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Quest Means Business
Palestinian Health Ministry: More Than 1,000 Palestinians Killed Trying To Receive Aid In Gaza Since Last May; Passenger Jet Makes Hard Turn To Avoid B-52 Bomber; Bessent: U.S. Not Rushing To Deals Ahead Of August 1 Deadline; Protesters In Mexico City Denounce Rising Costs; Greenland Saw Record 141,000 Visitors In 2024. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 21, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:12]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. Western Union ringing the bell today. They know a
thing or two about moving money. You'll see the way all the gains of the day, they just evaporated, and we are now showing a small loss. It has all
to do with treasury bonds. One, two -- one, two three, four. The trading day is over. Those are the markets and these are the main events we are
talking about.
Well, a thousand people now dead after seeking aid in Gaza since last May, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. We will look at what is
happening.
A commercial pilot is apologizing to passengers for an aggressive maneuver to avoid a B-52 bomber.
And there is anger on the streets of Mexico City over the influx of tourists and remote workers, pushing up the prices of just about
everything.
We are live in New York. Monday, you and I start a new week together. Delighted to be together with us, July 21st, I am Richard Quest and I mean
business.
Good evening. I start by posing to you the life and death choice. The true meaning of the word dilemma. Do you go and risk getting shot and getting
food? Or do you face starvation for your family and your children by not running that risk?
Look at the pictures. Civilians in Gaza, even as Israel appears to be expanding its military operation inside the enclave and that choice, that
dilemma, do you risk lives going for food, or do you succumb to hunger and starvation that will follow?
The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least a thousand people have been killed and more than 6,000 injured whilst trying to get aid in Gaza since
last May.
This weekend alone, a hundred people were killed, say the officials, by Israeli fire as they sought food. Twenty-five western nations are
condemning Israel for what they call its drip feeding of aid and inhumane killing of civilians.
Now, a four-year-old girl has clung for life in a Gaza hospital and then finally succumbed to hunger and malnutrition, according to medical sources.
CNN's Paula Hancocks with this report, and I do warn you, it is very disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Four-year-old Razan Abu Zaher (ph) was hospitalized with malnutrition more than one month
ago.
(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)
HANCOCKS: "Malnutrition has caused her to suffer from a mobility disability," her mother says. "Her health was good before the war, but
there is nothing to strengthen her. No milk in the hospitals or pharmacies."
Sunday, Razan became the latest child in Gaza to die of hunger. Her skeletal body, laid out on a slab of stone, painful proof of the famine the
U.N. and others have long warned about. It is shocking, but should not be surprising.
In the space of 24 hours, 18 deaths were caused by famine, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Yasser Ahmad (ph) was waiting at this soup kitchen since 6:00 A.M., desperate to take something home to his family of 12.
(YASSER AHMAD speaking in foreign language.)
HANCOCKS (voice over): "Flour is expensive," he says. "Everything is expensive. Where can we get food from? We don't know what we will do in the
end. Eat each other?"
When his turn comes, the amount poured into his bowl is minimal. He walks the four kilometers back home. When his wife sees how little is in the pot,
she starts crying.
(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE speaking in foreign language.)
HANCOCKS (voice over): "Is this enough for 12 people?" She asks. "Is it enough for a woman who is seven months pregnant? Even a one-year-old child
wouldn't be satisfied by this."
Pouring the watery soup into one bowl, the family eats together. The father allows himself just one spoonful, leaving the rest for his children and
grandchildren. After this, he says he will go to another soup kitchen to see if he can keep starvation at bay for one more day.
Israel says the military is working to allow and facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, adding there are trucks yet to
be picked up by aid groups. The U.N. says Israel often denies permission to move aid or approves routes too dangerous to travel.
Thousands across Gaza risk their lives every day in the search for food. At least 73 people were killed Sunday by Israeli gunfire while trying to
access aid, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The IDF says it "fired warning shots" in order to remove an immediate threat posed to them.
[16:05:10]
It casts doubt on the death toll.
The U.N. says accessing aid has become a death trap. The U.N. World Food Programme says Gaza's hunger crisis has now reached new levels of
desperation. Hospital officials say they are seeing an unprecedented number of starving citizens arriving at emergency departments. A man-made
catastrophe that has been continuously warned about. No one can say they didn't see this coming.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Jeremy is with me, Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv.
