International Visitors Spent $16.5 Billion in December 2022

From one of my news feeds:

"Data recently released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that in December2022:

International visitors spent nearly $16.5 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, an increase of nearly 49 percent compared to December 2021 and the single highest month for U.S. tourism-related exports since February 2020—the onset of the global pandemic.

Americans spent more than $15.5 billion traveling abroad, yielding a balance of trade surplus of $932 million for the month.

A summation of the twelve months in 2022 (preliminary data, subject to future revisions) suggests that international visitors spent nearly $162.6 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services, nearly doubling (up 96%) the amount spent in 2021. International visitors injected, on average, more than $445 million a day into the U.S. economy in 2022."

(Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, EIS, Tortola)

See the fact sheet from NTTO here.

Puppy Bowl this weekend

 You know me.

I like dogs.

So instead of wasting time watching big humans wrestling in a field, I will be watching cute puppies playing on theirs.

PUPPY BOWL XIX is Sunday, February 12 at 2P ET/11A PT on Animal Planet.

Bubba-Doo will be rooting for Team Ruff.

More hints for hiking the AT

 How important is the AT hike to be a wilderness experience?

The herd of hikers striking out from Springer this spring will mean anything but a wilderness experience.

Recall the Trail was meant to be a wilderness opportunity to escape the eastern cities.

”Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, it beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind and soul of man.”

Harold Allen

This quote is frequently miss-tied to Myron Avery.  A shame.

So, will you choose to have a wilderness experience?

Or how much assistance will you need?

Three things come to mind....

Most hikers today, do so without the trail guide and opt for a (fill in the blank) hikers guide that simply offers info on food, lodging and other items off the trail.  Sounds like a Fodors guide.

That's a shame since it is more about off-trail amenities and less about the actual trail.

Second is the dependence on technology.  No compasses are found, but the cell phone and related apps take away from the wilderness.

This means more hikers do not have the basic skill set to do long distance backpacking.

And third, I believe there is not an appreciation of the volunteers.  I think this stems from a bit of entitlement, that is, the Trail is there for them.  This leads the hiker to bitch and moan about things that go wrong while on the trail instead of accepting the reality of long-distance hiking on a "wilderness" trail.  Further, the second most question I got while on the trail was the statement from "Earth People" that the wished they had the time to go backpacking for 4 or 5 months.  Yes, hikers are elite!

Oh yeah, one more thing: the FNT people, (or Fastest Known Times).  This is related to all three.  First the hikers are concerned about running the trail and do not have time to "savor" the experience.  These runners need support, the amenities found off the trail plus technology, further extracting them from the wild.  And then there is the entitlement, caring less about fellow hikers, the volunteers and everyone else since to do so will impact their time.

I blame this on Outside magazine and a bit on Backpacker.

So, do your hike, but be prepared, and then give back to the hiking community.