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I flew into Austin this year for the event and there were people from Japan, Colorado, Cali, Michigan, NYC, etc on my flight. One we touched down I met people from all over the globe. SXSW is also reviewed, filmed and reported on by every music channel EVERY year. They have commercials and promo's on all the stations that cater to them. IFC, VH1, MTV, Fuse, etc...
Charlotte can hang it's hat on the CIAA and Nascar.
I have to be blunt in this case, I am Black and have no interest in participating in any event in Austin that I am aware of. Whereas if I lived in the southeast region, events like CIAA and tons of HBCU year-round events would pique my interest. All of these cities/metros mentioned are nice with pros and cons....Charlotte indeed has a lot of pros.
As urbancharlotte mentioned, SXSW has hip hop acts, and Austin City Limits does as well (Mos Def, Raphael Saadiq, John Legend, The Roots, etc.). Now I'd definitely prefer to live in Charlotte because it has a larger Black population and hosts more events that cater to my preferences. Austin doesn't really compare here. As a matter of fact, when my fraternity had its biennial general convention in Austin about two weeks ago, the write-up in the local newspaper starts off like this:
Last week, the African American population of downtown Austin swelled by 10,000.
That should not be news. Yet, given our town’s awkward social history with large numbers of black tourists, the smooth Alpha Phi Alpha general convention was something of a breakthrough.
Obviously, large numbers of Black tourists are par for the course in Charlotte--and interestingly enough, the general convention will be in Charlotte in 2015.
I have to be blunt in this case, I am Black and have no interest in participating in any event in Austin that I am aware of. Whereas if I lived in the southeast region, events like CIAA and tons of HBCU year-round events would pique my interest. All of these cities/metros mentioned are nice with pros and cons....Charlotte indeed has a lot of pros.
Except for SXSW I feel you...
but if we are being blunt I have to admit, I have ZERO interest in NASCAR outside of the Speed Street Festival.
And for some reason, I really dont consider something a NATIONAL event until I see commercials about it...I think thats valid proof that an event is a National Event.
That's an odd litmus test for what makes a national event.
Does any event actually have commercials? As far as I know the DNC and the NRA (Charlotte's two largest events ever) had tons of media coverage, but I don't think either even had a commercial.
That's an odd litmus test for what makes a national event.
Does any event actually have commercials? As far as I know the DNC and the NRA (Charlotte's two largest events ever) had tons of media coverage, but I don't think either even had a commercial.
National coverage/National commercials: In the context of what you know im referring to, does that REALLY make a difference? lol
You know what I meant. Its really hard for something to be a NATIONAL event if the whole NATION doesnt know about it.
I think that list is based off of CLT airport visits and not city visits, The reason I suggest that is because Charlotte's own PR arm (CRVA) states the following in a January, 2011 article. (bolded emphasis is mine):
“For a five year period, the Charlotte metro area attracts [an estimated] 18 million visitors annually who collectively spend roughly $3.5 billion in our local economy on items such as lodging, food & beverage, transportation, shopping, entertainment, and other amenities.”
"On an annual basis, the CRVA facilities host over 600 events attended by approximately 2 million residents and visitors."
Granted - the facilities (Convention Center, Ovens, Bojangles, Time Warner Arena, NASCAR HoF) are not all Charlotte offers - but let's be frank -outside fo BoA stadium those facilities (not attractions) do make up the bulk of our facilities that host large tourist gatherings such as conventions and tournaments.
Finally the latest State of the Center City report (2012) lists a combined annual "11 million visitors to Uptown and South End" which may seem like a large number at first glance - but they include Charlotte residents who live outside these two areas (i.e. the bulk) in this case of "visitors".
BTW - the point of me actually pulling out all of these facts on Charlotte tourism is not meant to knock it, but I think there's a lot of ignorance and misconceptions about Charlotte's ability to call itself a tourist destination at this time. We are certainly a regional destination, and our numbers are growing for national and international tourism (thanks to the pr of the DNC last year) but we are not on a top ten or even top 15 list on any tracking source I can find of most visited U.S. cities by tourists (and not airport visit).
