Tourism

Totals rose over May 2018, but short-term rentals on Anna Maria Island weren’t as busy in May as during the spring break months of March and April.

Beaches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast remain closed because of toxic bacteria detected before Barry blew ashore.

California - Looming decisions by state and federal agencies involving Del Mar prompted lengthy discussions but no actions by the City Council on Monday night, July 15.

Australian researchers are exploring ways to create sustainable maritime industries, while also keeping our oceans healthy. Natalie Parletta reports.

A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of the Louisiana coast ahead of Tropical Storm Barry's arrival.

An advisory for a portion of Panama City Beach remains in place due elevated levels of bacteria.

GULFPORT, Miss. — Toxic bacteria are keeping swimmers out of the water on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and it will be weeks before financial information shows whether beach closures are hurting the local economy.

Tourism is an inclusive sector that showcases Canada’s culture, diversity, natural beauty and unique experiences to the world. It delivers economic benefits across the country by supporting one in ten jobs. That’s why the Government of Canada is investing in our tourism sector’s businesses and assets.

Algal blooms can have a large impact on the area’s marine life, public health and tourism industry.

For many beach-tourism businesses impacted by Hurricane Michael, this July 4th is an important

Some parts of the world are now awash with tourists.

DESTIN — City, county, and health department officials are looking into a possible flesh-eating bacteria case that may have been contracted in the Gulf.

'This is a real problem, it’s serious and very big' and it affects entire coastal ecosystem

Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast – the tourism marketing organization for the state’s three coastal counties along the Gulf of Mexico – hosted an event for the tourism community to unveil a new name and new ad campaign designed to capitalize on today’s top tourism trends.

Change isn’t easy, but as more countries and companies understand the necessity of sustainable practices and adopt them, there’s a better chance everyone will benefit from a cleaner environment.

CNT – Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau just south of Tampa strikes gold and approves a record $13.2 million marketing budget for the 2020-21.

CNT: The study of Red Tide is prudent but more importantly buys time. The confrontation on the issue to rebalance the financial interests at stack can only be deferred so long. What is not known at this point is the degree of red tide impact in the upcoming summer tourism center.

Puerto Galera*, one of the country’s top diving spots, can expect to have cleaner seas and a more balanced marine ecosystem with the recent partnership sealed by the municipal government and the Metro Pacific Investments Foundation Inc.

The Virgin Islands relies on a tiny force of individuals to guard it against potential environmental damage from any of the hundreds of cruise ships and other commercial vessels that visit its shores annually – but that line is reinforced by a bulwark of international convention and U.S. controls and authority.

Wrightsville Beach and other New Hanover County beaches rocked by Hurricane Florence last fall have spent much of the spring recuperating and preparing for the upcoming summer season. And with hotels and other rentals reopening for the new season, this summer is one that many rentals still are hopeful will be even larger than last year.

NAVARRE BEACH, FL — For a fifth consecutive year, Navarre Beach likely will attract a record number of tourists this summer, if the off-season is any indication.

The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is advising the public to expect an influx of mats of the brown seaweed known as Sargassum along several beaches across the island in the upcoming months.

Tourism is the lifeblood of many coastal communities. Businesses depend on visitors and traffic means money. That's not always what the year-round residents want and thus there is tension. Balancing economic interests on the American shoreline is a constant process. (Peter Ravella, Publisher, CNT/ASPN).

MANATEE, FL - The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration is predicting a near-record “dead zone” for the Gulf of Mexico this summer due to abnormally heavy rains in states across the Mississippi River watershed and the flooding that will ultimately spill hundreds of thousands of tons of nutrient-rich sediments into the Gulf.

The brewery is the first of more than 40 craft breweries on Long Island to go out of business since the local microbrewery boom took off over the last decade. It’s the latest in a long line of products named for the barrier island to become but a memory.

Fort Lauderdale beach, famous for where the boys are, is also gaining notoriety around the city for where electric scooters aren’t. The city allows the e-scooters to operate on its sidewalks except during “high impact events” when there’s a greater chance of accidents occurring.

Hotel and entertainment complex Prince Tian Xi Wan broke ground on Thursday in Sihanoukville.

The Philippines recently closed off Boracay Island for six months and imposed strict new limits on how many people could visit and what they could and could not do.