Jeremy, I want to take this at a fair clip so we can cover a lot of ground. I know Hamas is saying, Hamas says it is exerting all sorts of -- you know,
to get to a ceasefire. But firstly, look, why are so many people dying when they go to get aid that's being provided by this new organization put
together? Is it the crush? Is it the fear? What is causing so many people to get shot?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, really, the bottom line, Richard, is that nearly every single day for the last seven or eight weeks,
we have seen instances of Israeli troops opening fire on crowds of hungry Palestinians trying to reach these Gaza humanitarian foundation sites in
the majority of the instances.
In some instances, including yesterday, as it relates to this World Food Programme, convoy, that was the situation. A convoy of World Food Programme
trucks that was making its way into Northern Gaza. You saw crowds of Palestinians there and then Israeli troops opening fire.
What has changed over the course of those seven or eight weeks, Richard, is that the Israeli military has effectively stopped denying these instances
altogether. They still call them, "warning shots," but they do acknowledge that people have been killed, as the Israeli military has opened fire, what
they say is troops perceiving a threat of people approaching their positions.
They do dispute, however, the total number of people who have been killed in these instances, but really the only reason that this is happening,
Richard, is because of the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza and because of this aid delivery mechanism, where you are seeing very few
numbers of aid distribution points, which results in enormous crowds coming into contact with Israeli troops in those areas, and then you see these
breakouts of violence. And of course, in addition to that, the fact that the humanitarian crisis is not yet being fully alleviated, in fact, it I s
getting worse, it would seem -- Richard.
QUEST: Okay, so the sort of report, Paula's report that we've brought tonight, is this sort of reporting being seen in Israel? I mean, obviously
it is because CNN is seen in Israel, but I am talking about by the domestic channels in Israel. Are Israelis seeing it? And if so, what's the reaction?
DIAMOND: Certainly not a lot. I will say that the majority of Israel's television stations do not carry images of desperate and hungry people
inside the Gaza Strip, just as they don't carry many images of civilians being killed in Gaza as well.
However, in the last 24 hours or so, I have seen some of these images breaking through in Israeli media to a certain extent, and that speaks, I
think, to the level of the crisis that we are now seeing in Gaza, and in addition to that, the international criticism that is being lobbied,
leveled at Israel is drawing more attention to the matter.
You know, we saw this statement from more than two dozen western countries, including France, Canada, the United Kingdom, talking about this
humanitarian crisis reaching new depths and placing the blame squarely, squarely at Israel's feet, saying that it is this aid distribution
mechanism that Israel has demanded and enabled that is leading to this crisis, in addition to what they call the inhumane killing of Palestinians
trying to get that aid themselves.
QUEST: Jeremy, I am grateful to you tonight. Thank you.
Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv.
Now, let me tell you a story, a close call over North Dakota in the Northern United States, raising new questions about shared U.S. airspace.
The commercial pilot had to make a very hard turn to avoid a B-52 bomber. And then, this is the most remarkable bit, the pilot apologized to the
passengers.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PILOT FLYING SKYWEST FLIGHT 3788FOR VIA TIKTOK/AZAMORA626: For those of you on the right hand side, you probably saw the airplane kind of, sort of
coming at us. Nobody told us about it. Given his speed, it was a military - - I don't know how fast they were going, but they were a lot faster than us, I felt it was the safest thing to do to turn behind it. So sorry about
the aggressive maneuver. It caught me by surprise. This is not normal at all. I don't know why they didn't give us a heads up.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
QUEST: Friday's incident occurred on the approach to Minot, North Dakota. An Air Force base is located just north of the city. You can see here the
flight paths of all involved.
[16:10:10]
SkyWest and the FAA are investigating.
Mary Schiavo is an aviation analyst, former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
It is difficult to know listening to the pilot and looking at that, you know, was a collision imminent? I mean, I am not denying the pilot took the
right action, but the actual facts are still a bit difficult to ascertain.
What do you make of it?
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, I think, you know, remember he was on approach to final and had been given clearance to land and yet he
had heard no communications from to or about this giant B-52, quite a frightful sight. And then he is told to turn, I think it was quite a shock
to be told to turn into that, particularly since there had been no communications and he had been handed off from Minneapolis' approach, given
clearance to land and here is this giant thing going much faster than him. I think he was just shocked completely.
QUEST: And so shocked that, you know, the old phrase of TMI, too much information, and thankfully for us, he did. He basically told everybody on
the plane what was happening, how it had happened, and what a fiasco it was.
