Category: Europe » (Page 9 of 11)

Don’t even think of sitting down in St. Mark’s Square – And other things tourists are no longer allowed to do in Venice

2018.09.22 / Robert

Due to overtourism, the city is taking punitive actions against tourists that do any of the following:

Sitting is banned in the following places: “in St. Mark’s Square and in Piazzetta dei Leoncini, beneath the arcades and on the steps of the Procuratie Nuove, the Napoleonic Wing, the Sansovino Library, beneath the arcades of the Ducal Palace, in the impressive entranceway to St. Mark’s Square otherwise known as Piazzetta San Marco and its jetty.” (€200)

You can’t idly stand around, even to consume food and drink, unless you are in a restaurant or cafe. (€200)

You may not swim or immerse your body parts in any canal, stream, “water spot,” or in St Mark’s Basin. (€450)

You can’t litter, although that should be obvious. (€100-200)

You may not roam Venice’s historic streets or be in any private or public vehicle “while bare-chested or wearing swimwear.” (€200)

You may not scatter food or food waste, even if it’s to feed pigeons. (€50-200)

Bicycling is not allowed, “even when led by hand.” (€100)

You may not camp, nor lie on benches. And don’t even thinking about standing anywhere in possession of camping equipment, because that is banned too. (€50)

Read the full article at Quartz

The 13 most peaceful countries in the world – in honor of International Peace Day

2018.09.21 / Robert

According to the 2018 Global Peace Index:

Iceland
New Zealand
Austria
Portugal
Denmark
Canada
Czech Republic
Singapore
Japan
Ireland
Slovenia
Switzerland
Australia

The Global Peace Index is developed by the Institute for Economics & Peace, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, achievable and tangible measure of human wellbeing and progress.

IEP is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices in New York, The Hague, Mexico City, and Brussels. It works with a wide range of partners internationally and collaborates with intergovernmental organisations on measuring and communicating the economic value of peace.

The chart is also available here.

UNWTO report confirms another record year for tourism, for most

2018.09.21 / Robert

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s 2018 Tourism Highlights, the total number of international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) grew 7 percent from 2016 to 2017.

International tourist arrivals reached a total of 1.323 billion in 2017, some 84 million more than the previous year and a new record. The sector has now seen uninterrupted growth in arrivals for eight straight years.

2017 was the eighth consecutive year of above- average growth in international tourism following the 2009 global economic crisis. The growth in the travel and tourism industry has been fuelled by the global economic upswing, resulting in strong outbound demand.

By region, Europe and Africa saw bigger than average growth of 8 and 9 percent, respectively. By subregion, North Africa and Southern and Mediterranean Europe saw the greatest increases in 2017, reflecting strong demand for destinations along the Mediterranean.

When looking at sheer numbers, Europe continues to lead with almost half of the world’s total international arrivals, at 671 million. Europe was also home to six of the ten most visited countries in 2017, with France remaining in the lead.

Spain overtook the USA for second place as international tourism to the USA was down almost 4%. Continue reading

Life in Pontevedra, the Spanish city that banned cars

2018.09.19 / Robert

What you hear in the street instead are the tweeting of birds in the camellias, the tinkle of coffee spoons and the sound of human voices. Teachers herd crocodiles of small children across town without the constant fear that one of them will stray into traffic.

“Listen,” says the mayor, opening the windows of his office. From the street below rises the sound of human voices. “Before I became mayor 14,000 cars passed along this street every day. More cars passed through the city in a day than there are people living here.”

Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores has been mayor of the Galician city since 1999. His philosophy is simple: owning a car doesn’t give you the right to occupy the public space.

“How can it be that the elderly or children aren’t able to use the street because of cars?” asks César Mosquera, the city’s head of infrastructures. “How can it be that private property – the car – occupies the public space?”

The Economist ranks the world’s most livable cities

2018.09.11 / Robert

Each year, the Economist Intelligence Unit release its annual Global Livability Index which measuring the most livable large cities in the world. In this year’s report, Vienna, Austria has succeeded in displacing Melbourne, Australia from the stop spot, which it previously held for a record seven consecutive years.

The Economist says:

The concept of liveability is simple: it assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability rating quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual’s lifestyle in 140 cities worldwide. Each city is assigned a score for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories of Stability, Healthcare, Culture and environment, Education and Infrastructure.

The 20 top rankings are populated with cities in Europe (9), Australia (4), Japan (2), New Zealand (1), and Canada (4).

Honolulu was the highest U.S. city at number 23. The next highest American city was Pittsburgh in 32nd position. Manchester was the highest ranked in the UK at number 35.

Here are the top 50:

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Melbourne, Australia

3. Osaka, Japan

4. Calgary, Canada

5. Sydney, Australia

6. Vancouver, Canada

7. (Tied) Tokyo, Japan

7. (Tied) Toronto, Canada

9. Copenhagen, Denmark

10. Adelaide, Australia

Chinese tourists swarm Europe

2018.09.09 / Robert

Researches by the European Travel Commission (ETC) and ForwardKeys, a global travel data firm, reported that in the first four months of this year, Chinese arrivals in Europe were up 9.5 percent against the same period of last year, and up 7.9 percent for the May-August season.

When compared with the rest of the world, Europe is gaining in market share, as the comparable worldwide figures for Chinese arrivals were 6.9 percent up for the first four months and 6.2 percent up for May-August.

Tourism officials from eastern China’s Shandong province told Xinhua that in the first quarter of the year the province of over 100-million people saw 30 percent more trips to Europe.

More at Xinhua

The 10 least-visited European countries

2018.08.18 / Robert

The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently released their annual Tourism Highlights report which tracks international tourist arrivals.

Here is a list of the European countries with the least international tourist arrivals (Some, I imagine, is simply due to their size):

San Marino – 60,000
Liechtenstein – 69,000
Moldova – 121,000
Monaco – 336,000
Macedonia – 510,000
Bosnia and Herzegovina – 777,000
Luxembourg – 1,054,000
Armenia – 1,260,000
Serbia – 1,281,000
Montenegro – 1,662,000

Of note, the UNWTO did not publish the data for Belarus and Slovakia.

Could the Peugeot Open Europe program be the best way to tour Europe?

2018.08.10 / Robert

European road trip anyone?

Thrillist:

The best way to get around Europe, we discovered, is to grab a friend, maybe two, and take out a short-term lease on a car. Here’s how you, too, can have a trip you’ll remember for the rest of your life — even if you’re feeling first-world broke.

So long as you’re at least 18, have a valid driver’s license, and live outside the European Union, you can pay for what’s called a buy-back lease through the Peugeot Open Europe program. This gets you a factory-fresh car to call your own and take anywhere within 42 countries, sans mileage restrictions, for up to 175 days — equivalent to returning a January 1 rental on June 24.

Watch: Everyday is an Adventure

2018.07.20 / Robert

Unicorns are very real in Scotland

2018.07.18 / Robert

National Geographic:

Scotland associates the mythological animal with dominance and bravery. They are portrayed with a white horse head, body, and mane, a singular horn arising from the top of its forehead, and a gold chain that wraps around its powerful body.

Western civilizations believed in the existence of unicorns for thousands of years—it was a symbol of purity, innocence, and power in Celtic mythology. The unicorn first appeared on the Scottish royal coat of arms in the 12th century by William I. In the late 15th century, Scottish coins featured an image of the unicorn, and it even appeared in artistic works during the Middle Ages, symbolizing the holiness of virgins, including the Virgin Mary. According to popular belief, only a virgin maiden had the ability to capture a unicorn because it was so enthralled by her virtue.