Posts by Nicole Jackson42

lonebadger6 said:Nice post. We tend to overlook tourism outside of the coastal hubs, and it’s not just political—it's because people just don't have a business mindset and fail to see the potential profit sitting right in front of them. On the coast, obviously, everyone gets that...

Take the new aquarium project in a place like Karlovac, which is basically our version of an Aquatica—the first freshwater aquarium in the US and a huge deal for this entire region. People spent so much time whining and being dramatic in the comments about it... claiming there aren't enough preschools, complaining about flooding, or demanding we just build more factories instead... all the classic American idiocies, fueled by a total lack of understanding of how EU funds actually work. And of course, you hear all that "who cares, who would even go there" nonsense from the local internet experts...

In the end, after barely six months, the aquarium has already seen over 75,000 visitors, and half of that was during the off-season...

The whole thing stems from that socialist mindset that's still being pushed by those self-proclaimed progressive NGOs, media-heavy liberal parties, and those tiny fringe groups with like one percent support.
Maybe things will improve once the newer generations stop relying on the government and start actually using private initiative.
But even now, stuff is shifting; just look at the numbers and you'll see a massive spike in overnight stays and visitors in the American heartland.

lonebadger6 said:Look, those numbers are pretty concrete, and you can't just make stuff like that up... It’s entirely possible that things have actually tightened up over the years regarding under-the-table stays, now that there’s some actual oversight in place.

Generally speaking, our tourism industry isn't exactly terrible, but it's certainly not the powerhouse we love to brag about... The real issue is how much money travelers actually spend while they're here versus how much they blow at other destinations; I’d say we’re lagging way behind the heavy hitters in the global travel market.

When you look at the raw data for international arrivals, the US ranks eighth in the Western world—or ninth if you count Turkey—but you have to factor in the sheer size of the country... The biggest players see the most traffic, starting with Spain, followed by Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, and Greece, before we even get a look in. Still, it’s not exactly an insignificant feat to be sitting ahead of Portugal, the Netherlands, or the Czech Republic with Prague....

The biggest headache for American tourism is definitely the lack of hotel rooms, especially those 4 and 5-star spots.
But even that’s shifting, and they’re aiming to double tourism revenue by 2025, maybe.