SCHIAVO: Well, that's right. And, you know, ordinarily, you know, as you and I know, I mean, it is hard to get some information about what actually
happened. We probably would not have heard about this had he not done it.
But I also think it is probably pride in good flying. I mean, it was going to be a -- you know, a visual approach most likely and then all of a sudden
it turns into a thrill ride and I am sure he felt indignant that it wasn't his fault, especially since there was a big plane without communications.
And I looked on ADS-B, the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast for laypeople, and that plane, the B-52, had been on ADS-B earlier, but was not
on ADS-B at the time of the landing, so something changed as well.
So, you know, we will wait for the investigators to say why it was literally not reported, not on ADS-B if it had been earlier and which
airport it was headed for, I assume the Air Force base. But at that point, yes, I think he was giving a lot of information to folks on the plane, but
hopefully it helped passengers.
QUEST: Is this something we should -- I mean, we should always be concerned about when its near misses and such, but was this "just one of those
things" stuff happens or do you see something systemic here?
SCHIAVO: Well, I see something systemic because of the mid-air at DCA, and remember how many near misses they had after that? It is as if they didn't
take it seriously. I mean, all of these people have died. And so I do think it is because of that horrible disaster and that we continue to have these
near misses knowing that the equipment doesn't match up and neither do the communications between civilian and military.
QUEST: I am proving the point that, you know, you're you are our aviation person for all seasons. I want to just throw one thing at you, and I want
to quickly move to Air India, if I might. Dreamliner Air India fuel cutoff switches. Everybody is looking at the cutoff switch to see could it have
failed? The fact that one failed, highly unlikely that the second would also have failed. But then you've got this question of could the aircraft
itself have done the electronics, done the same effect as if it had been?
I guess, we are all looking for any other reason to suggest for accident or deliberate. We are all looking for any other reason.
SCHIAVO: Right, and we have the All Nippon Airways flight on landing back in 2019 where that did happen. The aircraft told itself that it was on the
ground and cut the fuel. So the big question is when it cut that fuel, did it turn the fuel switches or did it turn or did it just cut the fuel and
then this fuel switches remained in run, not cut off? I mean, that's going to be on the flight data recorder and they will have an answer.
But because it happened once before in 2019, I remain highly skeptical and I think it is really wrong to jump to the conclusion that the pilots did it
on purpose. No way. I just don't see that.
QUEST: We need a lot more information, don't we? We need the CVR. We need - -
SCHIAVO: That's true.
QUEST: We need a lot more information.
Mary, I am always grateful to you. Thank you.
SCHIAVO: Thank you. Thank you.
QUEST: Now, the cost of rice -- yes, that is a completely different direction. A major issue in Japan's parliamentary election this weekend.
The government has so far resisted lowering trade barriers. You see, that's another dilemma. You lower the barriers, you let the rice in, but your
domestic farmers will be up in arms. But you'll bring the price down.
Anyway, it is something to be discussed, which is what well do after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:17:29]
QUEST: The U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, says the August the 1st tariff deadline will pressure countries to reach deals. He told CNBC that
the U.S. is focused on reaching quality agreements and is not trying to rush the process and he said it is up to the President to decide if more
extensions are needed.
On the other side, the Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick appeared to be taking a much harder line, telling CBS News the August 1st deadline won't
be pushed back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: So on August 1st, the new tariff rates will come in, but nothing stops countries from talking to us after
August 1st, but they are going to start paying the tariffs on August 1st.
Ten percent is definitely going to stay. Many countries will pay higher, like Vietnam and Indonesia right there, 19 and 20 percent. Most countries
will pay higher. The small countries are likely to be 10 percent, but the bigger countries are likely to pay higher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now the President's tariffs are having a very real impact on company earnings. Stellantis reported near $3 billion loss in the first half, and
auto tariffs are one of the reasons.
The carmaker estimates those duties cost it more than $350 million. The CFO says that figure will likely double in the second half. More than 40
percent of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. are imports, mostly from Mexico and Canada.
Rana is with me. Rana Foroohar, we always knew it, Rana. You know, we always knew it. And it is not a big bang, it is a drip, drip, drip. It is a
bit here. It is a bit here. It is a bit here, and I guess at some point this drip becomes a bit of a flood.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, indeed, Richard, I mean, you're making the right point here.
In some ways the tariff story seems like it has been with us forever at this point, but we may really just be beginning to see the consequences.
You know, I am hearing the kinds of stories you just mentioned about Stellantis in Europe, but I am also hearing in the U.S. from small and mid-
sized businesses that are beginning to go out of business because of the crunch around component parts.
