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 Modupe Gbadeyanka
In a move aimed at improving passenger clearance, compliance and customs operations, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has introduced the Simplified Customs Advanced Declaration System (SCADS).
This platform was launched at the International Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday, May 18, 2026.
This initiative will simplify baggage declaration for inbound international passengers and reduce manual bottlenecks, improve transparency in revenue assessment and enhance operational efficiency at Nigeria’s international airports.
It allows passengers to declare items before arrival, thereby reducing clearance time while improving compliance and operational integrity.
The introduction of this scheme became necessary following operational challenges encountered on the Service’s previous passenger declaration platform earlier this year, and rather than allow the setbacks to slow operations, customs chose to develop a stronger and more efficient alternative.
“When the earlier platform experienced operational challenges, we chose not to see it as a setback. We saw it as an opportunity to build something better, stronger and more efficient.
“For passengers, this system creates the opportunity for advance declaration before arrival. It means faster clearance, easier compliance and smoother movement through our airports,” the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of ICT/Modernisation, Ms Oluyomi Adebakin, said yesterday.
She noted that the system will eliminate subjective revenue assessment by ensuring that duties are automatically generated based on declared items, their quantities, and their actual values.
“When we talk about revenue collection, it is not about collecting more or less. It is about collecting the right revenue. With this system, assessment will now be more objective, accurate and driven by data,” she stated.
Earlier, the Customs Area Controller for FCT Area Command, Comptroller Victoria Alibo, described the selection of the command for the pilot phase as a vote of confidence in its operational capacity.
According to her, the new platform integrates passenger baggage and e-commerce declarations into a single digital framework designed to support global Customs best practices.
“SCADS is designed to simplify declarations, reduce clearance time, eliminate manual bottlenecks and align our operations with international standards,” Ms Alibo said, adding that the pilot phase will run for five days, from Monday, May 18, to Friday, May 22, 2026, during which officers will evaluate the system in a live environment ahead of nationwide deployment.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The price of aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, has been reduced by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals to N1,650 per litre from N1,750 per litre.
The company, in a statement, said this price slash was done to ease cost pressures on airlines and ensure an uninterrupted fuel supply across the country.
This is in addition to a 30-day interest-free credit facility backed by bank guarantees (BG) for marketers and airline operators and a shift from a dollar-denominated pricing structure to a naira-based model.
The private refiner also stated that these interventions come amid growing concerns over the rising operational costs faced by domestic carriers, with aviation fuel accounting for a significant portion of airline expenses.
Industry stakeholders have repeatedly warned that escalating Jet A1 prices were placing severe financial strain on operators and threatening the sustainability of flight operations.
The refinery’s decision is expected to provide relief to airline operators by lowering fuel procurement costs, improving operational stability, and supporting efforts to moderate airfares.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured a final forfeiture order for a Hawker private Jet 125 before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, over its links to fraud, corruption, and money laundering in relation to the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project (MEPP).
The aircraft, with model number 800XP, serial number 258553 and registration number 5N-AMK, was forfeited following an application by the EFCC.
Justice Nwite, ruling on the application, held that no sufficient cause was shown by Valiente Jet Limited, a company owned by Mr Abdulsalam Kachallah, an interested party, why the aircraft should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
“The interested party has not demonstrated with evidence the lawful origin of the funds used to purchase the aircraft,” the judge held, stressing that the disguised manner through which the aircraft was acquired using the name of a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator who denied knowledge of the nature of the transaction further lent credence to the unlawfulness of the entire transaction.
In a statement by the anti-graft agency, it disclosed that the investigation revealed Mr Kachallah entered into unlawful agreements with China Machinery Engineering Company (CMEC) through shell companies.
The EFCC also alleged that he sold privileged bidding information relating to the project in exchange for financial inducements.
“The investigation further showed that CMEC was subsequently awarded three contracts under the project valued at $52,120,172 (Fifty Two Million One Hundred and Twenty Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy Two Dollars) and ₦20,213,956,953 (Twenty Billion, Two Hundred and Thirteen Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Fifty Three Naira),” it said.
The EFCC revealed that part of the contract funds was routed through Afuwa Integrated Services Limited, a Bureau De Change operator, under the false claim that the company was subcontracted by CMEC.
“CMEC transferred the sum of $2,070,000 (Two Million, Seventy Thousand Dollars) into the Stanbic IBTC Bank account of Afuwa Integrated Services Limited on Kachallah’s instruction,” it further revealed.
It disclosed that forged invoices were prepared in the name of Afuwa Integrated Services Limited to falsely portray that legitimate services had been rendered to CMEC.
“The funds were thereafter transferred to a Brazilian account for the purchase of the aircraft from a Brazilian company,” the EFCC revealed.
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