Link to tweet

too, and especially will be now that inflation is becoming more obvious here.

Just wow. I wonder if U.S. amusement parks (Disney, Six Flags, etc...) are seeing similar declines.

I've got some retirees coming in....but no young families to speak of. I saw some Europeans in the early spring but they told me that they had non-refundable tickets. I've had my resort for 27 years....this is like 2009 and 2010 during the recession.

I have read Disney in FL is down. Haven’t heard about Disney in CA.

was that JD Vance took his family there and was royally booed.

and blaming the Dems?

No interest in becoming a twit, so can't see replies when Twitter threads are posted.

tRump can bankrupt casinos he doesn’t even own.
That’s a special talent

"Atlantic City was just the warm-up round! Here I come, Las Vegas! And Reno-- you're next!"

Hell, Trump’s ready for the big time. . . Macao, Monte Carlo.

Trump GAZA hotel and casino............

When it comes to bankruptcies, he truly is an overachiever.

That there would be unintended consequences?

Link to tweet

I have heard it is not just criticizing Israel causing a drop of tourism. I have heard it is also criticizing this administration. When the administration is asking to go through you social media to see if you post anything negative about this administration that puts a scare in the tourism. Imagine what is going to go during the World Cup next year. I am hoping the crowds stay away and boycott. Would not surprise me if Venezuela qualifies next year for the World Cup this administration will deny them entrance to the country. Look at what they did with the little league team from there that qualified for the little league world series.

Trump was bragging about how this would be a year of celebration, instead it is the time of empty stands, just like his birthday party. Imagine somewhere where Latin Americans could easily drive to, or fly to, and yet the WORLD CUP could have empty seats, which those cameras will show. Between the Olympics and the World cup, this could have been a banner year for tourism, but now, it maybe the end of it, as the bud will have fallen off America's rose.

Add to this that most of us Yanks (florida resident here) will be too worried about gas and food prices to afford Disney or Vegas.

I hope the Olympics is a flop.

especially as many of the countries know ICE will harass them.

You know it was that mean spirited prick Miller who turned the little league team away. When I look at that guy IDK if I want to punch him or spit in his face.

Followed by a taint punt.

Spit then say “oh I’m sorry sir let me wipe that off for you”…punch

...and for criticizing Dear Leader’s policies and whims — that’s designed to keep outsiders far away.

When the majority of the planet is brown or black and they see on the news that nonwhite tourists and long-time nonwhite residents are being snatched up by “ICE” thugs and tossed in unmarked vans going god-knows-where for god-knows-how-long — well, it just doesn’t engender that warm feeling of coming to the Happiest Place on Earth with the kiddies, does it?

I keep reading random articles about white Europeans as well — youngsters taking a gap year or a summer to backpack around the US and cross the border with Canada back and forth have also been snatched up and “detained. “

If Big Business like Disney couldn’t foretell this would be the result of Trump’s words and behavior, they are too stupid to be in the hospitality business. Myriads of small business will suffer too, and apparently are already.

This just reeks. I wouldn’t come here, either, if I didn’t already live here.

What with one thing and another, I see us at the threshold of a second Great Depression.

💲💲💲THE ONLY COLOR WE SEE IS GREEN. 💲💲💲

Well...

Anyway......

do a ONE DAY spending boycott, and how many people argued against that. But our international friends seem to be able to get it together for something far more ambitious.

Most folks understand that "one day spending boycotts" lack the sustained impact needed to bring about significant change.

The recent decline in US tourism, primarily influenced by policy and global relations, underscores the challenge of relying solely on sporadic actions that don't create lasting effects. Regarding your observation that our "international friends seem to be able to get it together for something far more ambitious" --- are you suggesting that there's a coordinated "boycott the USA" campaign at play?

Or could it be, instead, that this decline more a culmination of individual decisions based on personal concerns and circumstances? The organic nature of this trend seems to indicate a decentralized response rather than a centrally organized movement. It seems more likely to me that individuals (acting independently and on their own accord, in their own best interests and safety) have arrived at the same conclusion to not visit the USA without being a part of some organized movement. Understanding the root causes of shifts in consumer behavior, like the decline in US tourism, requires a nuanced examination beyond isolated boycott actions.