I think that there are a handful of big U.S. businesses that are going to be fine and are going to be able to mitigate things, but I suspect the next
few weeks and months, we are going to hear a lot more about exactly what Stellantis has been through.
QUEST: I know it is anecdotal, and it is a small example. I was on my travels for "World of Wonder," and we were in Bordeaux and talking to a
wine producer and he said, look, the 10 percent tariff at the moment, the importer is eating five percent of it, and the producer, he is eating five
percent.
But he says if it goes to a 30 percent tariff, nobody can eat that or drink it in that case, it will have to be passed on to the consumer. So at what
point do we see the consumer feeling the effect?
[16:20:23]
FOROOHAR: I think by fall, we are going to feel a lot of pain and you know, this gets back to another big picture topic, which is what is the Fed going
to do? I mean, is this going to be about inflation or is this going to be about consumers under pressure that are starting to be unable to not only
just pay their bills, but to shop? What impact is that going to have on companies, on hiring? On firing? It is such a mess. But I think September
is going to be where the rubber meets the road here.
QUEST: We also have to see -- I can't -- the exact term of -- the technical term, something like tariff substitution policy or something where people
find ways around -- it takes about six months to a year, but eventually people do work their way around the tariffs and overall production is at a
lower level and there is a lost in the production gap, but we will see that.
But we are a long way off that yet because if for no other reason, the President keeps changing the rules and we don't really know where anybody
stands.
FOROOHAR: Well, true enough. But what I am hearing is that big companies in a handful of industries are doing okay because they have -- as you know,
they've been preparing for this for years now. You've seen a lot of tech, you know, very cutting edge supply chain technology, but it is being owned
by a handful of the biggest players in each industry, and certain industries are much more technologically savvy than others.
So I think that what this is all going to do is compound an existing problem, which is monopoly power within industries, and also geographic
inequality. I suspect that in the U.S., for example, you're going to see a bunch of small and midsize businesses in the interior of the country going
under while you see the wealthy areas, the top 12 markets or so really, you know, getting wealthier. And that is, of course, what fuels populism that
got us here in the first place.
QUEST: And we will talk about it as the summer -- I hope you're having a good summer so far, and we will talk more as it moves on. Grateful for you,
Rana. Thank you.
Now staying with tariffs and relatively in a way, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is on the ropes after his ruling coalition lost its majority
in both houses. The populist Senseito Party picked up 14 seats in Sunday's election.
Now, the party was only created a few years ago, is similar to other right- wing movements. To get some background on what happened and how we got here and the results, CNN's Will Ripley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Japan is prone to earthquakes, and this is a political earthquake, really a wake-up call for
Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democrats, or LDP. They've led the country for nearly 70 years, but now they've lost control of both Houses of
Parliament.
The big winner, a once fringe far right party called Senseito, which didn't even exist before 2020. It surged into the Upper House with more than a
dozen new seats, pushing a Trump style agenda -- nationalism, tax cuts, strict immigration controls.
Senseito started on YouTube during the pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories and anti-elite messages. Its leader, Sohei Kamiya, openly models
himself after Donald Trump. Bold, anti-globalist and combative.
(SOHEI KAMIYA speaking in foreign language.)
RIPLEY: His slogan "Japanese First."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is refusing to resign, but public anger is certainly rising over trade talks with the U.S., over soaring rice
prices and over a sense that Japan's future is slipping out of its own hands.
HIDEAKI MATSUDA, COMPANY MANAGER (through translator): I think it was the perfect opportunity for the ruling party, had the ruling party resolved
even one of these issues, such as Trump's outrage and the soaring rice prices, its approval rating would have gone up. But we didn't feel
anything.
And it seems like the U.S. will continue to push us around.
RIPLEY: Also fueling this backlash is something that you really notice when you're on the streets of Japan these days. There are more foreigners than
ever before.
Japan's growing foreign born population, now at a record 3.8 million, around three percent of the population. That may be small by global
standards, but it is a dramatic change for Japan, which takes pride in having a homogeneous society.
Immigrants are filling crucial jobs -- caregiving, construction, food service. Without them, Japan's aging economy would likely stall, but their
presence has triggered fear about things like crime, even though crime data shows that foreign residents are actually less likely to offend than
Japanese citizens.
