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.
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.
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.
While the recession and economic uncertainty are still cutting into travel budgets, more than half of Americans are still planning to take a summer vacation this year.
Colorado's ski industry, a major part of the state's tourism economy,is bouncing back after last year's economic downturn kept many vacationers away.
