National Parks

Welcome Back, Tourists. Here are the Rules.

[This is a story we wrote for NBC News]

Americans embarking on spring break trips and summer vacations this year face a bevy of new fees, rules, and restrictions in some popular destinations that are rethinking how many visitors to welcome and what types of behavior to accept.

As the post-pandemic travel rebound continues, the return of tourists — and their wallets — is good news for most destinations. At the start of this year, more than half of Americans had plans to travel in the next six months, according to the U.S. Travel Association, and a third of leisure travelers are planning to travel more this year than last.

But taking a page from Venice, Italy, which banned cruise ships in 2021, and Amsterdam, which is launching a campaign to discourage its rowdiest revelers, many U.S. cities are welcoming back visitors on new terms — in some cases with higher price tags.

Lake Tahoe, California

This year, the Lake Tahoe, California, region had the misfortune to land on Fodor’s Travel’s list of places to reconsider visiting in 2023, after suffering traffic congestion, crowded hiking paths, and trashed beaches. It was the downside of a pandemic-era boom in visitors that many outdoor destinations saw while other activities were suspended or came with greater health risks.

“Locals felt the city was too small for the influx of people coming into town,” said Sonia Wheeler, community service officer for the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. “People couldn’t get home from the grocery store sometimes because there was too much traffic from tourists heading to or from the ski resorts.”

Officials hope to strike a new balance. Policies rolled out during and since the pandemic have tightened restrictions on vacation rentals around Lake Tahoe, with a combination of caps and outright bans in towns along its shoreline.

Now, sixteen area groups are trying to hammer out a stewardship plan that recognizes that “our environment, our economy, and our communities are wholly interconnected,” said Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Executive Director Julie Regan. Ideas on the table include parking reservations and encouraging off-peak visits, an agency spokesperson said.

In the meantime, strict enforcement of new laws targeting vacationers — including $500 fines for noise complaints and for using outdoor hot tubs from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. — have helped.

“Locals still have concerns about the influx of tourists,” Wheeler said, “but since most vacation rentals have been outlawed, except for certain areas of town, our officers aren’t responding to as many complaints.”

The pandemic was a mixed blessing for many destinations

Early on, it gave some communities “a chance to breathe and enjoy their towns, and parks, and beach without the crowds, traffic, noise, etc.,” said Alix Collins of the nonprofit Center for Responsible Travel. But it “also gave them a time to think about how to better manage tourism moving forward.”

As with Lake Tahoe, many areas’ recalibration efforts are “more of a result of the pot boiling over” from tourism pressures, particularly “on traffic, housing, and daily life,” said Seleni Matus, the executive director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Elsewhere, the challenge is getting visitors to better coexist with locals.

“A good example is Port Aransas, Texas,” said Cathy Ritter, whose consulting firm, Better Destinations, helped the Gulf Coast town on a barrier island outside Corpus Christi develop a marketing campaign and a mascot aimed at guests.

One goal, she said, was “to educate visitors on the etiquette of using the golf carts locals use to get around.”

Fees At Popular Hawaii Parks

In Hawaii, where state officials expect tourist numbers to recover fully by 2025, a program of timed reservation tickets for out-of-state visitors that rolled out at popular state attractions just before the pandemic is being expanded.

As of last May, nonresident visitors at Oahu’s Diamond Head State Monument, one of Hawaii’s most heavily trafficked parks, must pay $5 per person for timed entry reservations and $10 for parking. Previously, all comers were welcome, anytime, for $1 per person and $5 for parking.

“Before we put the timed reservation system in place, Diamond Head could have more than 6,000 visitors on a busy day,” said Curt Cottrell, administrator of Hawaii’s Division of State Parks. “Everyone wanted to hike at sunrise or in the morning, and the parking lot could be a crushing mass of walk-ins, Ubers, rental cars, and trolleys.”

