It’s August–and nearly the middle of August at that, which is like a loud buzzer that warns us summertime is nearly over. It’s just a warning though. There’s still time to plan a barbecue, pick blueberries, or take a little weekend journey. Check your summer to-do list and look for the holes.

This summer, for me, made the quarantine we endured several years ago look like a party. After the July 4th holiday when the family went home, that was it for me. One party was enough. But now I’m hoping to play catch up and pick some blueberries and make some pies and maybe head to New England for a few days to visit family.

What is left of summer? A few weeks. Let’s make them good weeks.

I’ve read tourism is down across the world. There were plenty of open hotel rooms left during the Paris Olympics. Now questions are being asked in France, like whether visitors were warned to avoid the city during the Olympics, or whether the skyrocketing accommodation prices and events have discouraged even day tourists. If there’s one thing that’s true, the media always misses the point. How about this for an excuse: no one has any money! If the average family of five is writing $400 worth of checks to Wegman’s every week just to keep food on the table, they’re likely not booking flights to Paris to see the Olympics. But, then, the media won’t even admit we’re in a recession, so I’m not surprised.

Ocean City, Maryland, Hawaii, the Outer Banks, North Carolina, all reporting a terrible summer for tourism. And America as a whole! We come in nearly dead last for international tourism right now. Plagued by ongoing staffing shortages, visa delays and even political division, the US travel industry is behind competitors in reclaiming its share of international visitors since the Covid-19 pandemic.

How bad is it? A recent study is shedding light on just how much the US is trailing its global neighbors. Commissioned by US Travel, the study analyzed 18 countries’ travel industry performance–including France, the UK, Italy, Canada, Spain and South Africa. We came in number 17 out of 18, beating only China.

Wouldn’t you think there would be some good deals, then, out there for travelers? But my own observations tell me no one is lowering prices to lure you to their hotels or restaurants. An average hotel is often $200 these days and food, as we all know, at restaurants isn’t exactly a deal. What people don’t understand is that the recession we are experiencing here in the U.S. isn’t what people in other countries are experiencing.

Folks in Europe see travel to the United States as a dicey proposition. Things like admission prices, expensive hotels and a higher cost of living still combine to make a trip to the States unaffordable for our foreign visitors. With major museum prices in New York City and San Francisco at $30 a ticket, who can blame them?

Add to this new surcharges on some restaurant bills along with a tip, expensive resort fees, and good hotels in major U.S. cities as much as $200 more than in European cities, you begin to see why it’s hard to lure people here. Did I mention some hotels are charging up to $100 a night just to park your car in the hotel parking lot?

Aspen tops the list as the most expensive vacation spot in the U.S., with a total daily cost of $761.39 per person, leading to a whopping $5,329.72 for a 7-day trip per person. That’s nearly $11,000 per couple for a week.

Skiing anyone?

How is tourism sizing up in Chautauqua County? It will be interesting to see where we stand at summer’s end. Bemus Point has been crowded on the weekends and holidays, but are tourists spending as much? With chicken wings being double, even triple, what they used to be five years ago at some local establishments, it stands to reason even vacationers are being more conservative in their spending.

I remember a time, long ago now, when soda refills at many restaurants were free. That was a lifesaver for parents. But even that’s changing. I can’t imagine what it costs to bring your kids to Disney World right now. Especially without free refills.