InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/series/nh-travel-guru/page/5)
Mark Okrant is the author of nine books, numerous journal articles, more than 100 monographs on tourism, marketing and planning, and is a frequent contributor to El Coqui, a popular west coast Puerto Rico tourism magazine.
He has received several lifetime achievement awards, including the 2016 Dick Hamilton Award from the New Hampshire Travel Council, and two New Hampshire governors’ commendations for his work as a tourism researcher, educator, and author.
Okrant’s Kary Turnell tourism mystery series places his lead character in crime scenes at historic resorts and communities; several of these are set in New Hampshire. Visit www.markokrant.com to learn more.
Upon arrival at a grand resort hotel, the guests’ every need was looked after. Major resorts of the day—the Balsams, Mountain View Grand, Crawford House, Profile House, and their sister properties—provided a Full American Plan experience.
Several years ago, my research colleagues and I estimated that the typical leisure traveler in New Hampshire spends an estimated ninety dollars per day. Even if we allow for seventy-five percent attrition, this means that the Hillary Clinton book signing event will have contributed a healthy five figures in local spending.
For this week’s Guru column, I am going to direct you to a recent item produced by the Pew Research Center, titled, “U.S. Image Suffers as Publics Around the World Question Trump’s Leadership.”
Foremost among sources of these visitors are Massachusetts, the other New England states, and the Middle Atlantic region. Secondary partners abound. With approximately 350-400 thousand annual visitors to New Hampshire, Canadians represent one of this state’s most important supplementary travel markets.
Common Man owner Alex Ray and Dr. Patrick Casey are two of numerous outstanding Granite Staters who have stepped into the breach by offering assistance following natural disasters.
Question: Is there a prevalent form of international tourism that most of us would prefer to avoid?
Answer: Yes. It’s called medical tourism.
Newest information provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce indicates that there has been a 4.2 percent decrease in international visitors to this country (-697,791) during the first quarter of 2017, compared to 2016.
“Overtourism” is a term that first became part of our lexicon in 2012. However, the debate about whether the pros of increased visitation—spending, jobs, new revenue sources—are enough to offset the cons, has been ongoing for decades.
As you read this column, two weeks will have passed since the horrific attack, in Las Vegas, on innocent attendees at a Jason Aldean concert. The count of dead and injured remains incomprehensible; however, a fortnight after the fact, there are lessons to be learned.
Those travel behaviors, they are a changing. For years, we could count on a vacationer or businessperson exhibiting the ensuing behavior: arrival at an airport, followed by a quick taxi ride to a downtown hotel, before seeking a meal at either a sit-down or fast food restaurant.