The timed system caps visitors at 3,000 daily and spreads them out throughout the day. “Now the summit isn’t crowded, there aren’t long lines at the bathrooms and we’re generating four times the revenue with half the people,” Cottrell said.

Separately, a proposed $50 “green fee” — modeled on arrival charges levied in Ecuador’s Galápagos National Park ($100 per person), Bhutan ($200 per day), Costa Rica ($15 per person), Palau ($100 per person) and elsewhere — is working its way through the Hawaii Legislature.

Glacier National Park visitors 1960

On the U.S. mainland, a timed vehicle reservation program — piloted over the last two summers to reduce crowding during popular times at Rocky MountainGlacier, and Arches national parks — will be back in force this summer.

The reservation fee is in addition to vehicle entry fees collected at most national parks.

“Visitation numbers continue to climb toward pre-pandemic levels,” said Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, chief spokesperson for the National Park Service. “Parks piloting these systems are seeing less congestion at the entrance stations, on the roads and trails, and in parking areas, resulting in improved visitor experiences and visitor safety.”

The changes have drawn some concerns about potential inequities in accessing public parks.

“I love and support” efforts to protect destinations and improve the visitor experience, said Todd Montgomery, director of the Sustainable Tourism Lab at Oregon State University, “but how you do that can be a slippery slope.”

Extra fees and reservation systems can create barriers for visitors with limited travel budgets, those who can’t easily access the internet, and people whose jobs make it difficult to plan vacations months ahead, Montgomery said, “so it needs to be done in a thoughtful, equitable and fair way.”

Other outdoor destinations are focused on coaxing better conduct out of guests.

Starting in 2017, trail ambassadors stationed at many popular Oregon trailheads have been offering advice to visitors on safety, ethical use of public lands, and Leave No Trace practices.

“At the time, we were hearing from local sheriff’s offices needing support for search and rescue, from land managers about increasing issues around trash and dog poop on trails, and visitors creating social trails in unauthorized areas,” said Elizabeth Keenan of the Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge Regional Tourism Alliance.

“All those issues increased during the pandemic, with new recreators and ‘pandemic dogs’ out on the trails,” Keenan said. Ambassadors now spend more time guiding visitors to restrooms and water access, describing the terrain and elevation for better decision-making, and passing out poop bags, she said.

Some communities are simply steering visitors away.

Citing concerns that a potential oil or sewage spill from a visiting cruise ship could harm California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the Monterey City Council voted in February to stop providing dockside support to cruise liners, effectively telling them to go somewhere else.

And they are. Before the pandemic, 15 to 20 cruise ships stopped at Monterey Bay each year, said City Manager Hans Uslar. “Now I see in their advertising that the port of Monterey is out, and instead they’re spending another day at sea,” he said.

Before the pandemic, tourism income in Monterey County averaged about $3.2 billion annually, of which about $1.5 million came from cruise passengers, Uslar said.

“I’m OK with the loss of the cruise income,” he said, “because in return, the product we are selling — which is the natural beauty of Monterey Bay — is now a tiny bit safer. And that is not something you can quantify in millions of dollars.

How to make your home smell like an airport

My house smells like an airport. Yours can too.

My story this week for CNBC is about airports, airlines, hotels and other places – including Disney and National Parks – that have unique and, at times, bespoke, fragrances that you may want to take home.

If only we could do a scratch and sniff blog post today!

Singapore’s Changi Airport dazzles passengers with spiral tube slides, a butterfly garden, free movie theaters and the new $1.25 billion Jewel shopping and entertainment attraction built around the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.

The award-winning airport also has a special amenity that can’t be seen: a bespoke fragrance that’s diffused into many areas of the sprawling terminals.

The airport’s signature scent has fresh floral notes of orchid, Damask rose, Asian spices and essential oils said to calm nerves and lower blood pressure. And travelers who want that soothing aroma for their homes can have it: a gift shop in Jewel’s mall sells the Changi Scent line of candles, reed diffusers and perfume oils for $14-$18.

