Too popular: The rise of the global middle class and the increasing ease of international travel is putting pressure on lots of places – places that tourists call destinations but others simply call home. It’s not just popular cities like London and Paris: You probably saw the picture of scores of climbers lined up on the summit of Mount Everest (where three people died) recently, or read about the damage caused by crowds viewing the poppy “superbloom” at Lake Elsinore, California. Annie Lowrey, a staff writer at the Atlantic, has crafted a thoughtful piece about the controversies created by too much of a good thing.—Barbara Bohn
Puerto Rico fights back: Give Puerto Rico credit for making an offensive to bring back tourism in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The tourism leaders and Governor Ricardo Rosselló were very present as a major sponsor and by speaking at this week’s NYU hotel investor conference, going as far as to introduce new tax credits for hotel development. Puerto Rico is seeking to double its number of hotels rooms in five to seven years and new deals are already happening such as the one led by Miami-based developer Royal Palm Companies, New York-based investment firm Monarch Alternative Capital and Texas-based developer and operator Aimbridge Hospitality. It involves the US$120 million acquisition of the former 500-room Gran Meliá Puerto Rico complete with US$37 million in tax credits. The hotel is expected to reopen as a Hyatt Regency in the fall.—Jeff Weinstein
Green messaging: The optics of someone complaining about his shirts being wrapped in plastic shortly before he hops into his private jet are could make you roll your eyes, but his heart is in the right place: Here’s Marie Claire UK’s story about Prince Harry spreading the gospel of eco-awareness wherever he goes (the hotel is probably grateful that it was not named).—B.B.