Top 100 most visited cities in the world

Find out below if your city is one of the most visited in the world in 2012.

My hometown Lisbon, is ranked 72nd with more than 2 million tourists.

Rank	City	Country	Arrivals (millions)
1	Hong Kong	Hong Kong / China	23,770.2
2	Singapore	Singapore	21,345.7
3	Bangkok	Thailand	15,822.6
4	London	UK	15,461.0
5	Macau	Macau	13,360.8
6	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	13,339.5
7	Shenzhen	China	12,100.4
8	New York City	USA	11,618.0
9	Antalya	Turkey	10,296.6
10	Paris	France	9,780.8
11	Istanbul	Turkey	8,820.1
12	Rome	Italy	8,670.7
13	Dubai	UAE	8,023.0
14	Guangzhou	China	7,879.6
15	Phuket	Thailand	7,217.0
16	Mecca	Saudi Arabia	6,852.9
17	Pattaya	Thailand	6,564.3
18	Taipei	Taiwan	6,561.2
19	Prague	Czech Republic	6,547.7
20	Shanghai	China	6,539.7
21	Las Vegas	USA	6,298.0
22	Miami	USA	5,987.0
23	Barcelona	Spain	5,459.1
24	Moscow	Russia	5,036.2
25	Beijing	China	5,035.4
26	Los Angeles	USA	5,017.0
27	Budapest	Hungary	4,821.6
28	Vienna	Austria	4,328.7
29	Amsterdam	Netherlands	4,289.2
30	Sofia	Bulgaria	4,126.3
31	Madrid	Spain	4,111.3
32	Orlando	USA	4,067.0
33	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	3,923.1
34	Lima	Peru	3,792.5
35	Berlin	Germany	3,789.2
36	Tokyo	Japan	3,754.2
37	Warsaw	Poland	3,660.3
38	Chennai	India	3,535.2
39	Cairo	Egypt	3,500.0
40	Nairobi	Kenya	3,438.4
41	Hangzhou	China	3,381.7
42	Milan	Italy	3,323.7
43	San Francisco	USA	3,210.0
44	Buenos Aires	Argentina	3,166.5
45	Venice	Italy	3,164.9
46	Mexico City	Mexico	3,127.3
47	Dublin	Ireland	3,098.6
48	Seoul	South Korea	2,999.9
49	Muğla	Turkey	2,981.4
50	Mumbai	India	2,977.0
51	Denpasar	Indonesia	2,956.0
52	Delhi	India	2,884.0
53	Toronto	Canada	2,819.0
54	Zhuhai	China	2,736.5
55	St. Petersburg	Russia	2,714.6
56	Burgas	Bulgaria	2,690.0
57	Sydney	Australia	2,678.0
58	Djerba	Tunisia	2,638.4
59	Munich	Germany	2,622.8
60	Johannesburg	South Africa	2,620.2
61	Cancún	Mexico	2,612.5
62	Edirne	Turkey	2,536.3
63	Suzhou	China	2,530.1
64	Bucharest	Romania	2,437.0
65	Punta Cana	Dominican Republic	2,398.5
66	Agra	India	2,353.7
67	Jaipur	India	2,344.4
68	Brussels	Belgium	2,294.1
69	Nice	France	2,242.9
70	Chiang Mai	Thailand	2,218.7
71	Sharm el Sheikh	Egypt	2,200.0
72	Lisbon	Portugal	2,191.8
73	East Province	Saudi Arabia	2,156.2
74	Marrakech	Morocco	2,101.0
75	Jakarta	Indonesia	2,098.1
76	Manama	Bahrain	2,035.5
77	Hanoi	Vietnam	2,007.9
78	Honolulu	USA	2,004.0
79	Manila	Philippines	2,000.4
80	Guilin	China	1,970.6
81	Auckland	New Zealand	1,965.4
82	Siem Reap	Cambodia	1,932.1
83	Sousse	Tunisia	1,929.9
84	Amman	Jordan	1,917.3
85	Vancouver	Canada	1,912.9
86	Abu Dhabi	UAE	1,876.0
87	Kiev	Ukraine	1,874.0
88	Doha	Qatar	1,867.7
89	Florence	Italy	1,834.0
90	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1,796.7
91	Melbourne	Australia	1,780.0
92	Washington DC	USA	1,741.0
93	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	1,738.9
94	Christchurch	New Zealand	1,732.5
95	Frankfurt	Germany	1,731.2
96	Baku	Azerbaijan	1,709.1
97	São Paulo	Brazil	1,690.0
98	Harare	Zimbabwe	1,686.5
99	Kolkata	India	1,637.4
100	Nanjing	China	1,634.7

Source: Euromonitor International’s Top City Destinations Ranking

Portugal produces more cars per capita than China

This is a mind-blowing stat.

Although China is by far the greatest car manufacturer country in the world with 13,9 million cars produced in 2010, Portugal produced more cars per capita than China.

In 2010 were produced 0,011 cars per each Portuguese resident and were produced 0,010 cars per each Chinese resident.

If Portugal had the same population than China and this stats remained unchanged, Portugal would have produced 14,7 million cars, instead of 115 thousand cars.



Stats Source: Nationmaster

Is this the best Harley Davidson ad of all time?

It’s very hard to find an ad that really captures the essence of a brand.

In my opinion, this is the best Harley Davidson ad ever made and probably one of the best ads of all time.





 

What is the fastest man-made object

When people think on the fastest man-made object, usually they think in fast cars as the Bugatti Veyron, or in fast airplanes as F18-Hornet.

However the fastest man-made object ever is NASA’s Juno Spacecraft that in 2013 broke the previous record, and setting the bar at 140.013 kilometers per hour.

That means that this NASA satellite reached 38 kilometers (or 24 miles) per second when performing a slingshot manoeuvre around Earth.

Source: NASA

The most produced aircraft ever

Unless you are an aircraft fanatic, you would never guess.

It is the Cessna 172, which is still in production and have been produced since 1956 and currently is manufactured in the USA (country of origin) and also in France.

It is estimated that were produced to date, 43.000 units of this aircraft model.



Source: (Goyer, R, 2012)

Top 10 most competitive countries in 2014

According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014, the countries that currently have the most competitive economies are:

 1st – USA

2nd – Switzerland
3rd – Singapore
4th – Sweden
5th – Germany
6th – Canada
7th – UAE
8th – Denmark
9th – Norway
10th – Luxembourg
…
42nd – Portugal

Note – Hong Kong was ranked in 3rd place, but technically Hong Kong is not a country so I excluded it from the original ranking.

Source - IMD

Interesting video game industry facts

Video game industry is currently one of the fast growing industries in the world.

So, let’s look to some of the mind-blowing facts about the US market in 2013:

. 59% of Americans play video games.
. Americans spent $21,3 billion on videogames, hardware and accessories.
. The average gamer is 31 years old and has being playing games for 14 years.
. The average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 35 years old.
. 48% of the gamers are women.
. 44% of the gamers play on their smartphone.



Source - ESA Entertainment Software Association

101st Post

I am glad to announce that this the 101st post of this blog.

80% of all cars registered in Albania are Mercedes

Albanians are truly the greatest Mercedes fans.

So much that 80% of all cars registered in Albania are Mercedes.

You can check here Top Gear's episode 5, of season 16, where this surprising fact was presented.
 

Obesity is a serious health problem – Top 10 Countries

Some people say that obesity is a result of wealth and abundance, because usually this problem occurs more often in some of the wealthy countries in the world.

Although the countries affected are usually economic developed, that doesn’t mean that all obese people are wealthy.

Remember that when the family budget is tight, families tend to buy cheaper food, which usually is not so healthy food.

Unfortunately obesity besides the mobility issues also brings along other serious diseases.

If you currently are having any obesity issues, please seek for help before your health deteriorates, and remember, as you can see in TV Shows as "The Biggest Loser", although it is hard, it is possible to recover a healthy life.

Below you will the top 10 countries with obesity issues and the percentage of obese that population:

1 United States  30.6%

2 Mexico  24.2%

3 United Kingdom  23%

4 Slovakia  22.4%

5 Greece  21.9%

6 Australia  21.7%

7 New Zealand  20.9%

8 Hungary  18.8% 

9 Luxembourg  18.4% 

10 Czech Republic  14.8%

...

