
It insisted the new rules were designed to enhance security, they come amid repeated US criticism of governments accused of clamping down on free speech online.
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