Tourism industry

When it's time for some R&R in the sun, Americans have a wealth of options. But based on summertime hotel room rentals, which one takes the crown? Orlando with its theme parks? New York with its culture? Washington with it's history? L.A. with its beaches? None of the above. Curious? Read on ...

In a somewhat surprising report, The U.N. Environment Programme says one of the most promising green industries -- at least when it comes to creating economic growth, reducing poverty, fueling job creation and addressing major environmental challenges -- turns out to be tourism.

Egypt's famed antiquities and tourism sites are reopening following the political unrest there. But heeding warnings from Washington, many American travelers are steering clear of the region for now -- disrupting the tourism industry in both the U.S. and Egypt.

More visitors made their way to Sin City last year compared to 2009, helping to boost room rates at Las Vegas hotels -- even though hotel occupancy actually fell.

Nearly 60 million foreigners visited the U.S. in 2010. Where did they go? The most popular destinations included New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Big Apple is particularly appealing, drawing a record 48.7 million big-spending foreign travelers.

A year after Haiti's catastrophic quake, Port-au-Prince is still a ruin. But the views from high-end spots like the Hotel Oloffson are picture perfect, and with armies of aid workers still needing to bed down, business at hotels left intact is booming.

Virgin Group Ltd, founded by U.K. tycoon Richard Branson, plans enter the hotel industry. Virgin will spend as much as $500 million on high-end hotels aimed at "high income, well-educated, metropolitan 'creative class'" customers, Bloomberg News said. The company is scouting for locations in...

Even Hurricane Earl can't break the spirits of those living in beach towns along the East Coast. Thanks to the hot weather, convenient location and Canadians, tourism along the coast has skyrocketed this summer.

Brazilian and Chinese visitors led a resurgence in foreign tourism spending within the U.S. in the first half of 2010, giving hope to domestic hoteliers, airline companies and others that the travel-spending slump of 2008 and 2009 is over, according to a report released Wednesday.

Following the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, the numbers of tourists visiting New Orleans dropped to nothing. The city's $5 billion tourism industry slowly recovered, however, and is now once again approaching pre-Katrina visitor levels.