Other airports in Asia, as well as in Europe and the United States, scent their public spaces as well.

“Honestly, we borrowed the idea from the hotel industry, where many properties have branded scents that welcome guests to the lobbies,” said Kevin Bumen, director of California’s San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP).

When the airport opened its new 6-gate terminal, improving the passenger experience was a high priority.

“We decided one thing we could do was to add scent in the ticketing areas and in bag claim,” said Bumen, “Those are the first and last areas passengers experience, and they can be points of stress and confusion. So tested several fragrances and chose a spa-like scent that conveys the idea that the airport is fresh and clean and relaxing.”

Tampa International Airport (TPA) is toying with adding scents into its terminal areas as well.

“We’ve redesigned much of the airport and improved our aesthetics. Now we’re looking into how to enhance that with scents,” said TPA spokeswoman Emily Nipps, “We’ve narrowed it down to three scents and I can tell you we’re sticking with scents that reflect the Tampa Bay Region – ocean, wood, tropics, greenery, that sort of thing.”

Airlines adopt aromas

Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, Delta and United are among the carriers that use bespoke and specially chosen fragrances in some gate areas, lounges, lavatories, jetways and airplane cabins.

Japan’s ANA (All Nippon Airways) has a unique fragrance that it is a blend of 12 natural aromas, including traditional Japanese umbrella-pine, Yoshino Japanese cedar, mint and rosemary. Customers can purchase the scents on-line and on flights with in-flight shopping.

British scent designer Rachel Vosper created a bespoke scent called “Air” for Virgin Atlantic that has notes of lemon, rose, vanilla and essential oils such as lavender and eucalyptus. The airline sells candles featuring the fragrance for 30 British pounds (about $37).

Cathay Pacific’s unique scent, designed by Air Aroma, is a mixture of subtle woods, white florals, and fresh green tea notes, while Delta Air Lines’ “Calm” scent was created with lavender and chamomile.

Alaska Airlines’ “Ocean Citron” scent, used in lounge soaps and hand lotions, was custom made by Seattle-based Antica Farmacista, and is designed to evoke “the allure of the cool blue ocean,” with notes of California Lemon, Soft Jasmine, Lavender, Green Tea, among others. 

To create its signature scent, called “Landing,” United Airlines tried to avoid notes that were too polarizing as well as notes that might be considered too feminine or too masculine, said airline spokeswoman Maddie King. The final product, used in the airline’s lounges and warm towels on board, includes a blend of orange peel, bergamot, cypress, fir balsam, black pepper, black tea, violet wood, sandalwood, cedar, amber, leather and patchouli.

The time and money airlines spend on choosing or developing a signature scent “Is truly all about customer experience,” said Logan Andres, Director of Products and Marketing for ScentAir, a company that provides and creates scents for airlines, airports resorts and hotels as well as casinos, stores, spas, auto dealerships and even doctors’ offices and funeral homes.

“Our research on this found that for airline passengers a good smelling and welcoming gate area while you’re waiting for you plane is only second behind having someplace to plug in your smartphone. And it was more important than cushy seats. We were kind of surprised.”

Aroma to go

It’s not surprising that many travelers want to take home a nice-smelling souvenir of a place they’ve enjoyed.

Disney has a new line of plush toys infused with the scent of iconic park foods, including Mickey Mouse ice-cream bars and pizza slices and Minnie Mouse cupcakes and donuts.

Paddywax sells a collection of candles with scents inspired by the country’s national parks.

In addition to raising funds for the National Park Foundation, “These scented candles transport you to the wilderness of our national parks, filling the mind with treasured memories from trails and vistas experienced with loved ones,” said Stefanie Mathew, the National Park Foundation’s senior vice president of corporate partnerships.

Sometimes, the souvenir scents are free.

Through its Scent Concierge program, guests at Hotel Spero in San Francisco can choose a wooden wand infused with one of four distinct scents and either take their wand home or use it to create a special fragrance in their rooms.  