16 Portugal  12.8% 

 

 

Source: Data from 2003, OECD Health Data 2005. Aggregates compiled by NationMaster.

China vs. USA – Exports Face off

The USA and China are the top economies in the world and China threatens to take the top spot from the US very soon.
So, a great way to check the differences in their economy strategies is take a better look on their exports.
As you can see below by the sales volume, China is more focused in the external market than the USA, which relies more in their internal market.
Although China has more focus than USA in industries that require more human resources as footwear, clothing and furniture, China also invested in industries as electronic equipment and machinery, and that destroys the myth that China is not developed in this type of industries.
The USA only has a clear superiority in their exports on aircraft, spacecraft and pharmaceutical products.

Check out below the top exports of USA and China:

USA Top 10 Exports (2013)
1. Machinery: $213,108,199,000 (13.5% of total exports)
2. Electronic equipment: $165,604,449,000 (10.5%)
3. Mineral fuels including oil: $148,426,743,000 (9.4%)
4. Vehicles excluding trains and streetcars: $133,640,479,000 (8.5%)
5. Aircraft and spacecraft: $115,380,944,000 (7.3%)
6. Optical, technical and medical apparatus: $84,281,276,000 (5.3%)
7. Pearls, precious stones, precious metals and coins: $72,830,232,000 (4.6%)
8. Plastics: $60,836,970,000 (3.9%)
9. Organic chemicals: $46,510,903,000 (2.9%)
10. Pharmaceutical products: $39,742,717,000 (2.5%)

China Top 10 Exports (2013)
1. Electronic equipment: $561,703,550,000 (25.4% of total exports)
2. Machinery: $383,310,504,000 (17.3%)
3. Knit or crochet clothing and accessories: $96,810,372,000 (4.4%)
4. Furniture, lighting, signs and prefabricated buildings: $86,435,683,000 (3.9%)
5. Optical, technical and medical apparatus: $74,689,712,000 (3.4%)
6. Non-knit and non-crochet clothing and accessories: $68,271,919,000 (3.1%)
7. Plastics: $61,775,281,000 (2.8%)
8. Vehicles excluding trains and streetcars: $58,588,779,000 (2.7%)
9. Iron or steel articles: $57,368,576,000 (2.6%)
10. Footwear: $50,766,207,000 (2.3%)

Exports data source:  World’s Top Exports

Top 10 - World’s Best-Selling Cars of 2013

Check out below the Forbes’s list of the best selling cars of last year and how many units were sold worldwide.

1st Ford Focus – 1,1 million units
2nd Toyota Corolla – 1 million units
3rd Volkswagen Jetta – 900K units
4th Hyundai Elantra – 866K units
5th Chevrolet Cruze – 729K units
6th Toyota Camry – 728K units
7th Volkswagen Golf – 720K units
8th Ford Fiesta – 705K units
9th Honda CR-V – 698K units
10th Volkswagen Polo – 686K units


Source - Forbes

The Best Volkswagen ad ever

Probably the best VW ad ever

 

World’s Top 10 Countries - Tourism Destinations

Following my latest post about the Portuguese tourism, find out below the top 10 countries that received more tourists in 2012.

Source: UNWTO

Portugal had more tourists than Brazil in 2012

This is a surprising result, because Brazil has an area which is 92 times bigger than Portugal.

In 2012, Portugal had 7,6 million tourists, which is not even close than the world tourism country leader (France) which received 83 million tourists in the same year.

However, although its size, Brazil had only 5,6 million tourists in 2012.

The Brazil tourism performance will certainly increase in 2014 with the Football (Soccer) World Cup and in 2016, with the Rio Olympic Games.

Source: UNWTO

Nissan Develops Self-Cleaning Car

It’s a new paint technology that repels dirt, effectively making for a self-cleaning car

Check below the video from Nissan.

Hollywood movie that generated the biggest financial loss

As you can imagine, not all Hollywood movies are profitable and some can have astronomical losses.

