How ticket bots are changing concert and train ticket sales

Purchasing concert tickets has long been a high-stakes affair, with popular events often selling out within minutes. Increasingly, however, fans are competing against automated ticket-buying programs, commonly referred to as bots, that can snap up seats in seconds before reselling them at higher prices. This has distorted access not only to concert tickets but also to everyday…

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Average Millennial date costs $252, BMO finds

Inflation concerns are spilling into “date-flation” discussions online, as social media users react to a surprising stat: Millennials spend $252, on average, for a date. The figure, which CNBC reported on in April, comes from BMO Financial Group’s 2026 BMO Real Financial Progress Index. The average “all-in” spend on a date in America — including pre-date…

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Why some young Americans are dating less in 2026

For many young Americans, dating is becoming as much about finances as it is romance. Half of single Americans surveyed said they are going on fewer dates or choosing less expensive activities because of rising costs, according to BMO Financial Group’s 2026 BMO Real Financial Progress Index. The bank polled 2,501 adults in late December through…

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Netflix show causes food tourism increase

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – DECEMBER 17, 2025: Participants Jung Ho-young, Hudukjuk, Monk Sunjae, Son Jong-won, producers Kim Eun-ji and Kim Hak-min, Yoon Jumo Yoon Nara, French Papa, Chinese Cuisine Witch, and Baby Beast pose during a press conference for the Netflix series Culinary Class Wars: Black and White Chef Season 2 at JW Marriott Dongdaemun…

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Visits from China down 60% in January 2026

Visitors (L) dressed in kimonos look at photos they took during a visit to Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district of central Tokyo on September 16, 2025. Richard A. Brooks | Afp | Getty Images After living in Tokyo for over a year, Karin Nordin noticed something peculiar. The hot spring towns of Kusatsu and…

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