And at Casa Velas in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, guests are given a small complimentary bottle of the hotel’s signature citrus-lavender scent as a checkout amenity.

“Research has shown that smell triggers emotions and memories,” said Luis Angarita, the resort’s Managing Director, “So we thought an amenity of our signature scent would be the perfect takeaway for our guests. Whenever they open the bottle, they’ll think of their special times at Casa Velas.”

And maybe book another trip.

Do you notice the scent of airports, airplane, hotels or other venues you visit? Would you want to take any of those scents home?

Visit National Parks at Denver Int’l Airport

 

It’s a fair bet that you won’t have time to visit all four of Colorado’s national parks on your next trip to the Centennial State.

And it’s a fair bet that, like me, you can’t even name Colorado’s four national parks.

For the record they are: Mesa Verde National Park (Cortez and Mancos); Rocky Mountain National Park (East Park and Grand Lake); Grand Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, in Mosca;  Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, in Montrose – not to mention the historic sites and spaces dubbed ‘monuments.’

 

So it’s good to know that Denver International Airport (DEN) has an exhibition celebrating the state’s four very diverse National Parks – which have dunes, deserts, canyons and mountains – at the Ansbacher Hall in the Jeppesen Terminal, Level 6 north before A Bridge Security.

The exhibit has images, objects and artifacts offering historical, education and recreational facts unique to each park and provides scenic murals where travelers can take photos “inside” all four of Colorado’s national parks. (Is that cheating?)

(Photos courtesy Denver International Airport)

PHX Airport celebrates National Park Centennial

PHX Grand Canyon 1932

Grand Canyon, 1932, courtesy of Grand Canyon National Park

The National Park Service turns 100 this year and to celebrate the Phoenix Airport Museum at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has put together an exhibition  showcasing the diverse range of Arizona’s National Park offerings.

Each of Arizona’s parks is represented with historic images and objects.

PHX Pot

Flagstaff Black on White Bowl, 1100s, clay, courtesy of Wupatki National Monument

The selection includes ancient pottery from early cultures, a button from a Buffalo Soldier’s uniform, a fossil cast of an early reptile from pre-historic times and a boat that was used by Otis ‘Dock’ Marston in 1963 for a complete traverse of the Grand Canyon. There is even a slab of petrified wood that lived 225 million years ago.

phx petrified wood

 

PHX Gallery

On August 25 – from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – two National Park Rangers from Arizona parks will be in the PHX Gallery in Terminal 4 answering questions and offering more information about the Find Your Park in Arizona exhibit, which is on display through Jan. 29, 2017.

 

Airport gateways to National Parks

Knoxville_

Courtesy Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport

The National Park Service turns 100 in August, but festivities marking the milestone are already underway in parks, historic sites and, yes, airports.

Here – and in my recent At the Airport column on USA TODAY – are some airports where you can begin enjoying and learning about some of the nation’s most impressive national parks as soon as you get off the plane.

Fresno airport tree

Forest-themed amenities such a giant sequoia tree in the lobby are the first clue that Fresno Yosemite International Airport is near Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Kings Canyon National Park and a good starting point for the Majestic Mountain Loop , which gets you to all three parks in three days.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, is just 30 minutes away from McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville.  And airport spokesman Jim Evan notes that eight other National Parks and recreation areas are near Knoxville as well and previewed in the baggage claim installation featured in the video below.

To find the only commercial airport IN a National Park, head for Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming, which is part of Grand Teton National Park — and one of the gateway airports for Yellowstone National Park.

1_Wyoming's Jackson Hole Airport is the only commercial airport entirely in in a national park.

The location in the park is reflected in the airport’s extensive public art collection, amenities that include a Grand Teton Park book shop, and the recently expanded terminal building itself, which won an award from the American Institute of Architects in 2014 for being a “regionally-inspired solution” that “embraces the culture of the area in every way.”

Maybe that’s why last year a moose was spotted hanging around just outside the baggage claim door.