The Hollywood movie that generated the biggest financial loss to date is “Cutthroat Island” starring Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Frank Langella, Maury Chaykin, Patrick Malahide, Stan Shaw, Rex Linn, and Paul Dillon. This movie was directed By Renny Harlin.

It is estimated that “Cutthroat Island” movie total losses were 147,2 million dollars.

Check the trailer below:
 

Source: Watchmojo

Origin of Gold

Gold is usually related with wealth because is a heavy rare metal and gold color is magnetic to human eye.

But, if you think about the origin of gold you will be amazed and will never look again in the same way to your gold ring or to your gold necklace.

So, where gold came from?
The answer is from a Supernova, which means from the collapse and explosion of a dying star.

Before our Sun, there was a bigger star in this space area that eventually died and exploded generating almost all elements that you can find in our solar system and specifically in our planet.

Gold is created in the heat of the explosion of a star core during a Supernova event, where iron of the star core is converted to gold due to the fusion of iron, generating heavier elements than iron, elements as gold or platine.


Source: Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking

All world population fits in half of Luxembourg

It’s a general concern that our world lacks resources to keep up with current population growth.
However, surface area of our planet is not one of those lacking resources.

Check this out:

. In average a standing person occupy 0,36 m x 0,50 m of ground (=0,18 m2)

. It is estimated that current world population is 7.225.000.000

. If you join all world population in standing position you will need only 1.300 km2

. The Luxembourg area is 2.586 km2

 So, if you create a huge plaza with a surface area with the size of half of Luxembourg area, you could join there all world population in standing position.

Marketeer's Nightmare

Check out this funny sketch about Marketing

Why Pi is my favorite number?

Pi is a mathematical constant, which results from the ratio of a circle's circumference with its diameter.

It’s a constant because from that ratio results always the same value, independent of the circle size.

Usually it’s referred only as “3.14”, however pi decimals are an infinite sequence of digits that never repeats itself. Therefore Pi includes all numbers and all possible number combinations.

The mind-blowing effect of Pi in me is that you can find everything inside of Pi. If you dig enough you will find in Pi your phone number, your social security number and other relevant numbers in your life.

Also, if you create a simple conversion between numbers and letters (e.g. 1=A, 2=B …), if you dig Pi enough you will find everything you ever said until now and everything you will say and all the alternatives you might say in the future.

Just for fun, check out here the top 100 million digits of Pi. 

The World's First Ever TV Ad

It is a very simple ad, but a historical one.

July 1st of 1941 was aired the world's first legal television commercial advertisement, for Bulova watches, before a baseball game between . The 10-second ad displayed a clock superimposed on a map of the U.S.A.

Check out the first ad below:

 

Book Recommendation – Freakonomics

I just read this book “Freakonomics” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner and totally recommend it.

It’s about a new perspective of Microeconomics, exploring unusual topics as:

. What do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers have in common?

. Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?

. What makes a perfect parent?

Have we ever had a Portuguese Government Budget with surplus instead of a deficit?

The answer is YES!

Looking at the XX and XXI centuries and considering effective expenditure excluding public debt amortization, the Portuguese Government Budget had a surplus (more revenue than expenditure) instead of a deficit in the following 20 years:

1901; 1905
1911; 1913; 1914
1929;
1930; 1931; 1932; 1934; 1935; 1936; 1937
1942
1951; 1952; 1953; 1957; 1958
1970

Top 10 box office movies of 2013

Today is the Oscars night, so check out also the top 10 most successful movies of 2013 in the USA, regarding their box office revenue:

1st - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
2nd - Iron Man 3
3rd - Frozen
4th - Despicable Me 2
5th - Man of Steel
6th - Gravity
7th - Monsters University
8th - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
9th - Fast & Furious 6
10th - Oz The Great and Powerful

Font: boxofficemojo.com

FedEx first day in 1973

Federal Express, currently known as FedEx started their operations in April 17th of 1973.

This company started with 14 planes in Memphis International Airport, and during their first night they delivered only 186 packages throughout 25 cities in the U.S.A.

41 years later, FedEx is currently the world's largest express transportation company and the world's fourth largest in terms of fleet size with more than 600 planes, delivering package to more than 375 destinations worldwide.

