Egypt is still welcoming tourists

Steve Hope, second from left in back row, led this smiling group to Egypt last week.

With all the news reports coming out of Egypt that Cairo is ablaze with new anti-government and religious violence, I got concerned about a colleague who was escorting a Tour East Holidays trip to the land of the pharohs.

Then yesterday, Steve Hope, the Tour East tour expert, sent me this photo of his group standing in Tahrir Square in Cairo - the place CNN was showing as being the epicentre of the violence.

"We had a great time - the Egyptians treated us so well," reported Steve upon his return. Judging by the smiles on the faces in the photograph above, I'd say no one looks too worried or concerned.

Another contact I have in Egypt confirmed yesterday that life in Cairo and in the great cities along the River Nile is pretty much normal and that if there is violence, it's happening well away from the normal tourist routes.

It's too bad when headline-seeking news editors sitting in London or New York take isolated events and blow them out of proportion just to get more viewers. Decisions like this have far-reaching effects on tourism and people's lives in country's like Egypt that count so heavily on tourism.

Can we trust headline news anymore?

The photo above is worth a thousand words.

Cape Town tops top destination poll

Cape Town's harbour is one of the loveliest in the world.

I see today CNN Travel is reporting results of TripAdvisor's "World's Top Destination Poll."

No. 1 on the list is Cape Town, the South African beauty that so many people were introduced to last year during the World Cup of soccer.

According to poll rules set down by TripAdvisor, "cities are ranked based on a combination of travelers' favorite places and the overall popularity of the destination." It's the third year TripAdvisor has released the survey.

Sydney captured second spot in the TripAdvisor poll, with Machu Picchu, Paris and Rio de Janeiro filling out the Top 5. New York, Rome, London, Barcelona and Hong Kong rounded out the Top 10.

Hong Kong, Kyoto, Japan and Siem Reap in Cambodia were named the top three destinations in Asia, while Paris, Rome and London topped the popularity contest in Europe.

My Top 10 cities - of the cities I've visited - in the world are 1-Paris; 2-Shanghai; 3-Singapore; 4-New York; 5-London; 6-Tokyo; 7-Bangkok; 8-Hong Kong; 9-Hanoi; 10-San Francisco.