Specifically, increased border security measures and heightened immigration enforcement actions have created anxieties among travelers. The strength of the dollar also makes US vacations more expensive. Political friction, high travel costs, visa issues, and shifting travel preferences also contribute to the downturn. The drop in foreign visitors can also be attributed to individual resentment when Trump's tariffs have targeted their home country, and this is a logical factor in deterring visitors.

While one-day boycotts may serve as expressions of discontent (from those who participate on that particular day) their effectiveness in driving substantial change remains questionable, especially when businesses can weather such disruptions with minimal impact. (This is particularly true when the money NOT spent on boycott-day is spent anyway the following day. Or when one's normal shopping day does not coincide with boycott-day.)

---
PS: "TLDR" yes I know. Sorry. But here it is anyway for anyone who's interested.

As far as the the decline in tourism - I chalk it up to the fact that normal people look at the US as an abnormality at this point. Who knows what or how long this will take to correct, if ever. At this point, I probably won't live long enough to find out but thanks to a lot idiot voters in America, mine and others' retirement will probably suck for our remaining years. The reason our country does one day boycotts is because we live in a spoiled commercialized environment where people think they can't live without buying junk they don't need, much less going without for a while. The few oligarchs that own most or our industries know that. Add to that the fact they have very little competition and the effectiveness of trying to apply pressure to them does little to sway their fascist tendencies. So I'm askin' - what should we do?

And who the hell wants to experience that?

Yes. As in stop making these leeches wealthier until they stop trying to be 'Emperor For Life' solely because they have money.

But, as you said, we are too programmed to be scared of missing 'work'.

We are too programmed to have too much ego to be that self sufficient. We have been taught that we should run out and pay someone to do things because 'our time is too precious to waste'. (No, it is not.) Of course, one would think that we could collectively learn these things if it would get us closer to a better society, but again...

The programming worked.

One day boycotts are an ineffective way to bring about lasting or meaningful change. It's just a single day of "feel good" and giving some entity the middle-finger. Because it has no teeth and no impact, it can best be described as virtue signaling. Or... akin to the infamous "sternly worded letter".

I share your frustration with the state of things, but the "one-day" boycott will always result in failure. It may show up on a corporations daily/hourly revenue tracking... but when the week is out, things will have returned to normal. It will be meaningless and futile gesture.

>> The reason our country does one day boycotts is because we live in a spoiled commercialized environment where people think they can't live without buying junk they don't need, much less going without for a while.

Are you trying to explain the reasons that one-day boycotts are ineffective? Or are you trying to justify the reasons that certain groups encourage having ineffective one-day boycotts in the first place?

My point is this... we already know that one-day boycotts are meaningless and cause zero pain to the businesses who are being boycotted for a single day. So with that in mind, I wonder what the organizers of these non-events hope to realistically accomplish (beyond a quickly forgotten and probably ignored deeply buried "headline'').

>> The few oligarchs that own most or our industries know that. Add to that the fact they have very little competition and the effectiveness of trying to apply pressure to them does little to sway their fascist tendencies. So I'm askin' - what should we do?

That's a good question. I see that you've prefaced your question with an with a statement that explains the reality, so I think you understand the situation and the limitations of one-day boycotts. The quick and easy "fix" that the defenders and advocates of one-day boycotts seek will never materialize as they hope.

Fact of the matter is that boycotts must hurt the business that's being boycotted and as a result, it will also cause pain to those doing the boycotting. But as you correctly noted... many consumers "can't live without buying junk they don't need". So not only is the one-day boycott ineffective, the willingness of the consumers to do something meaningful does not exist.

Therein lies your problem. You'll never hurt them. The few companies left are all diversified into all aspects of our life - meaning if they lose money in one sector they still make money in the other. It's a real lesson in why we should not have allowed all of these consolidations and private equity takeovers. They are all monopolies now. This is what happens when business people run the government. So no, longer boycotts won't work either. We need a different strategy now since we have abdicated all our power as consumers to the fascists.

I don't remember this being part of our side discussion. Anyway, still looking for ideas how to get the idiots that voted repuglican to quit doing it. And don't say by not calling them idiots. I reserve that right for the rest of my short life that's left.

... For those who may believe that everything can be solved without worrying about who they vote for. I'm covering all bases here.

Mergers, acquisitions, private equity etc. have cornered the market and reduced consumer choice and confidence.
Always figured greed would destroy this country.