New Jersey lawmakers are moving to exempt many Shore-goers from an unpopular new tax on home rentals, but it's still unclear when the change would take effect -- and who exactly it would help.

BERLIN, MD – A new National Park Service report shows that 2,136,889 visitors to Assateague Island National Seashore in 2018 spent $94,476,000 in communities near the park. That spending supported 1,192 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $105,594,000.

Planning a trip to the beach? Along with looking forward to some summer fun, beachgoers may be thinking about the safety of their waterfront destination. Will the water be clean enough for swimming, surfing, wading and all the other ways people enjoy the nation’s shoreline?

Visitors take a toll on parks

Since 1991, Coastal scientist Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman (better known as Dr. Beach) has evaluated beaches and shorelines across the United States of America, each year releasing a ranking of the top ten.

New Jersey this year marks the 45th anniversary of the Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program, which provides water quality data and beach status information to the public for 188 ocean-, 22 bay-, and eight river-side public recreational beaches that are routinely monitored during the season.

The toxic, smelly algae bloom that hurt hotel sales and waterfront destinations last year is back in Florida's waters.

After a pitched battle in Tallahassee over the importance of the public-private agency’s marketing efforts, state lawmakers slashed funding for Visit Florida to $50 million for the budget year that starts July 1, down from $76 million for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Under the Texas Open Beaches Act, the public has the free and unrestricted right to access Texas beaches. According to the Texas General Land Office, there may be some exceptions to this rule.

Florida has one of the biggest economies in the United States. Two of its most famous industries include tourism and agriculture, which contribute to the state's $1 trillion GDP. Here are 13 surprising facts about Florida's economy.

CURRITUCK COUNTY, North Carolina — A Corolla civic group has filed suit against Currituck County, challenging more than $40 million the county has spent in occupancy tax revenue on projects and services since 2004.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — For the first time in Santa Cruz County history, the tourism industry reached the $1 billion mark.

Red tide isn’t likely to ruin anyone’s weekend, but state measurements taken in the last week have found small concentrations of the algae that cause it off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The North Coast Tourism Studio, offered by Travel Oregon in partnership with a local steering committee (representing 24 organizations and agencies), began with listening sessions held in spring, 2018, which guided the topics for a series of five workshops last fall and this winter.

Facing down another summer of crippling algal blooms, ids Florida doing enough?

When life deals you sargassum ... well, you won't find a market for sargassum-ade.

Mexico's Riviera Maya coast brings in half of the country's tourism revenues, but the algae explosion could cripple the local economy. The vast mats of algae, called sargassum, is one of the more visible climate-change events quietly altering the tourist trade.

The proportion of New Zealanders who believe tourism is good for the country has dipped and more Kiwis surveyed than ever think the number of tourists is too high.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s beaches, casinos, forests and cities attracted tourists who spent nearly $45 billion in 2018.

From the white sand beaches of Clearwater to the festivals in Tampa, the area has reported tourism growth.

Turning the Toxic Tide is a series of editorials published collectively by the six editorial boards of USA TODAY Network-Florida, with the goal of providing an environmental road map for the state's new governor, legislators and congressional delegation. This is the seventh in the series.

11th Annual Event Celebrates Seawall Boulevard's Vintage History

‘Closed’ — a sign none of us want to see in front of Mother Nature’s best assets.

The tourism industry is booming throughout the world but nowhere more noticeably than on the small tropical islands of Southeast Asia. Millions of tourists flock to these remote islands every day to enjoy the beaches and snorkel among the coral reef, but the traffic and waste they produce has forced some ecosystems to reach their breaking point.

HUNDREDS of holidaymakers who fear they were overcharged by the TCI’s biggest resort have come forward to join a potential class action which lawyers say could see the company forced to fork out millions in compensation.

KINGSTON, R.I. - May 6, 2019 - Researchers at the University of Rhode Island who analyzed AirBnB rental data before and after construction of the Block Island Wind Farm have found that, contrary to some concerns, the turbines have increased tourism on the island.

HOBE SOUND — Gov. Ron DeSantis has placed a special emphasis on Florida's environment since taking office, and Monday was one more step in the direction to clean up the state's waterways.

Research has shed new light on what created the algal bloom that swept the Gulf Coast last year.

ust before residents and tourists begin flocking to the beach, North Myrtle Beach is warning homeowners that placing barriers in public rights-of-way without a permit is illegal.