Still, just before the vote, Ishiba's government launched a crackdown on so-called crimes by foreign nationals and pledged to go after undocumented
migrants, a clear attempt to blunt Senseito's rise. But as we saw, that just didn't work, and now Trump style politics are emerging and growing in
Japan.
Will Ripley, CNN Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:25:13]
QUEST: As Will is noting, the cost of rice was a huge issue for voters, according to a third in a poll, they said it was their top concern. Now,
the price has doubled over the years. Some of that has to do with the 2023 heat wave that created a shortage, and the government is encouraging
farmers to grow more rice.
However, what the government is refusing to do is lowering its trade barriers. Around 100,000 tons of rice for human consumption is let in duty
free each year, 100,000 tons, one percent of demand. Anything more than the 100,000 has a tariff of $2.36 per kilo. Essentially, it prices it out of
the market.
Peter Bachmann is the chief executive of the USA Rice Federation.
I think I've got -- I mean, we could probably quibble with the numbers here and there, but the gist of it is that besides your 100,000, the Japanese do
not want more imported rice. They want to protect their home market.
PETER BACHMANN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, USA RICE FEDERATION: That's correct. The Japanese are very sensitive about rice. It is a culturally important
product to them. It is a staple food. And so they first and foremost want to eat Japanese rice. However, the Japanese have propped up their domestic
rice prices for a long time to support the rice farming industry in Japan, and as a result, consumers have had to pay high prices.
And so when there is a shortfall of rice like we've seen over the last year in Japan, those prices have skyrocketed even more and we can liken that to
buying toilet paper in the United States or other products that eggs where we saw a shortage of in the U.S. earlier this year.
And so that's what they're going through in Japan right now.
QUEST: Right. But are your members able to sell more rice there now because supply and demand has pushed the price to profitable levels? Or is the
tariff on those profitable levels still creating a very much a negative impact?
BACHMANN: Exactly. So there is a very high tariff on rice imports into Japan, as you mentioned, it is 341 yen per kilo of rice that comes in and
that equates to roughly $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 per metric ton of rice that goes there.
The rice cost is roughly $800.00 per ton, and they are paying $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 in tax on top of that, just to get it in the door, and so that's
how much demand there is in Japan for our rice and for additional rice into the market.
QUEST: So obviously, you support, I would imagine, the administration's policy in terms of getting more rice in and doing whatever is necessary to
do so.
BACHMANN: Yes, USA rice and the U.S. rice industry, we grow rice in about six states in the mid-South and the Gulf, but also in the Sacramento Valley
of California. All the rice going to Japan is coming from the Sacramento Valley. We grow just a fraction of what Japan grows in that Sacramento
Valley, and so we have plenty of excess rice in the Sacramento Valley that we can supply there. A little bit goes a long way for us, and we are very
supportive of the Trump administration advocating for additional rice access into Japan.
QUEST: You see, of course, I fully understand your position in terms of rice, but the argument you're using about rice can be turned against the
United States in terms of steel, a domestic industry that has been propped up, that has kept prices higher, that has prevented now tariffs on
importing steel.
I mean, I guess this is why you don't do tariffs on anything because one man's rice is another man's steel and eventually, you get clobbered one way
or the other.
BACHMANN: That could be the case. I think the administration uses National Security and National Defense as the position to include tariffs on steel
and aluminum. You know, I think we could also go the same way and say that food security is National Security. And so for us, you know, we would love
to see tariffs on rice coming into the United States for the same reason the steel and aluminum folks want to see that.
However, you know, we know it is a delicate balance and it is going to mean higher costs for somebody along the line.
QUEST: That, sir, I think everybody -- it is a question of where that actually ends up. I am grateful to you. Thank you. Because our discussion
tonight really does show the complexity of the issues, particularly for your members trying to sell into to Japan, and rice is an important
product.
Thank you, sir, for joining us tonight on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I am grateful. Thank you.
Now as we continue, coming up, Greenland's new airport has made visiting Greenland more accessible than ever.
Now, the chief executive of Air Greenland joins me. There he is. He is going to tell me how they're handling more demand, more competition. And I
suspect it is all going to be very welcome, in a moment.
[16:30:32]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:33:37]
QUEST: Demonstrators in Mexico City are protesting against the cost of housing. City officials have been trying to address their concerns with a
plan to regulate rental prices and tackle gentrification. Valeria Leon reports from Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Mexico City, anger over housing costs spilled into the streets again. Sunday. It was the second
protest in less than a month, part of a growing movement against gentrification that's been building in the past year, many came with signs
blaming foreign money for driving up rents and pushing locals out of their own neighborhoods.
