RV Travel Continues To Surge In United States

Above, camping at the Devils Tower KOA Kampground last summer. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Traveling by recreational vehicle is my favorite mode of travel.

One can go where they want, when they want and take their time exploring. On top of that, RVers sleep and eat in their own kitchens and in their own beds. One doesn't have to worry about some stranger's DNA in the bedding when traveling in their own vehicle.

Last summer, a friend and I took an RV trip through Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Utah and Colorado. We had a great time going to a Winchester Collectors gun show in Cody, Wyoming. We visited Arches National Park, Little Bighorn Battlefield, Devils Tower, Deadwood and the Black Hills of South Dakota. 

According to TravelPulse, RV travel continues to surge.

They wrote (to begin their article):

As 2026 travel trends have identified what’s popular on the horizon for this year, RV travel is continuing to emerge as a segment standout, according to RVshare’s 2026 travel trend report.

Many vacationers discovered RV travel during COVID. However, many stuck with the experience post-pandemic, for several reasons. The road trip becomes part of the fun with scenic drives; random roadside stops and small-town visits. Travel has become more about the journey, not just the destination endpoint. With more time on their hands, retirees love the slow travel and longer stays. Families enjoy the space and convenience. And even weekend adventurers have gotten hooked.

Trends continue to show that RV travel isn’t just a niche choice, it’s becoming a mainstream way Americans are planning flexible, affordable and intentional travel in 2026. Air fare isn’t getting any cheaper and is fraught with delays and other inconveniences. And whether you fly or choose to drive by car, you’ll need a hotel room. RVers don’t.

To read more, go here. 

Japan Announces Measures To Combat Overtourism

Above, Kyoto's Kinkakuji "Golden Pavilion". Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since the pandemic ended, Japan has been coping with overtourism, particularly in popular cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

The hiking of the prices of JR Rail Passes may contribute to the lowering of numbers of foreign tourists to places outside of Tokyo. 

According to TravelPulse:

Japan’s tourism ministry outlined its new plans to combat overtourism this week, ranging from strengthening transportation systems in large cities like Tokyo to encouraging a greater spread of tourism to lesser-known destinations. 

According to The Japan Times, a large part of the program is expanding bus and taxi fleets in popular areas, especially during heavy tourist seasons. Direct bus routes to popular destinations from major stations that are designed specifically for tourist use are also being considered.

The tourism ministry will also consider ways to encourage a wider spread of travelers to lesser known areas to direct traffic away from Tokyo, Kyoto and other popular destinations. 

While the country has nearly reached its pre-pandemic level of visitor totals, the majority of these travelers tend to concentrate in popular destinations like Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, leading to overcrowding in these cities. 

To read more, go here. 

Hawaii Flight Turbulence Injures 20

Air turbulence is the the only thing about flying that I don't like. I've experienced some over the years, the worst being in April 1976 while flying from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It was so bad that passengers across the aisle from me got their rosary beads out.

That pales to comparison to what passengers on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu experienced Sunday.

TravelPulse reported:

A Hawaiian Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured, including three crew members.

According to Reuters.com, Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 was en route from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu with 278 passengers and 10 crew members on board when the pilots reported experiencing severe turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 was around 30 minutes away from landing in Honolulu when the incident occurred. The flight crew declared an emergency and the plane was able to land safely at about 10:50 a.m. local time.

To read more, go here. 

What To Know About Traveling To Florida Following Hurricane Ian

Above, Key West and the Florida Keys are already open for business. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The devastation of Florida from Hurricane Ian is still mind-blowing (no pun intended) and it is still being totaled up. It will likely take years to get the state back to normal in many places.

In the meantime, there are those who planned to vacation in Florida. After all, tourism is one of Florida's biggest industries. What should people know about traveling to Florida following Hurricane Ian?

Travel Off Path has posted an article discussing this.

They begin with:

On September 28th, 2022, Hurricane Ian made Landfall on Florida’s Southwest coast. The devastating category 4 storm sustained winds over 115mph with gusts up to 132mph. Flooding was estimated to be up to 18 ft. on the coast and 6 ft. further inland. Buildings were flooded, property was swept away, hundreds of people died, and thousands became displaced from their homes.

After ravaging Southwest Florida, the hurricane swept through Central Florida as it was downgraded to a category 3 storm. The impact to the area was devastating despite the loss of strength. Emergency evacuations took place as many buildings in the region were flooded with thousands losing their dwellings and hundreds more losing their businesses. Violent winds up to 100 mph damaged structures and knocked down power lines. Even Florida’s delicate ecosystem was affected as hundreds of sea turtle eggs were scattered along a beach in Fort Pierce. 