All I stated was that Charlotte does well with tourism compared to its peers. With that said, here are the tourism numbers for Austin vs Charlotte and you'll see why the Forbes list I provided ranks Charlotte slightly behind the likes of Austin.
Quote: In fact, according to an analysis of Austin’s tourism industry commissioned by the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, 19.8 million people visited the Austin area in 2010, an increase of 16 percent from 17 million visitors in 2009. Annual visitor spending totaled $3.9 billion and tourism provided 37,900 jobs (a 2.7 percent increase), with employees earning $927 million (four percent increase) over the course of the year. Austin, Texas Tourism - Economic Impact on the Capital City
Quote: A study released this month by the North Carolina Division of Tourism showed Mecklenburg County leads all of the state's 100 counties with more than $4.1 billion in domestic travelers' expenditures in 2011. The total is more than double any other county's tourism spending. Wake County ranks second with a $1.7 billion contribution. Mecklenburg County also directly employs the most tourism employees with more than 43,000 and has the largest total payroll ($1.4 billion). Charlotte/Mecklenburg County Leads NC in Tourism Impact
^^^Keep in mind that these Charlotte stats are for Meck county and not the city of Charlotte itself. Then again, the Austin stats are for the "Austin area" which could mean the entire county or metro area. It's hard to tell. Clearly (when we look at the numbers) Charlotte is keeping up with its peers. The problem for Charlotte is perception (or lack there of).
Music and the media are constantly in bed with each other. As a result, the Austins and the Nashvilles of America are talked about globally much more than places like Charlotte. It's so twisted right now that an overseas visitor would probably assume that Nashville and Austin are "head and shoulders" above places like Charlotte and Columbus. The truth is that I'd take Charlotte's South End and Columbus's Short North over any where in Austin and Nashville, but that's because I know where these cities actually stand. I'm not fooled by the hype because I've been to all 4 in person.
Tourism is a very perception/image based business. Through conventions, pro-sports, and annual events like CIAA/Speedstreet, Charlotte is able to pull in numbers that are similar to Austin's. Austin does it with music instead of pro-sports teams. The beauty with music is that the city always wins. With pro-sports, the city can lose BIG TIME when both teams stink.
I'll be the first to admit that Charlotte doesn't have a ton of unique tourist attractions, but neither does Austin. The hipster/music theme makes Austin just as much of a one-trick-pony as most mid sized cities. The cities down south that truly has something for everyone are places like South Florida and Atlanta. Obviously Charlotte can't become a South Florida, but a smaller version of Atlanta is not such a bad thing IMO.
Atlanta has a strong and vibrant center city (actually, it has 3 of them), it has decent mass transit, interesting urban real estate, water parks, pro-sports, a theme park, great shopping, the list goes on. Atlanta has a music scene as well. The thing I like about Atlanta is the fact that music isn't the only thing going for the place. Atlanta (when it comes to tourism) is like a mini-LA. In other words, the city has its hand on multiple things rather than just one or two gimmicks. I like that, and it's a recipe that I think Charlotte should borrow. Nothing against Austin and Nashville, but I honestly think that Charlotte should look up to larger metros with multiple attractions; not smaller ones that rely on 1 single gimmick.
Last edited by urbancharlotte; 07-12-2013 at 10:46 AM..
Thanks for the info urbancharlotte. I appreciate the comparison numbers with Austin.
I agree with a lot of your points - particularly: "Nothing against Austin and Nashville, but I honestly think that Charlotte should look up to larger metros with multiple attractions; not smaller ones that rely on 1 single gimmick."
I think that is what Charlotte is trying to do more of and thus on the right track. Charlotte to me feels like a small size big city that still has plenty to grow into (both actual buildings/infrastructure growth and maturity/mentality as a major city growth).
I do think we are going in the right direction, and I do think we're entering the national conscious more and more, but I just personally don't feel we're there or even close enough yet. That said - I think that's ok, because we are going in the right direction!
Well I must say, after seeing the extreme abortion bill that they are going to pass in Texas it definitely gives me hope that even with some of the backwards politics that NC has, Texas is a step further and that will only hurt them economically in the long run. I am not trying to go on a political escapade, however I will say this: We as a country would be so much better off if we could get some of our politicians could grasp the concept of separation of church and state.
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