They suddenly can't afford to live in the area anymore, this man tells me. They have to move farther away to places that are even more vulnerable.
With housing out of reach for many Mexico City residents and a visible influx of tourists and digital nomads in some of the capital's most
desirable neighborhoods, foreigners have found themselves in the eye of the storm.
We demand a law to defend our roots, a law that defends housing as a common good.
Protesters insisted the march was peaceful.
We just want to express how we feel. We're not here to do anything wrong. We're here to prevent that.
But the contemporary art museum inside Mexico's most prestigious public university was vandalized. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned
the violence.
[16:35:09]
For some actions we don't agree with and we will never agree with, Sheinbaum said. A small group just a tiny part of one of the demonstrations
entered University City, broke the windows of a bookstore and burned books.
But this protests reflect more than a single march, the city's housing tensions have been escalating for years. Since the COVID-19 pandemic,
thousands of foreign remote workers or digital nomads have relocated to Mexico City, pushing up demand for housing in some of the city's most
attractive areas. And where demand is high, prices soar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The price of rentals has gone really, really high in the last couple of years since the pandemic started, we have seen that a lot of
our green areas or parks or natural reserves have been started to be destroyed because people are willing to build these big condominiums with a
lot of apartments.
LEON (voice over): And as Mexico City prepares to cohost the 2026 World Cup, officials promise an inclusive event for all. But for many locals, the
worry is that the events global attention and investment could speed up the very changes they're protesting.
Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now Mexico, of course, is at one end of the tourism spectrum, 45 million tourists last year. The other end, Greenland, that's 141,000
tourists last year, more than the population itself.
And just after 7:30 in the evening in Newark, oh, what a gorgeous evening. The sun will set tonight, just after midnight, midnight tomorrow morning,
isn't that spectacular from the Earth Cam at Nuuk in Greenland.
All of this is great news for tourists looking to see the unspoiled beauty, the views and the new airport are attracting more visitors. International
carriers are already taking advantage. United flew from Newark to Nuuk last month, the first direct flight from the United States in nearly 20 years.
The competition presents an opportunity for the flag carrier, Air Greenland, the CEO, Jacob Nitter Sorensen, joins me from Nuuk. It looks
like it's a glorious evening there for you.
Well, Air Greenland, I mean, you've got this vast opportunity to expand now, the question is, how you take advantage of it?
JACOB NITTER SORENSEN, CEO, AIR GREENLAND: Yes, Richard, welcome to Nuuk. It is indeed a beautiful, sunny evening in Nuuk, 20 comfortable degrees
today. And as you say, this is a massive opportunity for Greenland, and Greenland as a country.
And one of the things that we are already experiencing is that people coming in from the United States on the United Flight, they continue on to
other destinations in Greenland, and that's how the true community impacts are seen where the tourists actually go out to the smaller places in
Greenland and spend money, use the local tour operators, and fill up the domestic planes as well. So, all in all, it's a good deal.
QUEST: OK. Now, of course, you do have one long haul, medium haul flight, which is to your parent, to the sovereign over in in Denmark and I guess
it's not a vast stretch, you know, to then add another medium haul flight to London or to Frankfurt, Paris or whatever. And just -- look, I'm not
going to ask you, if you're going to do an Icelander. You're a long way off that. Instead, I'm going to suggest you start cherry picking those European
capitals and then start, as long as you've got United, you've got the U.S. involved as well.
SORENSEN: Yes, and that's definitely part of our long term strategy. But I think I mentioned last time on the show, back in October, that our main
constraint at the moment is hotel capacity. And the success story is that the hotels in Greenland are actually already filling up.
So, before we can actually start opening expanding new routes into Europe and the United States, we actually need to get the hotel capacity going up
and expanding into the winter season to utilize the unused capacity in the other seasons.
So, definitely part of our long term strategy and an option. But right now, we have to organically grow a little bit more on the incoming capacity.
QUEST: You know, I don't want to be the person who always manages to see a cloud on the horizon, but the moment it starts, it will be very difficult
to stop. Now I see tonight, Barcelona is just sort of getting rid of two cruise terminals, or two things, we heard about Mexico City, you're going
to be the destination that people want to go to. I confidently predict it in the next five to 10 years. How are you going to manage it?
[16:40:06]
SORENSEN: Yes, it's a very, very good question, and it's something that has been discussed in Greenland ever since the airports were first planned,
because we know that Greenland has a lot to offer, and we know this is the threat. We've seen it in Iceland. We've seen it in Europe and Barcelona and
other places.
