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exploring the interiors of England’s cathedrals and castles. Much like today’s European backpacking trips, a favorite of young students or gap-year travelers, the drunken debauchery often associated with both groups has earned “tourists” the ugly stigma prevalent today.
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“The major advantage of domestic travel is that, with a few exceptions such as Miami, most domestic locations are conveniently situated right here in the United States.” – Dave Barry
“Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel from one coast to the other without seeing anything.” – Charles Kuralt
“The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.”
– Russell Baker
“Boy, those French. They have a different word for everything.” – Steve Martin
“Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.” – Yogi Berra
“Two great talkers will not travel far together.” – Spanish Proverb
“Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.” – Mark Twain
“Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.”
– George Carlin
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#10. Yellowstone National Park
#9. Chicago, Illinois
#8. Hawai’i: The Big Island
#7. Boulder, Colorado
#6. California Gold Country
#5. Culebra, Puerto Rico
#4. Four Corners Region, Southwest USA
#3. Cincinnati, Ohio
#2. Hudson River Valley, New York
#1. US Virgin Islands
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otherwise lagging economy. Each household would pay $1,000 more in taxes without the tax revenue generated by the travel and tourism industry. Direct spending by resident and international travelers in the U.S. average $2 billion a day, $86.6 million an hour, $1.4 million a minute and $24,000 a second. That means 14 million jobs for Americans, including 7.4 million directly in the travel industry and 6.7 million in other industries. Payroll for those jobs included $188 billion directly or indirectly induced by the travel industry. Start planning that next trip!
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(17 million and counting) with no less than 5 airlines and 4 hotel programs. According to Randy, approximately 50,000 people make “mileage runs” each year to collect enough air miles to retain their elite status, 200 of whom are part of Randy’s members only website, Flyertalk.com.
“The world’s leading expert on airline frequent flyer programs” according to the New York Times, Randy and many of his customers are the real life equivalent of Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney), the frequent flyer in the movie Up in the Air who was obsessed with reaching 10 million frequent flyer miles. As Randy puts it, “He who dies with the most miles wins!”
With 75 million people worldwide enrolled in some sort of frequent flyer program, keeping up with the perks, promotions and elite status that come with all that travel and all the programs out there (92 by Randy’s count) can be daunting; which is where Randy comes in with his Frequent Flyer Services empire, a conglomerate encompassing 12 different businesses, all
of which deal with none other than frequent flyer programs.
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About half of the 400 passengers waiting for liftoff sometime in 2012 if all goes well are from the U.S., the rest from approximately 45 other countries. Only there will be no liftoff, as we non-astronaut earthlings have grown accustomed to seeing, via this private enterprise. As described by Virgin Galactic: "The VMSEve (Virgin MotherShip Eve), a twin fuselage aircraft with one enormous wingspan that stretches 140 feet across, is the vehicle that will carry
SpaceShip Two into the upper reaches of the atmosphere. SpaceShip Two will be positioned under the wing, between the mothership’s fuselages, for the ride up. From an altitude of over 50,000 feet, the spaceship will be launched from the mothership, using its own rocket power to reach its destination of 68 miles above the Earth’s surface."
If you’re looking to go even farther, check out Boeing’s flights with Space Adventures to the International Space Station and join the handful of paying customers who share the ultimate in bragging rights when it comes to travel.
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