This is how anti-trust laws came into being. Somehow, right-wing media has turned everyone into dumb zombies. People with brains making laws 80 years ago made laws to protect us from all this crap. Slowly, we as a society gave up our power to the oligarchs and now they are making sure we will never get it back.

Not all of the money not spent is spent the next day or the next week. And some does get moved to other businesses, more progressive businesses.

But more importantly, they prime people for bigger boycotts. Once people participate in a one day boycott, it becomes easier for them to participate in a week-long boycott and wider boycotts and boycotts of other kinds.

It also creates synergy with protests and other forms of resistance. It's all a part of persistence.

* and will start to respond with "Oh dear, ANOTHER one?" and "The last one didn't do any good, this one won't be any different." or "Who is the enemy of the week THIS week?"

lol

* or who refuse to vacation here because they are disgusted with Trump and his policies. But, it seems more likely that the majority of missing tourists are motivated by wanting to ensure own personal safety.

equivalents of level 3 & 4 advisories (reconsider travel / do not travel) for the u.s., out of concern for their citizens safety.

What cracked me up about that, when the news came out, was that there were magats who posted variations of " so where are they going to go on their vacations?"

* in their perception of the world.

so all of it can go fuck itself and fuck off

Everyone in America is too chickenshit when it comes to any form of major labor strikes.

We still need to shut it down. If we exercise that power, we can't lose.... Because that is our power.

But, we have been programmed to never use it because of reasons.

Those reasons all boil down to 'the rich want you working yourself to death and not talking to each other'.

Anything else is 'un-American'.

The programming worked.

to boycott by not buying anything that is not a need. That has worked for me. Gas, car insurance, food, household and personal supplies, medical bills, rent, etc. I really don't need anything else.

This is not a hardship for me. I have other things to do besides spend money, and I hate shopping.

I have not had a Facebook account for a decade, and I haven't ever had another social media account except lately (Bluesky). I deleted my Amazon account before the election.

My daughter decided to boycott Amazon and Door Dash. She was amazed that she saved $600 a month doing that. (I guess actually amazed that she was spending that much every month.)

This is easy for me to do, and I realize it's not for everyone. I am big on internet privacy and I've never liked having a lot of stuff. I'm not a minimalist, but I am nowhere near being a maximalist either. I think it all started when I was young and realized that the way to stop wanting things was to stay out of malls and not watch TV ads.

Those 'necessities' you mention are where they are getting the majority of the capital for their machinations.

It is also how they control us. They know this. They also know we have never dared to challenge them on this. Not in any real way.

Unfortunately, the things you mention need to be the first things that we need to stop supporting.

So... ready?

just from getting rid of Amazon and Door Dash should have not only amazed her, but then turned into feeling a little cowed that she was wasting money in such a way. It is a good indicator for everyone that the modern lifestyles being pushed on us by technology and appeals to "ease" deserve more skepticism and caution.

one who did this.

Why aren't Traitor and Putin celebrating ... they want to destroy Ameria?

Every day I'll see a headline that "Trump Explodes!' "Trump Is Furious" "Trump Loses It."

Anger seems to be Trump's default position on everything!

What a miserable way to live. Trump deserves his pathetically sad soul.

Sheesh!

Tariffs are or how they work, was he able to set up a separate department to receive all the tariff monies that only he has access to?

There is absolutely nothing at all he or maga won’t do including arresting us imprisoning us or executing us.

Not that long ago when I said that I was yelled at😡

With these stupid tariff wars and treating your neighbors and allies like bullshit.

It used to be that going and staying in Vegas was very cheap. Hotel rooms, restaurants, rental cars, etc were all priced very low. They wanted people to have as much money possible for gambling. But over time the corporations started raising prices and adding fees. It’s the fees that are the most insidious. You might book a stay in Vegas thinking you’re getting a great deal but then get hit with a big resort fee which almost doubles your room cost. Corporations just got greedy and are charging themselves out of business.

Vegas decide to cater to high rollers and foreign tourist. It used to be a place where gambling subsidized lower prices. Now, the gouge everywhere, nickle and diming every cent out of visitors.

then you know things have gone off the rails.

And they wonder why we don't trust the barons of American capitalism with our health, safety and well-being.

This problem in Las Vegas has two parts. One, they let their greed price them out of the market, and two, the foreign tourists that they relied on are now boycotting the USA. It's a perfect storm.