I think there are a few things that are in our favor. One is the airport itself. We can handle up to maybe six to eight jet departures in a day. I
think that will happen in a matter of minutes in JFK. So, that's one natural limit.
And the other one is the laws that are set by our government. Our government is very proactive in terms of making laws that sort of limit the
number of tourists. So, we are aiming for high quality, premium passengers rather than mass numbers in ports.
QUEST: How's the -- what's the feeling -- what's the feeling at the moment? I mean, it's not a political question per se. Has the temperature gone down
over the Trump and wanting Greenland or when you go for a drink in the evening, are people still frothing about it?
SORENSEN: I think the temperature has gone down a little bit, which is good, but I think this whole situation has also sparked some necessary
discussions, and it has definitely helped us as a business. And it's I think it has sparked even more interest in Greenland, so but definitely,
the temperature is a little more cool now than it was back in a few months ago.
QUEST: What's the helicopter behind you? And what do you use it for?
SORENSEN: So, that's a very good question. So the helicopter is a multi-use tool. It's a -- it's a Swiss army knife. It's the backbone of the mineral
exploration activities, looking for minerals for the Princeton tradition. But it's also doing flight to tourists. It's just been out today, actually,
with some Europeans and some Americans.
And it's also does infrastructure repair work on our communication networks. It transports passengers and does even medevac. So it's a very,
very great tool.
QUEST: Versatile. Yes, great, yes. I'll make the promise I made before. I promise you we will bring QUEST MEANS BUSINESS to Nuuk, and we'll -- I
promise you, just not sure when, but we will be there. Good to see you, Jacob. Thank you.
SORENSEN: You are very welcome.
QUEST: Thank you very much. I need to love you and leave you tonight and show you how Wall Street finished today. There's the triple stack. The Dow
was in the red, the S&P both ended NASDAQ, both notched up fresh gains. You see the numbers there. It's going to be a busy week. Glad to be back with
you here in New York.
That's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for the moment. I'm Richard Quest, whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. Turkey, WORLD OF
WONDER. We're on the high seas in Gocek and beyond, all aboard.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:46:15]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice over): It's time to embrace new adventures.
QUEST: This is magnificent.
QUEST (voice over): Seize the moment in this world of wonder.
From state of the art super yachts, traditional gulets. I've got boats and yachts and watercraft everywhere.
QUEST: There are so many ways to see this beautiful country, but for this visit, it's Turkey from the sea.
QUEST (voice over): I'm back in one of my very favorite places, and this time, I'm taking a look at it from a very different perspective.
We're on the water, and there's no better place to start than that, most traditional of Turkish vessels, the gulet. I'm experiencing the southern
coast on board the Queen Duru.
QUEST: This is all rather splendid, isn't it?
QUEST (voice over): Built in 2019, she's 31 meters long. I can house a dozen people here because I've got seven cabins.
QUEST: The cabins are very spacious, and rather roomy actually, considering. I think we know who's in here.
QUEST (voice over): Boats are built for sailing, and as I've chartered the Queen Duru, even if only for 24 hours. This coast is mine for the taking.
But where to go? The yacht club owner and sailing fanatic Edhem Dirvana is on hand and has good advice.
QUEST: This whole coast. How would you describe it?
EDHEM DIRVANA, OWNER, BUZBURUN YACHT CLUB: It's the Turquoise Coast. We are right at the corner of Turkey, southwestern corner, where Aegean meets
Mediterranean.
QUEST: And this is the prime area for cruising, for yachting, for visiting?
DIRVANA: Yes. It offers really sheltered areas. Look, we are protected from north and south strong winds and swell, all islands are protecting us. So,
there are so many places to hide and seek.
QUEST (voice over): Before boarding my gulet, which costs around $20,000 a week in high season, I'd been invited to the TYBA yacht charter show in
Gocek to see how the other half lives. The prices here are rather more eye watering.
And with me is Artful Andrew, ever present and always ready to turn a good time into a great one.
ARTFUL ANDREW: And you sir need. Oh a hat, of course, let's do it.
QUEST: You smooth (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
Hello, sir. How good to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How lovely to see you in real life, I've been watching you on the screen all the time.
QUEST: There's a difference, isn't there between just big, luxurious and glamorous, sleek, elegant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elegant.
QUEST: Elegant, grande, elegante.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elegant.