As the storm moved north to South Carolina before losing further strength, Florida was left in a wake of destruction. The storm killed over 120 people and thousands of lives will forever be changed by the damage that the storm caused.

As Florida begins the process of repairing what has been broken and rebuilding what has been destroyed, many people are wondering how they can help and if it is ethical to visit Florida mere weeks after the Hurricane. Here’s what you should know. 

Despite being in the "epicenter" of Hurricane Ian, the Florida Keys, especially Key West, have bounced back and are open for business.

To read more, go here.

Hawaii At Nearly Pre-Pandemic Visitation Numbers

Above, a Waikiki Beach view of Diamond Head. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It appears that Hawaii's visitation numbers have almost fully recovered since the start of the pandemic over two years ago.

TravelPulse reported:

Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) today released preliminary visitor statistics, which revealed that the Aloha State received a total of 919,154 visitors during the month of July 2022, demonstrating a 92.4 percent recovery from July 2019’s pre-pandemic numbers.

This represents the highest monthly visitor volume the Hawaiian Islands have experienced since January 2020, just before COVID-19 made its initial impact on tourism. Last month’s tourists collectively spent $1.94 billion during their visits, up 14.3 percent from July 2019’s total of $1.7 billion.

To read more, go here. 

Hawaii Sees Accelerated Tourism Recovery

Above, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Some numbers are in with regard to Hawaii's tourism recovery.

It appears that the recovery is accelerating as weeks go on after reopening to tourists according to TravelPulse.

TravelPulse begins with:

Hawaii's post-pandemic recovery was accelerated this spring as the islands hosted 818,268 visitors in April. The figure represents a 96.3 percent recovery from April 2019 nearly one year prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis and the highest recovery rate since the start of the pandemic in Hawaii.

According to other preliminary visitor statistics released by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) on Thursday, visitors spent $1.6 billion in the islands last month, which is an increase of 21 percent compared to the $1.32 billion reported for April 2019.

A majority of Hawaii's April visitors arrived by air from the U.S. West (514,878) or the U.S. East (188,868).

To read more, go here. 

Stupidity of Tourists At Yellowstone

Above, since Yellowstone is not a petting zoo and bison are very
dangerous, I used a zoom lens for this shot. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Every so often, a story would pop up about some Bozo tourist at Yellowstone National Park doing something incredibly stupid.

Sometimes, their stupidity is rewarded with fatal results at worst and sometimes it is rewarded with residency in jail for a spell at best.

On this topic, TravelPulse has posted an article which begins with:

Here’s my Public Service Announcement of the Week for tourists. It’s free by the way.

Dear Tourists,

Yellowstone National Park – or any other area open to the public that is also home to wildlife – is not a freakin’ petting zoo at the County Fair. So stop trying to touch or feed or take a photo or, worse, a selfie, next to a bison or a bear!

Love, Richie

See, it’s that time of year again. Yellowstone and our other great national parks are about to be overrun by visitors who have been aching to travel for two-plus years.

That’s a good thing. Travel and tourism is always a good thing.

Yet the stupidity of some of these people is a bad thing. A very bad thing. And it can’t just be blamed on the current state of events in the world. That would be low-hanging fruit, given the enormity of the amount of existing idiocy.

To read more, go here. 

TravelPulse's RV Travel Guide

Above, The Beast at the Ely, Nevada KOA Kampground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The boom in RV travel is not slowing down, at least that's according to a new article by TravelPulse.

This is interesting given the sky-high gasoline and diesel prices we've been experiencing of late.

Still, it is worth a read.

They begin with:

The popularity of RV travel is not slowing down. The travel trend that started to take off prior to the pandemic soared to new heights during lockdowns.

RV travel continues to gain steam, and there are now more options than ever for travelers, including camper vans, travel trailers and campers available to rent or buy. There are also new campgrounds and new gear to make camping even more enjoyable.

For those hitting the road in an RV, here are some tips to ensure the trip is seamless and enjoyable.

To read more, go here. 

Airline Pilot Shortage Could Take Years To Resolve

It seems weird to me that there is currently an airline pilot shortage.

Sure, the pandemic caused layoffs, but since it has been easing off, those pilots should be available to be recalled back to work by the airlines.

For some reason, that's just not happening. It's not just happening here, but worldwide as well.

According to TravelPulse:

In what is expected to be a heavy summer travel season after two years of the pandemic, airlines are facing yet another crisis just as a sense of normalcy was starting to pervade the industry.

