Tag Archives: Tourism

Travel trends 2026

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Just when I thought that I was out of the loop on travel trends, I ran across this round-up from TripAdvisor. It was a bit of a surprise to see from the above graphic that I had been to four … Continue reading →

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Tourists, Go Home

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Travelers who want to avoid other tourists and interact with the people who actually live there, should probably avoid Monaco and Malta. According to this chart, the first has 9 tourists for every local, while the second has 6.3 to … Continue reading →

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Making me nostalgic for Autumn in Switzerland

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to TBTP know that I am a sucker for well produced tourist bureau travel ads. This one is a bit cringy, but hit home for me. Way back in the 20th century I spent most of a glorious … Continue reading →

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Wish You Were Here

Posted on July 10, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I recently discovered the dubious concept of Beforehand Postcards. The conceit behind Beforehand Postcards was that, if you were going on vacation to Europe, you could buy your postcards from them beforehand. Then you could address the cards, and maybe even write … Continue reading →

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How not to blend in

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

With the return of mass U.S. tourism in Europe, there has been renewed chatter on social media about how American tourists stand out. After more than four decades of travel in Europe, I’ve accepted that I will never completely blend … Continue reading →

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Best Tourism Villages

Posted on January 29, 2024 by Brian D. Butler

The United Nations has gotten some well deserved bad press lately for egregious behavior by some UN agencies, but there remain many UN organizations doing good work. Best Tourism Villages from UN Tourism is an agency that promotes villages around … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Asia, Europe, South America, Tourism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bye Bye Barcelona

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

After spending a week in Barcelona not so long ago, I can sympathize with local residents who wish that their city was not quite so popular with tourists. With nearly 8 million annual visitors to the city, the streets are … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Film, Tourism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A Lost Era of Travel

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Brian D. Butler

A recently discovered treasure trove of 1930s Japanese railway and tourism posters is being auctioned this month through Heritage Auctions Galleries . The gorgeous Art Deco-influenced posters are so rare that even poster museums have few examples from the collection. … Continue reading →

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Not Just Spinning Your Wheels

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

Touring a new city on foot or by bicycle provides perspectives not possible from car or bus. The folks at Rapha, sellers of very hip cycling gear, get this and have created a marvelous series of European urban travel guidebooks. The … Continue reading →

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Don’t Be Rude

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Brian D. Butler

One of the Europe’s most visited cities, but also famous for its purported rudeness, Paris has  launched a campaign to improve its reputation and better meet the needs of tourists. Restaurant servers, taxi drivers and retail sales staff in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Hotels, Museums, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments