Stray Dog Tourism

Stray dogs are something I tend to avoid.  While backpacking the Appalachian Trail, I had several potentially nasty encounters with dogs.  I simply held up my walking stick, yelled at them to back off and walked away.

Now, I am a dog lover, and for the most part am willing to say hi to a dog, ask the owner to pet or let the dog sniff my hand.  But in my foreign travels, I need to be a bit more cautious.

I am pleased there are many dog rescue operations around the world and there are some good success stories.

On Provo we have the Potcake Place.  This is a good start, but I would also encourage folks to donate to animal organizations for health care and neutering or spaying.  Dogs are great, and I love them all. 

I dedicate this blog today to all the dogs in my life.....and yours.

Tourism warning

yes, anyone who has travelled has been someplace that tourism hurts the local environment.

This list of people and physical harm is long......

In the Caribbean, recent reports recognize the harm.

travel trophies

It always amazes me when the conversation gets around to vacation places and someone announces they have been to 7 islands in the Caribbean or something like that.  Upon closer investigation, I discover they were on a cruise and visited 7 ports.  And if my experience can be the basis, every port in the Caribbean looks, feels, smells the same.  Same trinkets, same food and so on.
This commentary notes this and hopes that after a "taste" the cruise tourist may return to get the real experience.

I wonder about the sample?

Turks and Caicos Islands is the fastest-growing destination in region

So sez the Caribbean Journal.  The journal cites Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, but I can't find the data, so maybe it is a press release or something.  While TCI may have a percentage growth, the number of beds found in Cuba, Jamaica or the Dominican Republics probably still out shadow the actual numbers of tourists. In fact, just a few days ago, One Caribbean posted these arrival numbers:

TCI stats online

That's Turks and Caicos for you guys.  I like the tourism stats. but I wish they published links and such instead a fancy animations of gifs of tables.  Raw numeric data is of interest to recreation and tourism geographers.

But it is certainly more up current than the data found on OneCaribbean.org.

Heading to warmer climates this winter?

I'm planning our winter trip to the Caribbean or Central America and am leaning toward Antigua.  Still working on the dates and where to stay, so for those reasons we haven't booked anything yet.

One thing we are considering is the impact of cruise ships.  This site identifies Ports of Call.

This will help us determine when to tour on the island and when to avoid certain areas.  Getting 3,000 to 5,000 people in port can really change the tourism experience.

Yikes, it is a popular port!

One million visitors to Turks and Caicos?

Consider the Butler Tourism Area Life Cycle Model.

See my post.

Aided by a deep harbour on Grand Turk, one million visitors has a tremendous impact obn the island.

I mean, who will sell those t-shirts made in Malaysia, right?

Given the current economic conditions, one million folks is pretty impressive, but is is sustainable?

U.S. Travel Abroad Declined Three Percent in 2009

News from the Office of Travel and tourism Industries today:

June 30, 2010

U.S. Travel Abroad Declined Three Percent in 2009

Spending Down 12 Percent from 2008

The overall U.S. outbound market totaled 61.5 million in 2009, down three percent compared to 2008. Travel to overseas regions declined two percent, while travel to Mexico and Canada declined four percent and seven percent, respectively.

The top five countries in 2009, measured by U.S. visitation, were: Mexico (19.5 million), Canada (11.7 million), the United Kingdom (2.7 million), France (1.9 million) and Italy (1.8 million).

In 2009, U.S. travelers set records for travel to the regions of Central America, Africa and the Middle East, and to the countries of Greece, Dominican Republic, Israel and India.

Spending by U.S. residents traveling abroad (imports) totaled $99.2 billion, down 12 percent from 2008. Spending within foreign countries (travel payments) amounted to $73.2 billion, down eight percent, and spending on air transportation, via foreign air carriers (passenger fare payments), totaled $26.0 billion in 2009, down 20 percent. Top countries for U.S. spending included Mexico ($9.6 billion), the United Kingdom ($7.8 billion), Canada ($6.2 billion), Japan ($4.8 billion) and Germany ($4.6 billion).

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for more info, see:

http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/outbound.general_information.outbound_overview.html

latest stats of tourism arrivals in the Caribbean

OneCaribbean.ORG is the Official tourism business website of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. On their site (www.onecaribbean.org) you will find statistics and market research, news and media information, events and calendars and a ton of other resources.

While it is no surprise that tourism is down in the region, it is a surprise to see some destinations increasing international visitors. See Guyana in June. Anyway the stats are by country and month and summarize the origins of visitors.

Check it out.