I think we will see this trend continue across the board, we`ve already seen it from our friends to the north...................not sure why anyone would feel "welcomed" Florida's international tourist numbers are down so far in 2025 DeSantis has dismissed reports that Canadians would stay away from Florida because of Trump’s actions By Jim Turner, the News Service of Florida on Wed, May 21, 2025 at 10:16 am https://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/...rist-numbers-are-down-so-far-in-2025-39569047
I have lots of friends in other countries. Let's just say the motivation to come to the US isn't there anymore. Even companies are less likely to send people here for business trips because it's such a pain in the ass.
My business partner's wife is a Ukrainian national here on a refugee visa. They're married and she's in the process of getting her (permanent?) visa. We went to Poland on business and she was afraid to come because she wasn't sure if she could get back into the country and even be arrested by ICE. That's lost airline ticket revenue and everything else that goes along with taking a plane- parking, food and snacks and whatever else at the airport. Extrapolate that out to multiple people and it's lost jobs, which is lost revenue for the economy. I know this isn't the D&D, but it's not even political, it's a stark reality that we have to deal with.
Good ole Tony - when he was running Las Vegas he was pouring a lot of money into real estate and homes like three blocks from my house. The huge lion statutes were still up greeting people as they entered the gates to his home - they were finally taken away maybe 5 years ago. I told the owner to call me if they ever wanted to sell them, according to local Tony picked them out and loved them.
There is a portion of the United States that is xenophobic and nativist. They do not want people from outside the USA visiting the USA, they do not want Americans to visit outside of the USA and they do not want to have any immigrants entering the United States. There are reasons for this - but the reality is that there are also severe economic consequences for it.
Vegas needs the "You talked to me for X seconds" fee to tack onto the bill. "That'll be five dollars!" This is a friendly automated call/text from the hotel to you. We would like to thank you for staying with us. We hope you enjoyed your stay. Your check-out time is in 1 hour. You spoke to our service staff for a total of 539 seconds during your stay at 2 cents a second for a total cost of $10.78 . This will appear on your bill as "UTALK2USx539". Thank you. You have a good day!
I'm starting to see ridiculously low airline fares again which means people aren't travelling as much. You can fly to Europe for less than 600 dollars this fall.
Scary picture. It's not that they were tough, it's that they would murder your ass if they thought they could get away with it.
I love that the most mobbed-up lawyer in possibly US history (that's him in the grey suit and glasses) was later elected mayor of Vegas.
The idea that they would not get away with it in the 1970's did not cross their minds, not the Chicago Outfit in Vegas and definitely not Lil Tony. Chicago sent literal assassins to Vegas that had body counts in high double digits, and they would literally just walk up to you on the street and shoot you in the face or wait in your house for you to come home and then torture you and kill you. They killed so many people that when they ended up killing Lil Tony, the guys that buried his body, only buried it in less than a foot of dirt because it was "too hard" and they were still tired from disposing of a body earlier in the week. Those guys that buried the body? They ended up being killed for doing a poor job - the boss was embarrassed that the Chicago news said that the disposal looked like it was done by an amateur. I did meet Tony's brother, he worked on my teeth years ago. He was a very kind and gentle man. I noticed the last name was Spilotro and asked if he was related in anyway, and he sighed and said yes and told me that he was ashamed of his brothers but that they were no worse than the rest of the guys in the mob at that time. Yup - elected multiple times and Goodman is probably the most popular local politician to come out of Vegas. He was a very bright guy. I don't know that he was quite as great a lawyer as everyone thought based on the transcripts and video I have seen of him in the courtroom. He was good, but the common knowledge was that he would have people show up at the house of a judge and drop off offerings. Having a Judge go to the parking deck to drive his car home and find a duffle bag in the front seat with $100,000 in it in the 1970's and early 1980's - with no other contact, seemed to influence how things were done in Vegas.
I find it odd how many tourists outside of the USA go to Florida, it is far from the best place to visit in the USA.
Its ridiculous airline prices increased so much. I paid that much, round trip, 10 years ago to fly to Vietnam with United.
It's because of Disney World. I need to get the kids there at some point, but holding off due to the current sentiment. I have been all over the USA, and have visited about 70% of States, and it is absolutely wonderful how much variety there is. The national parks are a big standout to me. Specifically, Sequoia, Joshua Tree, Zion, Big Bend, Yosemite, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, etc. Amazing places.
I can understand wanting to take the kids to Disney World or some of the other amusement parks - but I will just say that overall Florida is mediocre to bad compared to the nicer parts of the United States. The National Parks are amazing, they need to continue to be protected. The USA needs to spend money fixing the developed areas it has and not develop the parks. If you haven't been, and you can afford it - I strongly suggest the New England area by the coasts in late summer.
[can of worms] Don't give in to the pressure of taking your kids to Disney World/Land. You're still a good parent if you never do, despite what everyone tells you. [/can of worms] As far as Florida goes, go to Spring Training. We've been the last 2 years and will go again next year. Already counting the days. My kids don't give a crap about Disney. They have more fun at Fiesta Texas or Six Flags or Silver Dollar City (in Branson).