4_This moose stopped by Jackson Hole Airport in October 2015. Photo courtesy Philip Bollman

In Kalispell, Mont., Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) is less than a 30-minute car ride from the western gate of Glacier National Park and has rock formations along the entrance roadway and roundabout that pay homage to the Going-to-the-Sun Road, the 50-mile, paved two-lane highway that spans the width of the park and crosses the Continental Divide.

5_Photos of Glacier National Park on permanent display at Glacier Park Interntional Airport_courtesy Flathead Municipal Airport Authority

Inside the terminal, there is a 100-photo collection of park images as well as numerous native animal mounts, including a mountain lion that can be spotted over the restrooms and a mountain goat on a ledge in bag claim, “looking just like you’d see him hanging out on a cliff in the park,” says airport manager Cindi Martin.

7_Taxiderm Mountain Goat hanging around Glacier National Park International Airport_Flathead Municipal Airport Authority

Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN), in Belgrade, Mont., is about 90 miles from both the north and west entrances of the park.

A store inside the terminal sells park entrance passes, provides park information and offers an interactive map showing recent wildlife sightings, road closures and weather in the park. Exhibits in the terminal highlight park wildlife (including how to spot tracks and safely view animals) and the park’s hydrothermal features, which include geysers, fumaroles, hot springs and mud pots.

9_Exhibits at Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport educate travelers about wildlfie they might see in Yellowstone Park_courtesy of the airport.

10_The orignal sign at Yellowstone Airport still welcomes passengers

With the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park just two miles away (and Old Faithful Geyser 33 miles away), Yellowstone Airport (WYS) claims the title of “Yellowstone National Park’s Local Airport.”

“There’s no more convenient way to get to the park than to come here,” said airport manager Jeff Kadlec.

With a smokejumper base on property and an in-terminal restaurant with bison burgers, Rocky Mountain oysters and a very-popular-with-the-locals lobster bisque on the menu, the airport itself is also somewhat of an attraction.

So are the airport’s original wooden sign, great mountain views and occasional wildlife visitors.

12_'This guy was standing right outside the terminal doors one night when I was trying to leave work,' said Yellowstone Airport's Jeff Kadlec.

In Las Vegas, McCarran International Airport serves as an aviation gateway to many of the national wonders of the southwest, including Zion National Park and Arches National Park in Utah, and, of course, Grand Canyon National Park.

Some of these and other nearby natural wonders are featured in LAS art installations, most notably Peter Lik’s floor-to-ceiling photos in Terminal 3.

13_'Blaze of Beauty' by  Peter Lik at McCarran Intl Airport in Las Vegas

As part of the current national “Find Your Park” campaign, posters throughout Miami International note the airport’s status as a gateway to Big Cypress Preserve and Biscayne and Everglades national parks.

And on July 30, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is kicking off a six-month exhibition in the Terminal 4 Gallery introducing airport visitors to historic and ancient sites, geology and recreational opportunities in Arizona’s 22 national parks and sites.

17_ At PHX_Sportyak boat use during complete traverse of the Grand Canyon, August 5-31, 1963, with 3 other identical boats. Courtesy Grand Canyon Nat Park

On display will be historic and ancient objects and images from each park’s collection, including Native American pottery and baskets, trade beads, a fossil of petrified wood from a tree over 200 million years old and a Sportyak boat used for a complete traverse of the Grand Canyon in 1963.

And for aviation buffs who would rather skip the airport and go straight to a park, the National Park Service has put together a handy list of parks with connections to aviation “firsts.”

The Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina is on the list of course (first successful sustained flight of a power aircraft and first dedicated airport for airplanes), as is the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Ohio (first figure 8, first airborne engine restart, first cargo flight, first airborne engine restart and the first — and only — time the Wright Brothers flew together).

But also on the list is Grand Canyon National Park (first use of an airplane in search and rescue), Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (first airplane to land in a volcano) and many others.

I know I’ve missed some favorites – so feel free to add yours below.