Viral Marketing - Pepsi Max

Pepsi UK launched a viral campaign about Pepsi Max, by promoting a stunts and experiences under the slogan "Pepsi Max brings you the Unbelievable" and "Unbelievable feats and experiences created for you by Pepsi Max."

One of my favorite stunt was the first "human loop the loop" ever.

The original version of this vídeo had almost 5 million views in just one week.

Check out below:

 

“Le Croissant” is not French

“Le Croissant” is a popular bakery product worldwide and is common associated with France, because “Croissant” is a French word that means “Crescent” and that name reflects its shape.

However it was Marie Antoinette from Austria that brought croissant to France in the XVIII century and turn it a huge success.

The origin of Croissant is attributed to Vienna bakers, and it was previously known as Kipferl since the XIII century.

Therefore the current name “croissant” or crescent in English came from the Austrian victory of the battle of Vienna in 1683, as a commemorative reference to the shape of the symbol of the Ottoman Empire flag which was the Austrian enemy in that battle.

Croissant is a remarkable product, and in France alone it is estimated that 15 tons are eaten every year.

Top most expensive office locations in the world

According to the study “Office Space Across the World” by Cushman & Wakefield, London (West End) is by far the most expensive location to have an office in 2014.

In Portugal, Lisbon (Av. da Liberdade) is ranked 49^th with €298 per SQM per year.

Click below in the image and you will find the top 20 most expensive office locations in the world.

Top 10 Pranks from The Office

"The Office" is one of my favorite TV Shows.

Below you will find some of the most iconic moments of the U.S. version of the series. Enjoy...


 

Sales Techniques – Reciprocity

One of my favorite sales techniques is “Reciprocity”.

So, what is “Reciprocity” in a sales context?

When someone offers something unexpectedly to another, that tends to trigger in the receiver the will to give something back.

So, that can also happen in the middle of an individual negotiation between a vendor and a customer when the seller offers an unexpected discount, which triggers a natural consumer behavior of “Reciprocity” in the buyer.

In this context the majority of the customers feel the urge to compensate the seller immediately, by accepting the deal at that moment, or accepting to make a reserve deposit.

This sale technique is usually mastered by car sellers.

Top 10 Celebrity Commercials from Before They Were Stars

Many Hollywood stars started their careers in advertising.
Check out some of them here:

 

Even Lobsters can turn it around

As we all know, today Lobsters are considered a delicacy.

However the perspective of Lobsters as being a premium product only started to happen 50 years ago in the USA.

Before, Lobsters were considered abundant and the cockroaches of the sea and were only cooked by the poor and served to feed prisoners.

Today Lobsters are always considered as a premium product and even when the harvest is abundant, price don’t go down as would be expected from the pure rules of demand and supply.

Therefore some products lifecycle are reversed. Instead of migrating from luxury to mass market, some products do the opposite, migrating from mass market to luxury.

Is NFL under a socialist business model?

NFL is a $10 billion-a-year business, with 32 member teams whose players compete on the field, but whose owners cooperate in a socialist business model keeping America's favorite sport very profitable.

Is NFL under a socialist business model?
Under NFL rules, all the teams are required to share 80% of their revenue with each other.

So, even teams that generate more revenue, only keep 20% of that advantage for themselves. The rest 80% revenue which they generate are sent to a shared pool of revenue and then distributed among all other teams.

Also, NFL has a draft model for new players and there are salary caps, to control irrational competition among teams.

Why this creative business model works?
Applying this model allows NFL to create the most competitive league. Every season, all teams have a real shot to win the Super Bowl, even the smaller ones.

That always create a magnetic interest effect over this sport, generating a huge fan base all over the USA, because their favorite local team, always have a shot of winning the trophy.

Therefore, if you successful increase your fan base and keep their interest on, you will raise ticket sales (25% of NFL revenues) and increase TV ratings, then profits go through the roof as NFL profits did.


Note: If you want to know more about this topic I recommend that you check "60 Minutes" interview of NFL CEO Roger Goodell, which inspire this article.

