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Savannah surprised by its own steady and sustainable tourism growth
DestinationsSan Francisco bay area residents Bill and Mady Cloud rolled into Savannah late Thursday and will continue their summer vacation when they head out for Charleston later today. The couple spent a few minutes Friday afternoon sitting on an Ellis Square bench, plotting a return trip — a longer one. “We want to rent a [...]
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Gettysburg anniversary sparks battle between rival re-enactment groups
DestinationsThis summer, the Battle of Gettysburg will happen twice. For the first time in at least a decade, two re-enactments, planned and organized by different groups, will take place on farms outside Gettysburg during the 150th anniversary of the battle. They are expected to draw thousands of re-enactors and tens of thousands of visitors. The [...]
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The 1995 Clinton speech that should have changed the U.S. travel industry, but didn’t
DestinationsOn October 30th 1995, President Bill Clinton gave a speech at the White House that should have been the seminal defining moment for the travel industry in America, cementing the rise of U.S. as the pre-eminent destination, once and for all. This was the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, the first ever event [...]
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U.S. tourism businesses low on staff after changes to temporary work visa
DestinationsOwners of tourism-related businesses say an administrative delay and a sudden rule change in Washington have disrupted their operations at the worst possible time of year. Every summer, thousands of hotels, restaurants and other small tourism firms around the country apply for a special set of visas, known as H-2Bs, that allow them to temporarily [...]
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Chinese tour operators negotiate visits to Obama-Xi meeting grounds
DestinationsThe Annenberg Retreat on the Sunnylands estate, the venue for last week’s summit in the United States between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama, could soon see more Chinese visitors. Beijing student Ji Peiwen, for one, is planning to visit the residence in Rancho Mirage, southern California, after watching the two-day summit. [...]
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Top 20 countries fueling U.S. tourism: Asia and Latin America on the rise, Europe in decline
DestinationsThe number of Europeans visiting the U.S. continued to drop in 2012, while the number of Asian and Latin Americans quickly increased. Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce today details America’s top inbound tourism markets from 2012. Total visitor numbers increased 7 percent to a new record of 67 million international visitors. Arrivals [...]
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U.S. next big tourism push: Cirque du Soleil
DestinationsThe marketing agency responsible for promoting USA as a tourism destination has been a mixed success since it started the campaign last year, and now it believes it has found the next stage beyond schmaltzy videos and ads. Brand USA is launching a new ”USA Live Entertainment platform” which if you cut through the jargon means it [...]
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U.S has $4.4 billion tourism surplus with China, but are businesses ready?
DestinationsMore than 1 million Chinese visitors came to the U.S. in 2011…Commerce Department expects arrivals to rise 259% between 2011 and 2017…Chinese tourists in America spend about $6,000 per trip, more than visitors from any other country. Because their expenditures are technically exports, the U.S. ran a whopping $4.4 billion surplus in travel and tourism [...]
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Fixing the Tijuana border crossing could save the U.S. billions
DestinationsAhead of a major vote on a US plan to reform its immigration system, one of its Republican authors is worried that it doesn’t do enough to secure the border. If it became law, the government would hire more border patrollers, build new bases for them and fund the construction of more walls. It even [...]
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New bill would prevent cool U.S. cities from being blacklisted from government events
DestinationsNevada’s congressional representatives don’t want the government to blacklist cities because they’re too fun. Republican Sen. Dean Heller introduced a bill Thursday to prevent lists of vacation destinations in which the government isn’t allowed to stage an event. He says such policies could hurt tourism-driven cities such as Las Vegas and Reno. The move comes [...]
