Happy Black Friday – the day the retail business counts on putting itself into the black for the year.  With difficult economic times, I’m not sure if they’re as optimistic this year as in years past.
Shopping, however, is the Number One tourism activity in the United States.  That’s why you’ll find so many retailers and shopping facilities promoting themselves with a tourism approach.  Whether it’s free shuttles from hotel to malls, special hotel stay/shopping packages, or shopping promotions tied in with conference events, retailers with a tourism focus are experience stronger overall sales results.
As I think about it, I …read more

I love offbeat and quirky kinds of places – for just the reasons that they are offbeat and quirky.  I’ve even been known to drive out of my way to see the “biggest,” “smallest,” “world’s only,” “oldest” thing or whatever.
Lucy the Elephant, a couple miles south of Atlantic City in Margate, New Jersey, is one of those quirky attractions that I’ve heard a lot about, but haven’t managed to see yet.
Lucy is a six story, 90 ton elephant made of wood and tin sheeting, and was erected in 1881 to attract tourism and development to the south Atlantic City …read more