They took away the themed casinos and built sterile hotels/casnos. The volcano is gone. They don’t change their shows at all. Only Penn and Teller have a new show every year. Food prices are astronomical. Blackjack is no longer 3 for 2. You can’t find a $5 or $10 craps table. Hand pays on slots are like Bigfoot sightings. Even the rooms don’t have complimentary coffee. You need to go to the Starbucks. No cheap buffers.

This is what corporate greed does and the list I just put out is the lament of experienced Vegas tourists. Quite simply - what used to be an affordable experience is no longer. The magic is gone.

Edit: hand pays

when you only cater to the wealthy and shit on the middle class.
An allegory for our country.

That's why they made an entire city dedicated to taking their money through games of "chance" (which are games of certainty for the house).

What's going on now is the poor and middle class have no money left, and the rich don't gamble enough to fill the void.

A place like Vegas can only exist with a financially prosperous and mathematically illiterate middle class.

And that is what made it great. It kind of got upscale gentrified. I don’t WANT a 5 star meal. I want a cheap buffet and a good payout on slots as well as an entertaining show I can get comped if O bet enough at the tables. It’s all screwed up

and most get rid of the free unlimited fountain drinks

It used to be you could go to a casino's all you can eat buffet for less than $10. The reason for the low prices was the casino supported the buffet. It was in the late 80s or early 90s when casinos decided buffets and restaurants need to be self-supporting.

It used to be you could go to a casino's all you can eat buffet for less than $10. The reason for the low prices was the casino supported the buffet. It was in the late 80s or early 90s when casinos decided buffets and restaurants need to be self-supporting.

She absolutely giggled with joy when she hit a jackpot and all those nickels came out clanging into her bucket. Lights and sirens went off. It was a spectacle! And of course she'd take all those nickels and put them right back in, using them to keep playing the rest of the day. They would bring her free drinks as long as she was sitting in the chair. Those were the days. I remember the fabulous $2.25 breakfast buffets--you'd be stuffed all day.

The place is just depressing now. The slots don't make any noise, they just have buttons, no arms that you pull. No coins come out. No free drunks. Everyone looks desperate there. Nobody seems to be having a good time.

that charge you for small overpriced drinks if you even move them in the mini-frige

as their Boomer parents and grandparents. Wine (especially high-end) and alcohol consumption are down as well.

After trips to Las Vegas in 1997 and 2002 I stopped rationalizing the expense too. I hate it there.

They think Vegas is for Boomers.

Is down 30% in my area since March.
We are 20 miles south of the Canadian border.

Elise Stefanik says nothing because she is afraid of Trump.
Her whole northern district is affected..
What a coward!

Hope that Presidential Medal of Freedom and all those billions of dollars to “Israel’s Best Friend” were worth the loss of profits.

Except once to change planes.

Since I don't gamble, Vegas offers me nothing.

New York has better entertainment. Most big cities offer better food. There's golf everywhere. And if I want to se the Eiffel Tower, Paris is one of the greatest cities ever!

Vegas is all kitsch. Now they'll experience the consequences of their votes. Will they get it? Probably not. Narcissist don't ever take responsibility for their actions.

Nevada voters are in their "Find Out" phase but they'll have a different excuse for their travails. Too bad, so sad.

My wife is diagnosed NPD with ASPD. It is a severe severe mental illness complete with breaks from reality and delusions. It really is just a hair away from schizophrenia. Living with affected people is a literal hell on earth. Yes, people with NPD are generally assholes as a consequence of their disease BUT most of the time (like 95%), it’s just people are assholes not NPD.

The way the term has been hijacked by social media is a pet peeve of mine. Please don’t accuse someone of NPD unless you know they have a clinical diagnosis

believe that a moderate degree of narcissism is normal and healthy in humans, there are also more extreme forms, observable particularly in people who have a personality condition like narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), where one's narcissistic qualities become pathological, leading to functional impairment and psychosocial disability. It has also been discussed in dark triad studies, along with subclinical psychopathy and Machiavellianism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism

Narcissism. It’s NOT the same.

Edit: I misread your post. You basically said the same thing and I attributed your post to the author I replied to. I was wrong. Sorry. I fixed it.

