Travelography: Tourism Blues - US Style and Europe Style

I cover two basic themes in today's podcast.

First, the latest news on international tourist arrivals to the US is almost as bad as the value of the US dollar. While international ravel in the rest of the world has grown 28% since 2000, in the US it has declined 11%, which is a lost of about US$100 billion to the US economy. So who do we blame for this situations?

The second topic starts in Greece, where a cruise ship ran aground near Athens last week causing the evacuation of the passengers and staff, though no serious injuries. Staying in Greece, however, I then transition to a discussion of the impact of labor strikes these past few month on travel in Europe.

Greek workers held a 3-hour strike last week and may hold a full-day stoppage on March 19th. British Airways pilots voted to strike in late February, though they did not actually walk out. French taxi drivers brought Paris to a stand still earlier in Febraury. And German and French railway workers held strikes and snail-paced slow downs late last year.

Why does Europe have so many labor actions of the stort that directly impact international and domestict travelers?

All of this weeks stories come from the International Herlad Tribune.