The worldwide airline pilot shortage is so severe that it could take years to overcome, forcing carriers to resort to alternative – sometimes drastic – measures to combat the deficit.

“The pilot shortage for the industry is real and most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren’t enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years,” Scott Kirby, chief executive officer of United Airlines Holdings Inc. said earlier this week on a conference call according to Bloomberg News.

To read more, go here. 

Airline Cuts All Hawaii Service For Rest of Year

Above, a view of Diamond Head from Waikiki Beach. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Now that travel to Hawaii is back and without the need for masks, people are eagerly lining up to head there.

There's only a couple of problems.

There's a shortage of pilots and higher fuel prices. This is forcing one airline to cut all service to Hawaii for the rest of this year.

According to TravelPulse:

All airlines are dealing with pilot shortages and higher fuel prices, and adapting their schedules as the situation dictates.

For one airline, it has meant making a dramatic decision.

Budget carrier Sun Country Airlines said Tuesday it will cut service to Hawaii for the rest of the year due to the mitigating factors, according KHON in Honolulu.

In a message to customers, Sun Country said: “Due to the current pilot shortage impacting all U.S. airlines, Sun Country has regrettably elected to suspend service to Honolulu, HI (HNL) for the 2022 travel season. Passengers who were booked on impacted flights will automatically be refunded to their original form of payment for their reservation. We apologize for any inconvenience this temporary suspension of Honolulu service causes to our customers. We are hopeful for a return of Honolulu service for the 2023 travel season.”

To read more, go here.

National Parks Remained Popular During Pandemic

Above, I visited Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado during the first year of the pandemic. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is no secret that during the pandemic people craving getting out from the four walls headed out into the great outdoors, especially to a national park.

In fact, the national parks maintained their popularity during the pandemic.

According to TravelPulse:

National Parks continued to be popular with U.S. travelers during the pandemic.

Data from ValuePenguin shows that these treasured spaces recovered 91 percent of their pre-pandemic visitation in 2021 despite COVID-19. In fact, some places out-performed their previous numbers, likely due to the fact that spending time outdoors became even more popular with the spread of the coronavirus.

To read more, go here. 

State Dept. Cutting Back On Advisories

Above, Narita Airport's international arrival lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There appears to be more evidence that things are slowly creeping back to "normal". It has been announced by the U.S. State Department they are cutting back on "Do Not Travel" advisories.

According to TravelPulse:

The United States Department of State announced on Thursday that it would cut back on “Do Not Travel” advisories for international destinations after public health officials announced a change in how they will assess COVID-19 concerns.

According to Reuters, State Department officials said the update would leave only 10 percent of the nearly 120 countries and territories at “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” which includes all risk factors, not just coronavirus infections.

“We believe the updated framework will help U.S. citizens make better informed decisions about the safety of international travel,” a State Department spokesperson said.

To read more, go here. 

Inflation Is Impacting U.S. Travel

We are currently feeling the force of sky-high inflation in our everyday lives. 

Above, Dallas Love Field Airport terminal. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It has impacted us with price rises on food, housing, utilities and goods & services. Right now, there's no end in sight.

It is also impacting the U.S. travel industry. 

TravelPulse has posted an article on how inflation is impacting the cost of traveling in the U.S.

They begin it with: 

New data showed inflation in the United States has risen at the fastest rate since 1981, and the travel and tourism industries have already felt the force of the changes.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.5 percent in March year-over-year and 7.9 percent in February, the fastest jump registered since December 1981.

In an infographic from Yahoo Finance, the Federal Reserve revealed prices over the last year have increased for several travel-related industries, including hotel rooms (25.1 percent), rental cars (23.4 percent), restaurants (6.9 percent) and recreation (4.8 percent).

To read more, go here. 

Destinations Rebounding From COVID-19 The Strongest

Above, Las Vegas, Nevada made the list of strongest rebounds. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Many places around the world are rebounding from the pandemic, some better than others. There are also some places seeing increases in infections.

But for this blog post, we're not going to dwell on those ones and just concentrate on the places rebounding the strongest.

TravelPulse has listed (in a slideshow) the places that are rebounding the strongest, some of which are in the United States.

They begin with:

The world has largely reopened to tourism more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and while people have numerous choices when it comes to travel this spring, including some overseas destinations with little or no restrictive entry requirements, some destinations are recovering more quickly compared to others. Whether it's a rise in visitor numbers, a spike in demand for hotel stays or a growing number of web searches, there are plenty of metrics we can look at to uncover the places that are rebounding the most effective in the COVID era. Here's a look at some of the notable destinations around the globe that are experiencing a return to normal or appear well on their way this April.