Despite everything you say, especially the food part, the place can be very fun.

why would I want to throw money away into a one-armed bandit... to see it all vanish in front of my eyes. (sigh) I still can't understand how all this gambling, be it Vegas, the different lotteries, etc., get past all these "good christians"... it doesn't seem a very christian past time to me. But I'm not christian, so what do I know? (lol)

I went to Vegas once on a Business trip with my boss. We went to the big computer show when it was a fairly new thing. This was back in the mid-80's, I think. I loved the kitsch, for the most part. At the time, they had one hotel that was made up to be a medieval castle, and that's where we stayed. We also got tickets for the show... like going to RenFair, but inside the building! And my boss didn't think he'd ever get me away from herb, candle, and incense shop. I still have one of those candles that I've never burned. It's more a memory trigger for me. It was a good trip. And my boss WAS the gambler.

He finally got tired of seeing me not playing, so he found an entire row of one-armed bandits with no one playing. He gave me a quarter for each one and had me pull the arm. It was a thrill, no matter how I felt about gambling, I'll admit. Small town girl in the big city, ya know... anyway, at the last bandit, he put the quarter in and pulled the arm. THAT was the only one that paid out anything. All the ones that I'd fed pulled up nothing for me. I turned around to him as the coins came flying out of that machine and said, "And THAT is why I don't gamble!" We then left for a walk on the Strip. The people watching was fantastic! Took in the sights of the Volcano and the Fountains. For me, it was a once in a lifetime trip. I have no desire to go back again. We still don't have enough money to feel "good" at throwing it away... and if anything, I've grown more practical and cynical the older I've gotten.

Anyway, that hotel room in the themed hotel/casino? I still remember it was $49.00 per room per night. The dinner/show cost us $10 each. I figured all those prices were long gone, as the whole vibe of the area seem to change to catering to the high rollers, from what I read.

In fairness to il douche... he did deliver on that promise.
No one is coming, so there is no overtime and there are no tips to tax
Maybe... just maybe... they'll think twice with their vote in the future... but I doubt it

But I saw a photo of a place in Vegas that was selling a hot dog for $18

Cost us over $50.00 for three hotdogs, a drink and onion rings. That was over 10 years ago. I was appalled.

a country that will hassle them, lock them up, and is blatantly hostile to visitors. So they don't want to spend money here.

One would think a dude who owns hotels and casinos would know this. But maybe that's why he goes bankrupt and stiffs his lenders and doesn't pay his bills.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

so much winning

Doesn’t matter if there are no tips.

It sucked. The ac in our room didn't work. Food and drink are just crazy priced. $16.00 for a drink. The games do not pay. The coffee thing just really sucks. I took a little electric tea kettle and made pour over because I had remembered that they don't have coffee makers in the room I never want to go back there. I was just passing thru. And on this trip, I talked to some Canadians. They were asked at the border how they felt about Donald. WTF.

I imagine they had to say something good or neutral, or Trump's border nazis wouldn't have let them in.

They didn't want to say, so they told them they didn't know anything about him. We talked about how bad the U S has become. We apologized for the behavior of our country and told them that most Americans are appalled at the Trump administration.

Just millions of individuals outside the country coming to the same conclusion, and taking the same action.

However I always thought summer was typically the slow season given the heat. I’d need to see a full year’s worth of data to reach the headline’s conclusion.

I was only there once for a brief overnight stay. We had flown in at night, intending to pick up rental cars to drive to some National Parks in southern Utah the next morning. Both the fancy hotel rooms (about $100 a night) and the huge buffet breakfasts (about $10) were, the hotel told us subsidized by the casinos to keep guests there longer so they would gamble more.

But that was a while ago. Maybe they just don’t do it any more. Outside of the airport, the hotel room and breakfast, that is all I ever saw of Las Vegas.

Americans vote with their wallets!!

Spending ONLY on necessities!!

It’s called “consumer sanctions”. Stop supporting this administration through consumer spending!

He is a natural born US citizen. He has a Hispanic name, however. He was finally released after about 30 minutes to catch his flight. All of this happened at the Vegas airport. So scary!!

It is too dangerous for international tourists, or any person who is black or brown to travel.

Advise all foreigners to stay home! Travel elsewhere.

Usually all the hotels, motels, rental properties are sold out. I took my usual morning walk down to the bay this morning. All the rental homes on and near the water are empty, not rented.
I’m really curious how the Keys will look come October, November. That’s when our Canadians usually come flooding in. Based on what I’ve heard, the only ones coming back are those who have prepaid for the season and can’t get out of lease.