One of the greatest past times of modern day is traveling, and tourism is a booming business, worth at least $645 billion a year in the United States alone. Despite high gas prices, world tensions, and the sliding value of the dollar compared to the Euro, people are traveling as much as ever - 31.4 million Americans will go on vacation this summer, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.
A really great attraction is different things to different people. It can be fun, inspiring, whimsical, interesting, historical, or all of the above. A good way to decide on which attractions will be interesting to visit is to take stock of a traveler’s interests, as well as which part of the world he will be traveling in. A person with a passion for wax museums and horror shows traveling in France would love to visit The Musée des Martyrs in Paris, a Chamber of Horrors, with famous monsters of Paris, whereas a person traveling in the United States with children might find a Six Flags theme park to be a more appealing attraction.
Tourism is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, and according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, over 800 million people travel internationally each year. Although the tourism industry does help maintain certain communities that otherwise would have no income, all of this globe-trotting has repercussions, such as increasing pollution and overwhelming resources at natural sites.
Ecotourism is about traveling to sparsely-populated areas usually for the purpose of observing wildlife, but it does have a component of environmental awareness, and can also be referred to as "traveling green".
When planning a trip, there are many choices when it comes to a place to stay: cabin, tent, RV. But even if a traveler decides on the standard hotel or motel, the choices are no longer just smoking or non-smoking rooms anymore.
The new trend in hotels today is "lifestyle hotels". One example would be the Marriott’s new completely smoke-free lodgings for travelers who don’t want to smell smoke in a supposedly smoke-free room. But hotels are getting even more creative, with the idea that a bored lodger is an unhappy one. At the Four Seasons in Prague, patrons can participate in marionette classes, or at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Macau, flying trapeze lessons are offered. In hotels all over the world, tango lessons or night swimming are replacing the traditional lounge singer.
There is a wealth of sightseeing opportunities in cities large and small all over the world. By researching the trip in advance, tourists can get ideas as to what their city of interest has to offer, and also what would be the best means of sightseeing transportation.
In Paris, the romantic, well-planned city can be covered on foot with moderate ease. There are ample sightseeing delights in the form of fascinating art, breathtaking skylines, and lush green parks. Purchasing a "Carte Musées et Monuments" can be a bargain, as it gives its holder admission to over seventy area museums with no waiting in line.
Of all the features of traveling that can be tailor-made to suit an individual, tours are the most adaptable. There are an infinite number of options, and the list of new or unusual is growing every day in this booming industry.
A hot-air balloon tour over Berlin is a great way a city that was practically destroyed in World War II, with its story richly represented in its architecture.
A bus tour of New Orleans is not unusual, but now certain bus tours are incorporating sights of Katrina’s devastation along with other New Orleans landmarks and historical sites.
In the past, when a vacationer wanted to get from Point A to Point B, he might consider a cruise, a bus tour, or a rental car. If he was really adventurous he might try a motorcycle or scooter. However, today’s savvy traveler has many more options for roving the countryside either at home or abroad.
Recreational vehicles (RVs) are gaining appeal for travelers, because sometimes the journey really is more important than the destination. Families traveling together in an RV enjoy more quality communication and shared activity, and since there’s no hotel bill, they can also save a bundle.
Train travel can be a romantic, not to mention convenient, means of getting to a destination. Whether it’s Amtrak, Eurorail, or even the Orient Express, a cross-country train trip is sure to be a memorable experience.
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