Collaborative Blog

Author: Jonathan Tourtellot

U.S. Budget Cuts Are Stunningly Blind

A guide to the sequester for the legitimately baffled. If you thought “sequester,” the American method of government budget-cutting, sounds incredibly stupid, you’re wrong. It’s stupider than that. To achieve the noble goal of reducing federal spending, the sequester that goes into effect at midnight demands blind, across-the-board budget cuts

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Americans, Get to Know World Heritage

“UNESCO World Heritage site” is one of the best-known labels in the world—a tourist magnet—except in the United States. Many Americans know nothing of the worldwide program they helped found 40 years ago, nor that the U.S. has 21 World Heritage sites itself. (Update: See post on the Dec. 3,

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Ski Industry Snow-Blind to Climate Change?

Roger Millar of Smart Growth America relays this news report published in the Aspen Times: A University of New Hampshire study shows two low-snow years can cost ski destinations as much as a billion dollars. The lower the resort’s elevation or latitude, the shorter could be its lifespan. Bizarrely, the

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So How Many Jobs Does Travel Create?

The U.S. Travel Association released on 26 August 2012 some data you can use to make a case for taking better care of special places: the number of jobs generated by travel and tourism. USTA is an advocacy organization, so these numbers may suffer from a promotional puff-factor, but even

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Sierra Nevada Geotourism Innovations

Lake Tahoe Geotourism Festival Sept 8-9, 2012: That icon of the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe, is long on beauty but has become a bit short on character over recent decades, providing a travel experience dominated by generic ski resorts and Nevada-side casinos. But Tahoe does have character, plenty of it,

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Forming a Global “Friends of” Group for Levuka, Fiji

Steve Noakes describes one way to seek international support for a local heritage group: Levuka, Fiji: Founded by trader and settlers as early as 1830, Levuka flourished and attracted cotton and coconut planters, sandalwood and beche de mer traders. Merchants arrived to set up businesses such as shops, bars and

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New Geotourism Company in Santa Fe

The New Mexico Business Weekly reports the launch of Odyssey Trails, co-directed by Chris Cole and Peter Hughes. The touring company will specialize in the American Southwest, Maya areas of Central America, and “Old Florida.” For the Santa Fe area, according to the story, “Cole said a typical day trip

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New Challenge for Grand Canyon

A new Arizona Republic report summarizes the various development pressures affecting the Grand Canyon. While much of the canyon remains a magnificent wilderness, even those areas can suffer from noise and light pollution. Now plans for an extensive resort development in the gateway town of Tusayan threaten the canyon water

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Bad resorts, good reserves

Three bits of encouraging news in one week. Mexico kills a bad resort plan on the Sea of Cortez. It helps when your president likes coral reefs. Calderon’s attitude jibes with numerous anecdotes about the value of introducing political leaders to the endemic assets of their jurisdictions. Washington Post. Abaco

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Davos vs Nat Geo on Tourism Quality

On Nat Geo News Watch, Jonathan Tourtellot looks at the way the Davos Economic Forum ranks tourism competitiveness, arguing that their approach can rely at times on trying to quantify the unquantifiable. A higher score in some Forum categories may actually hurt destination quality. Ease of business and competitive pricing,

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