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PIRAN-OMANIAC
Surprisingly, I have not had the chance to write about one of my favorite places in the world: Slovenia. What more can you ask for: mountains, you got it, beautiful cities, check, Mediterranean (well Adriatic, but we’ll count it), yup, history, culture, lovely people, adventure, wine, cheese, food, all of it check! They’ve even gotten one of the funkiest capital city names: Ljubljana (the J’s are pronounced like Y’s). Consider this your unsolicited recommendation: go to Slovenia. From National Geographic, specifically talking about Piran, Slovenia’s seaside spot: “Piran—known to Italians, who make up a large proportion of the town’s tourist population, as Pirano—is officially bilingual, and a sense of ethnic admixture suffuses every aspect of local life. Bakeries here serve both burek—that quintessentially Balkan blend of phyllo pastry, mincemeat, and grease—and cornetti, Italy’s distinctive breakfast treat. The town’s signature drink—the “Hugo”—is a mix of elderflower liqueur from the nearby Tyrolean Alps and Italianate prosecco. Even the seafood—finely chopped octopus tartare, clams pulled straight from the sea—is often seasoned with truffles rooted out in the inland mountains.” If you have a chance, check out Bled too. I had the chance to have dinner in one of Tito’s (former Yugoslavian leader) villas – that was an experience.
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DID YOU KNOW…
…that the travel industry is the second fastest growing industry in the world. It has outpaced global GDP in 2018 for the eighth year in a row – and some of you wonder why I’m in this business. The numbers speak for themselves. That, and well I love it. I mean think about all the sectors in the world out there, 10% of total global output came from the tourism industry. That’s just fascinating to me. If you think about everything that goes into it, it makes sense. From Travel Agent Central (don’t ask how I got to this article): “The worldwide travel and tourism sector is still going strong, outpacing the growth of global GDP in 2018 for the eighth year in a row, according to new research from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). According to the WTTC, last year travel and tourism grew 3.9 percent, above global GDP growth of 3.2 percent and contributing a record $8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs to the world economy.” You may wonder, as did I, what the actual top growing industry is. Judging from where I stand in NYC, it’s dog-sitting.
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ENCHANTING LIBRARIES. NO REALLY.
Now for the “culture” part of this newsletter: here’s to enchanting libraries. I will say that my wife and I once spent a whole morning in one of these libraries and loved it so much so that we went back the second day. It didn’t hurt that they had a café that sold the best croissants. Which one would your favorite be? From National Geographic: “Biblioteca Girolamini, Naples, Italy: This 16th-century library is perhaps most famous for being methodically plundered by a crime ring in 2012. Approximately 80 percent of the stolen books have since been recovered, thanks to the help of antiquarian booksellers and collectors.” Weird that so many of these libraries are in Italy given Italians are some of the biggest partiers I know. Study hard, play hard? Not so sure.
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What do you suppose the number in the title of this snippet is? Could it be the average number of countries a person has traveled to in their lifetime? Could it be the average number of times a day someone daydreams about somewhere else? Could it be the average number of times people delete this newsletter before finally unsubscribing? Actually, fun-fact, from Travel and Leisure magazine, it is the age at which people start to become less adventurous: “According to researchers in the United Kingdom, there’s a shelf life on adventure. A finding that, frankly, should be offensive to travelers everywhere. In a survey of 2,000 people, commissioned by a U.K television station, 36 percent of respondents said taking risks became less appealing as they entered their 30s. Specifically, at age 34. Half of the respondents said it was partly due to the fact that they felt their own physical fragility growing as time went on. More than 30 percent of respondents said they felt starting a family had slowed their lust for adventure, while an additional 15 percent said they wouldn’t dare take a risky trip or take part in a dangerous activity in case it affected their career. However, according to Luke Hales, the general manager of the TV station, Dave, the survey isn’t all bad news. It just depends on how you look at it.”
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SAUDI WELCOME TO ARABIA
I always like to end these newsletters on a bit of a self-reflective note. In this case, I’d like to bring up what a monumental time it is for Saudi Arabia. This week, they opened their borders, albeit limitedly to tourists from a select number of countries. The reason I believe this is monumental, having practically spent all my childhood there, is that this is really a long way from where it came even just 3 years ago let alone 20 years ago, last I was there. I mean, think about this: I had to leave the country after ninth grade because there were no international schools that offered grades passed that for fear of mingling of western students with locals at such an influential age. That of course was nixed a while back, but with women who can now drive, a more relaxed attitude towards dress-code, foreign direct investment and tourists, with more to come, these are big steps for a country that has traditionally taken a long time to make such significant decisions, if at all. And, look, they’re not perfect, which country is (without pointing fingers). And, rather than thumb our nose at them, we must applaud and encourage the progress made – build bridges. Hope you’re one of the first to visit this country. I will be. Well, I mean I already know it. I meant I will go back again. You know what I mean.
Thanks,
Joe Naaman
Managing Editor, Waywinds
Keep Exploring!