Quote:
Originally Posted by bilbao58
^My point is that the article suggests those resorts will attract people to Houston. I'm saying they will attract Houstonians and area people as well as people from outside the area who will drive through Houston to get to them but not stop for long in Houston.
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Again, I think this is a both/and proposition. Are these venues for the locals? Of course. Is there the potential to grow the regional tourism economy in the process and broaden the reach and appeal of the city and metro, especially this area at the same time? Also, Of course.
The best example is probably the one that will likely appeal to the broadest range of tastes: Great Wolf Lodge. That chain is definitely a destination for families. Where I currently live in Kansas, I'm about 3 hours from one in Kansas City, KS and 5 hours from one in Grapevine. It's a 50/50 split based on where folks tend to go, but there are a lot of families that plan long weekends, spring breaks, and other assorted holidays and make their base there. Yes, that means they will break from the confines of the lodge and explore their surroundings.
It may not even be in the Loop, but within 5-10 miles of it are a number of Houston-specific destinations that would qualify as something that could appeal to different groups of tourists.
JSC/
Space Center Houston probably would be the largest, but there's also the
Lone Star Flight Museum as well. There's a legitimately
well-run mall across the freeway that still manages to bring in about 20 million people a year. Among all the other restaurants along Nasa Rd 1 is one of my favorite Italian spots in
that part of the area and is one of the more quintessentially old school "Houston" restaurants on that side of town. Plenty o' chains for those who want them - even
big astronaut McDonalds.
Minus the latter, all of that is in Houston's city limits. I'm not aware of many people that would get hyped up about a McDonalds being in Nassau Bay vs Houston but whatever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bilbao58
Houston itself is not going to turn into a tourist destination because of some resort in Galveston. For a lot of people, Houston will just be a giant mess of traffic that must be endured to get to Galveston.
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The problem with this is that it isn't simply and solely "some resort in Galveston" nor did I say the city/area would specifically become "a tourist destination".
As I said before, this is actually a series of cumulative developments that happen to be both extremely close to the city proper as well as to other communities that could enhance that portion of the regional economy - which is a great thing.
There's a reason that region in particular is marketed as Bay Area Houston in both
the tourism and
business realms over individual chambers and CVBs. Those smaller cities and communities may have a stake in the organizations, but at the end of the day, their city doesn't get top billing nor are they the drivers of much of the overall growth in the region.
As for the people who grouse about Houston or whatever, I really don't care what they think. That type of person is generally lazy and uninformed I find. Most that stay for a bit find the appeal that I and many others have over the years.
I'll happily take their money though, regardless how they feel and wherever they choose to spend it.
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