To see the places rebounding the strongest from COVID-19, go here. 

Hawaii Officially Ends Safe Travel Program

Above, the pool area of the Sheraton Waikiki. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There's some good news for people who are planning to take a vacation trip to Hawaii.

The governor of Hawaii has ended the state's Safe Travels Program as of today.

According to TravelPulse:

Hawaii's governor David Ige has announced that the state's current emergency proclamation will expire on March 25, 2022.

The end of the proclamation means an end to the Safe Travels Hawaii program and the end of the state’s indoor mask requirement. However, the governor noted that the CDC and Dept. of Health continue to recommend mask use while indoors for certain populations.

The governor also noted that businesses have the right to create their own rules to ensure safety for both their customers and their workers.

To read more, go here. 

TravelPulse: Do People Even Care About CDC Travel Warnings?

Above, American tourists waiting to board a Havana, Cuba tour bus. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supposedly has the final say on diseases. 

With this being the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, more and more people are ignoring the CDC and their travel warnings. 

Rich Thomaselli wrote an opinion piece on this at TravelPulse.

He starts it off with:

In an article I wrote for TravelPulse last week about the latest travel warnings issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I noted it would be easier to count the few nations and territories that were not on the list than the plethora of countries that were in the CDC’s crosshairs.

I wasn’t trying to be glib; there’s nothing even remotely humorous about a pandemic that has caused millions of deaths over the last two years. Rather, I was trying to point out the disparity between countries that the CDC considers safe, and the areas that they don’t.

But it got me wondering: At this point, do people even care about the CDC travel warnings anymore?

In a word... Nope.

Not at all.

To read more, go here. 

Leisure Travel Rebounds Again, Business Travel Lags

Above, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in 2019. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Leisure travel is rebounding, while business travel not so much so.

At least that's what survey of 11,000 travelers in TravelPulse is saying. 

To start off, they wrote:

Leisure travel is rebounding quickly once again, but business travel isn't coming back in the same way.

Research from Morning Consult, which surveyed 11,000 travelers from the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, revealed that consumers are looking to travel this spring, many plan on flying and that they are very interested in pricing and flexibility.

Forty-one percent of consumers with travel plans in the next three months expect to fly, and 49 percent expect to stay at a chain hotel.

Price is a top consideration, and the research found that consumers are willing to pay a premium for flexibility. The ability to cancel for free was at the top of the list of things travelers would pay a premium for. Travelers are also willing to pay more to companies that have enhanced pandemic safety measures.

To read more, go here. 

TSA Extends Mask Mandate Into April

Above, a United Dreamliner jet at Los Angeles International Airport. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is a good thing that I am not planning on flying anytime soon. The thought of sitting for hours with a mask on is not at all appealing. I've done it.

The TSA (under what authority I have no idea) is extending the mask mandate for planes and other forms of public transportation into April.

According to an article in TravelPulse:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it would extend the mandatory mask mandate on public transportation until at least April 18.

According to NBCNews.com, government officials from the White House and TSA said they are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a revised policy framework for when the mask mandates can be safely lifted.

The facial covering requirements were set to expire on March 18, but now have been extended for another month. The decision to extend the mandate come as every state has now lifted the protocols or announced plans to drop them in the near future.

To read more, go here. 

Hawaii Sets Date To Lift Mask Mandates

Above, visitors inside the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The date has been set for when the state of Hawaii lifts its mask mandates.

TravelPulse reported:

Local government officials in Hawaii announced the state would become the last in the United States to lift its mask mandates on March 26.

According to The Associated Press, Hawaii Governor David Ige revealed Tuesday the state’s coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have decreased and the data suggests the numbers will continue to decline.

As a result, Hawaii is the last to drop the indoor mask mandates implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The safety measures were added in April 2020 and have been in place ever since to protect the local communities.

To read more, go here. 

Biden Bans Russian Aircraft From U.S. Airspace

A little late to the party, but...

It had been traditional during international crises that the United States would take the lead against aggressor nations. This time, the U.S. was dragging its feet in imposing a ban on Russian aircraft over U.S. airspace while the Europeans took the lead days earlier.

TravelPulse reported:

President Joe Biden on Tuesday night announced in his State of the Union Address that he will ban Russian aircraft from flying over United States airspace, adding to the sanctions against Russia for invading neighboring Ukraine.

The U.S. will join 36 other countries, including Canada and the 28 nations in the European Union, furthering a stranglehold on Russia’s ability to conduct business and commerce.

“Tonight, I am announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy,” Biden said.

Shouldn't be too much of a surprise since Biden has shown that he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

To read more, go here.