Ray-Ban's Risky Business

Ray-Ban Wayfarers sunglasses were launched in 1956, however in the 60s sales declined.

Due to a successful product placement strategy starring Ray-Ban sunglasses in movies and TV shows, Wayfarers sunglasses fate change in the 80’s.

Although only 18.000 pairs were sold in 1981, after Tom Cruise wore this model in the classic movie “Risky Business” in 1983, 360.000 pairs were sold that year.

That product placement strategy was followed also in shows as “Miami Vice”, “Moonlighting” and “The Breakfast Club”, leading to skyrocketing sales.

Is Lisbon Europe's coolest city?

Find out why CNN says that Lisbon could be the Europe's coolest city

1. Nightlife that can outlast Madrid's
2. Experimental cuisine
3. Irony of Lisbonites
4. Beaches and castles
5. Fabulous design
6. Big art
7. Fascinating streets

Check out here the complete CNN article about Lisbon.

Size matters?

Check these interesting stats about the biggest countries in the world and find out for yourself.

Top countries by land area:
1st – Russia
2nd – Canada
3rd – USA
4th – China
5th - Brazil
…
105th – Portugal

Top countries by population:
1st – China
2nd – India
3rd – USA
4th – Indonesia
5th – Brazil
…
76th – Portugal

Top countries by population density:
1st – Monaco
2nd – Singapore
3rd – Malta
4th – Maldives
5th – Bahrain
…
65th – Portugal

Top countries by GDP per capita in 2012 (IMF):
1st – Qatar
2nd – Luxembourg
3rd – Singapore
4th – Norway
5th – Brunei
…
45th - Portugal

Cheering for your team really works

Cheering really works.
Check out this ad from BC Lions

 

Top 20 Most Valuable Global Brands of 2013

More info about BrandZ ranking here.

Management advice from the king

King Louis XIV of France usually is more known by his vanity and extravaganza than by his management skills.

However, the “Sun King” had one of the longest reigns in Europe, 72 years, and he left written is successful management principles in a letter to his nephew when he became king of Spain.

“Never favor who flatters you, and keep close to you, those who dare to displease you for your own good.

Never put pleasure before business.

Organize your life so you have time to relax and have fun.

Give your full attention to governance.

Gather as much information as you can before you take a decision.

Make every effort to know important people so you can ask them for help if you need it.

Be courteous to everyone, not offend anyone.”

Guerilla Marketing tactics can be cool and effective

Guerilla tactics are made since Humankind started thinking.

The first written text about Guerilla tactics appears on “Art of War” book, which the author is the famous Chinese thinker and General Sun Tzu from the century VI B.C.

Guerilla Marketing is a modern concept that derives from the military and it is usually applicable when the market environment is very hostile and competitive, and also, when unconventional and low-cost resources are applied to reach the objectives previously determined.

There are only 3 basic requirements for Guerilla Marketing tactics, which are Energy, Creativity and Time, instead of spending a lot of money.

There Guerilla Marketing campaigns with different purposes or objectives. Some campaigns can target only brand awareness increase and other campaigns can be more focused on the objective of increasing sales as well.

Example of a Guerilla Marketing campaign focused only on brand awareness increase of Havas Worldwide Australia.


And check out other example of a Guerilla Marketing campaign more focused on sales:

Myths about Portuguese Exports

Almost everyone, Portuguese people included, think that Portuguese top exports are wine, cork, shoes and clothing.

Although those goods are in fact very important in Portuguese economy, those are not even in the top 5 of Portuguese exports.

So, what are the major Portuguese exports?

1st – Machines and devices (15,1%)
2nd – Vehicles and other transportation goods (11,7%)
3rd – Mineral fuels (8,5%)
4th – Metal (8,2%)
5th – Plastic and rubber (6,8%)
6th – Chemicals (5,7%)
7th – Clothing (5,4%)
8th – Agricultural products (5,4%)
9th – Food (5,2%)
10th – Paper (4,9%)
11th – Other minerals (4,9%)
12th - Textile materials (3,7%)
13th – Shoes (3,6%)
14th – Wood and cork (3,2%)
15th – Optical and precision products (1,2%)

Info: aicep (2012)