Reply #43: It would be interesting to see a study about who actually does spend more money

[Kitty Herder]

in the parks, Americans or foreigners. Personally, I saw, on average, two overnight bus tours of Americans each night. Tauck Tours came in every single night, with a bus full of New Yorkers, all paying for rooms, dinners and breakfasts. Most nights we had at least one other tour bus full of Americans. We usually saw about three Japanese tour buses come in for lunch a week. Just for lunch, mind you. Not overnight.

As a desk clerk, I probably checked in at least ten Americans for every foreigner. The same ratio applied when I worked as a waitress.

But that's just my experience.

And apparently you missed my point about the fact that the foreign kids that I worked with didn't speak multiple languages.

I understand what you mean about the parks being over a barrel with housing. A compromise must be reached. It's not right for workers to be living in such abhorrent conditions. I spent one summer working at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park and the living conditions there had to have been against some kind of code. People were literally packed in like sardines, four people in a room made to be a tight fit for two.

At the same time, the park must be protected. Both sides need to be willing to be reasonable. I usually support the Sierra Club, but I believe they were wrong to stop the park service from fixing a leaky sewer line. A leaky sewer line can do more damage environmentally than fixing it.