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Typically, yes. It counts conventions, special events, business travel, and leisure travel (which includes traveling just to see family and friends). With this in mind it makes sense.
Not only just conventions and business, but I think people forget about places like Carowinds and professional sports. People do travel for those things. Also, Concord Mills is still the most visited attraction in the state and has been for quite some time now. Then there's Speedstreet, CIAA, Bowl games, major concerts, and the weekend night life (which does bring in overnight guest usually from within 50-100 miles of Charlotte).
I think the real issue here is the typical city-data blogger's idea of "tourism". That word (on this and many other sites) is usually associated with nature (mountains and beaches) or historic places; neither of which are Charlotte's strong points. However, a "tourist" is anyone who travels from their home area to see and enjoy a different area. So, if a person from Winston-Salem decides to come to Charlotte for a Panther's game, stays overnight, sight-sees uptown, then returns home; that person counts as a Charlotte tourist. The same can be said about the couple from Columbia who drives up to Southpark Mall (does NOTHING else in Charlotte) then goes back home.
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I would've been surprised if Meck wasn't at the top of the tourism list in this state; or do you all really think that 100% of Charlotte's traffic is caused by people who live here and none of it comes from visitors? FWIW, Forbes came out with a list of the 30 most visited cities in the US back in 2007. Though this list is now 5 years old, Charlotte ranked (if my memory is correct) #26 between Denver (#25) and Nashville (#27). After such a listing, one would think that the "surprise" about Charlotte attracting visitors would be over. I guess not...
My daughter graduated from East Mecklenburg High School. Her diploma cover said East Mecklenbung High School. Someone caught the error ---- on graduation morning. We're still laughing years later.
I graduated from East Meck back in the 1970's, and it could have appropriately been called "East Mecklenbong" based on my hazy and incomplete recollection...
Not only just conventions and business, but I think people forget about places like Carowinds and professional sports. People do travel for those things. Also, Concord Mills is still the most visited attraction in the state and has been for quite some time now. Then there's Speedstreet, CIAA, Bowl games, major concerts, and the weekend night life (which does bring in overnight guest usually from within 50-100 miles of Charlotte).
Yep, which is why I mentioned special events and leisure travel (which includes more than just laying in a hammock on the beach for a week).
Isn't Concord Mills (and Charlotte Motor Speedway) in Cabarrus County? Does that still count for "Mecklenburg County tourism dollars"?
It doesn't, but folks who visit that area tend to make stops in Mecklenburg as well. As to how many and what percentage, I'm not sure about that. I'd suspect though that Meck's tourism numbers would be even higher if Meck and Cabarrus were the same county. Carowinds counts as Meck county though due to the fact that Meck and York share the park.
I graduated from East Meck back in the 1970's, and it could have appropriately been called "East Mecklenbong" based on my hazy and incomplete recollection...
Not only just conventions and business, but I think people forget about places like Carowinds and professional sports. People do travel for those things. Also, Concord Mills is still the most visited attraction in the state and has been for quite some time now. Then there's Speedstreet, CIAA, Bowl games, major concerts, and the weekend night life (which does bring in overnight guest usually from within 50-100 miles of Charlotte).
I think the real issue here is the typical city-data blogger's idea of "tourism". That word (on this and many other sites) is usually associated with nature (mountains and beaches) or historic places; neither of which are Charlotte's strong points. However, a "tourist" is anyone who travels from their home area to see and enjoy a different area. So, if a person from Winston-Salem decides to come to Charlotte for a Panther's game, stays overnight, sight-sees uptown, then returns home; that person counts as a Charlotte tourist. The same can be said about the couple from Columbia who drives up to Southpark Mall (does NOTHING else in Charlotte) then goes back home.
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I would've been surprised if Meck wasn't at the top of the tourism list in this state; or do you all really think that 100% of Charlotte's traffic is caused by people who live here and none of it comes from visitors? FWIW, Forbes came out with a list of the 30 most visited cities in the US back in 2007. Though this list is now 5 years old, Charlotte ranked (if my memory is correct) #26 between Denver (#25) and Nashville (#27). After such a listing, one would think that the "surprise" about Charlotte attracting visitors would be over. I guess not...
Everything you stated is spot on.
As for this particular survey itself . . . it is helpful to have such surveys broken down into BUSINESS HOSPITALITY as opposed to LEISURE HOSPITALITY. Folks flying in for a business meeting and staying in a hotel overnight are a different type of visitor than those coming here to "vacation," and I think most folks think of "vacation" when they think of "tourism."
I have more often seen these types of stats under the umbrella of TRAVEL & TOURISM, not just TOURISM.
The dollars are great, regardless how one breaks it all down.
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