Cruise operators go where they see demand, and Alaska has been a hot market for a while now. Will the introduction of more and bigger ships change that dynamic?

An appellate panel ruled Monday that Belmar officials had violated an ancient legal principal and current state law on public beach access when the borough doubled beachfront parking fees and used beach funds to pay for non-beach expenses.

New Legislation Aiming at Protecting Hawaii from Climate Change. New legislation in Hawaii is aiming at protecting tourist beaches and urban areas from flooding due to Climate Change.

A trip to the Outer Banks is a tradition for some North Carolina families and a bucket-list destination for other tourists. A new study from North Carolina State University asked visitors for their reactions to having travel plans disrupted by coastal hazards like washed-out roads or limited beach access. Would they reschedule? Go somewhere else? Stop visiting the Outer Banks?

After last year’s red tide bloom, service industry grateful for a robust rebound

A Lords Committee heard that Thanet has seen 84% growth in creative businesses between 2013 and 2016, following a long-term programme to support arts and culture.

Tourism bosses have hired two bald eagles to defend popular coastal beaches amid fears that seagulls are scaring away too many visitors.

Plymouth, England, is rich in maritime history. Will a marine park change how its residents see the sea?

The soundside area of Navarre Beach is more accessible to more people now. And it's thanks to a newly completed Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Early Restoration Program project, which was touted as a community-wide effort and celebrated by commissioners and Navarre area residents Tuesday afternoon.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Thousands flock to Florida every year to relax on the sunshine state's beaches, and apparently even alligators can't resist them!

With such revolutionary designs as Snøhetta’s underwater restaurant in Norway to the Conrad Maldives hotel, architects are pushing the boundaries by building in new and exciting environments

CLEARWATER — Hundreds gathered at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater March 28 for a Red Tide Summit to learn more about harmful algal blooms and ask questions.

Closures of State Highway 4 leading to Boca Chica Beach so SpaceX can continue testing its Starship Hopper prototype entered a third week Tuesday.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Nearly two years after a deadly hurricane season, tourists are visiting Puerto Rico in record numbers as the U.S. territory continues to rebuild from Hurricane Maria.

Very low concentrations of toxic algae were found offshore of Southwest Florida, but there is no red tide bloom, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

OKALOOSA ISLAND, FL — The Emerald Coast Convention and Visitor’s Bureau deployed Okaloosa Island’s first artificial reef Tuesday.

NAVARRE BEACH, FLORIDA — There are no “no trespassing” signs on Navarre Beach.

Tourism in Hawaii has reached “tipping point”, experts from the University of Hawaii have warned, as annual visitor numbers reach ten million on the small Pacific archipelago.

Visits to National Park System sites across the country were down in 2018 versus 2017, but the Cape Hatteras National Seashore was one of the notable exceptions of the park system’s 418 units, with the highest recorded visitation since 2003.

Florida Senate leaders are putting up money to keep the state’s tourism arm alive, despite an effort by the state House to scrap the agency.

The $93 million Mississippi Aquarium is coming out of the ground on the East Beach service road in Gulfport, on track to open late this year or by early 2020.

While the US president, Donald Trump, is looking for funds to finance the construction of the controversial wall on the border with Mexico, a US citizen, in just a matter of days, raised a fence in the Mexican state of Yucatan with which he closed the access of a public beach near his home.

ALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – The tourism-marketing agency Visit Florida would only be funded for three months, while Enterprise Florida wouldn’t get any state money as part of a budget proposal released Tuesday by a House panel for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

“Last-chance tourism” is hastening the decline of destinations like the Florida Reef and the Galapagos Islands.

Mote Marine Lab CEO emphasizes jobs and economic impact.

South Carolina - Surfside Beach is the next municipality looking to bring extra revenue into their community at the expense of Horry County.

Kayankerni and several other coastal zones to be declared Marine Protection Areas

Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Officials from Cancun to Tulum continue to fight the issue of sargasso that has begun to arrive on state beaches. The continual abundance of the sea weed remains a critical issue for the state as the sargasso slowly returns to the region.

At first glance it seems to be the ultimate playground for the rich, but this stunning island archipelago has a dark and deadly secret.

Wrightsville Beach’s seasonal paid parking kicks in Friday with a new hourly fee of $3, which goes toward several project including beach renourishment.