QUEST (voice over): One sailor's dream vessel is another man's nightmare. The difference in all of this is in the eye of the beholder. There are a
couple of truisms about yachts that seem to be universal, be they big or small, they are always expensive.
[16:50:12]
QUEST: And however big your boat is, somebody bigger is going to park next door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more you have money, the bigger you get.
QUEST: Oh, this is unashamedly wealthy to just take part -- to just take part in this, you have to be (INAUDIBLE) rich.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The roof or running cost of a yacht is 10 percent of the -- of its value. Let's say it's $10-20 million yacht. It's annual running
cost, crew, fuel, parking maintenance is like 10 percent. If you squeeze, if you are very careful, you can bring it down to six, maybe seven percent.
This is the annual running course offering.
QUEST: Why does everybody always have to take their shoes off when they get in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
QUEST: So?
QUEST (voice over): Best not to damage this super yacht. After all, it costs around a million dollars a week to charter in high season.
QUEST: This is going to be one of those moments where we're just going to spend a lot of time looking and thinking if only.
QUEST (voice over): The Alfa Nero is celebrity yacht with an interesting past. She's all about luxury. Just think about it. Only six cabins, that's
round 12 guests. Oh, and to cater for our needs, there's a crew of more than two dozen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's got everything, all the charm, everything elegant, you name it.
State of the art, one of eight limited edition piano.
QUEST: That's beautiful. Oh, it even has a lift.
After you, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
QUEST: Oh, I just love the graceful living of it. So, every cabin has to have its own linens, that level of detail. Oh, mimes macchiato, how lovely.
Look at this.
Ambassadors on board, Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I was born for this. I am so not getting off this boat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we go down, we got the spa.
This is the upper deck salon. So, this is the master suite. This is usually where I get the wow.
QUEST: There's something rather refreshing. I know that I will never be able to afford to charter this yacht, and that's quite a relief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never say never, no?
QUEST: It's quite a relief, because --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you can always make friends with someone who can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.
QUEST: I don't want to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't come back until you've got enough money.
QUEST: I don't want to leave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice over): The Buzburun Yacht Club harked back to more innocent times, where well fed dogs make guests feel guilty if they don't feed them,
and children jump from boat to boat, seemingly without a care in the world, giving today's parents palpitations.
I'm here with Artful Andrew.
ARTFUL ANDREW: Just off the cuff, let you guys go. I'll go get the camera and get some long lens.
QUEST: Absolutely.
QUEST (voice over): He's taking a distressing interest in his work.
ARTFUL ANDREW: Yes. And then we'll do it again.
[16:55:00]
QUEST (voice over): Perhaps if I just smile and nod, maybe he'll go away. My eye going messing about on the water.
Edhem Dirvana is the man who told me where to go on my gulet. He's the master and the captain of the Yacht Club.
QUEST: Tell me about this boat.
DIRVANA: Yes, this boat was built in 1920 she had been sunk and left underwater for two years and left the rot on land for another few years.
There were watermelons growing in her, and my father bought her in 1950. I was born in this boat, literally.
Since I'm 10 days old, I've been sailing on this boat, and my father showed me the ropes, and when he passed away, I became the custodian.
QUEST: How important is the water to Turkey?
DIRVANA: Well, it is very, very important. We have a huge coastline. We have 8000 kilometers of coastline, and is an amazing spot with good winds,
long season, interesting sights, ancient history, all kinds of tastes, good food.
QUEST (voice over): I was rather enjoying the gentle sailing boat, but Edhem wants to up the ante, something a little more adventurous.
DIRVANA: It always strikes me that sailing is long periods of doing nothing, followed by moments of intense (INAUDIBLE).
QUEST: Waiting for catastrophe.
DIRVANA: It is so.
QUEST: You're all barking mad.
QUEST (voice over): I don't know much about sails, but I do know about wings and a boat that sort of flies. Now, I'm interested.
My main concern is trying to avoid slipping off, avoiding the jib and being knocked into next week.
QUEST: It is a very strange noise that this thing makes, very strange. Sounds like it's groaning.
QUEST (voice over): Wow, who can resist the classic?
QUEST: This is beautiful. Oh, that's clever, side thrusters.
DIRVANA: Yes.
QUEST: How old is this?
DIRVANA: Well, she was built in 1955.
QUEST: Oh, wonderful.
QUEST (voice over): Grace and elegance, speed and beauty, age and tradition. I enjoyed them all you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
