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“How Charleston Became the Nation’s #1 Destination City”
“Charleston’s repeated appearance at the top of the favorite city list since 2013 may come as a surprise to some, but after taking a close look at what the city has to offer, it’s no shock at all. From the food to culture and style, Charleston is always sporting something new and exciting!
“Much of Charleston’s charm comes from its ability to balance a robust history with the intense demands of modernity. In refurbishing much of its foundation after the Civil War, Charleston inadvertently preserved decades of historical buildings, forts, and monuments that are favorite sites for tourists to visit today. While this part of the city remains firm in its place, Charleston as a whole is an innovative city with some of the most renowned restaurants and cultural centers in the modern day. This track record for innovation has led to the city being named one of the top 25 art destinations by AmericanStyle magazine.
“Over the years, Charleston has proven itself to be an ever-changing city with the introduction of new attractions to accompany its historical ones.”
Idk about that. I live in Texas and I would not visit Austin for its core so I doubt people from other states and the world beyond are visiting for the core. It's an amenity that is a plus for residents but visiting for it though?
Of the major Texas cities the only one that separates itself in terms of attractions in the core is San Antonio. The Riverwalk is a unique experience and the Alamo is a few steps away and the street outside of it is very touristy with tourist traps like Ripley's and such. There are also historic spatterings, churches and Governor's palaces and such all over the core for those interested in that.
San Antonio has actually unique attractions.
San Antonio I would call somewhat a "regional" attraction - most people even in US probably won't specifically fly to San Antonio just to visit Riverwalk or Alamo. However, it can definitely draws, let say, weekend or day trippers from rest of state including DFW and Houston (Austin is so close that it's likely a quick day trip).
Otherwise, I agree that downtown SA probably has the most tourist attractions out of all the major Texas metro areas, including Austin. If only Galveston is not such a dump...
Austin does have events that draw visitors internationally (i.e. SXSW) but again, definitely not a major destination city. It definitely fits best within the "niche destination" group.
Agreed, those are different things, but the reasons for people visiting doesn't detract from being a destination. There's some gatekeeping with the definition of 'destination' here, with very narrow views being imposed on the term. Visiting for family, work, conferences all count.
I also get the sense that some folks here just don't like Dallas, and perhaps think it's a cultural wasteland (e.g. comments about strip malls and freeways). Freakonomics did an interesting podcast on Dallas last year and how it's on a trajectory to eclipse Chicago as the 3rd largest US metro. There's more diversity and culture in Dallas than is often assumed. If someone can't find interesting things to see and do in a city of +7M people that's on them, not the city.
I think it does. There's always parameters around our topics. I definitely don't think a distinction between leisure and business/family travel is "very narrow" in any way.
Some people don't like Dallas, but that doesn't have much to do with it not being a top destination city. I visited last year for a wedding, but I'd never go to Dallas just to go to Dallas. But I did go to Austin just to go to Austin.
I think it does. There's always parameters around our topics. I definitely don't think a distinction between leisure and business/family travel is "very narrow" in any way.
Some people don't like Dallas, but that doesn't have much to do with it not being a top destination city. I visited last year for a wedding, but I'd never go to Dallas just to go to Dallas. But I did go to Austin just to go to Austin.
What makes a city a destination other than people visiting, regardless of reason. Saying 22M visitors don't count because it's not what some expect is narrow. You may not go to Dallas, but many others do.
It's pretty clear...people wanting to visit the city for the city's sake.
There's nothing wrong with having your own definition. It's just not terribly relevant to the topic here.
A highway interchange with two truck stops, a gas station, and three motels will have a substantial visitor count. Not a destination.
As a top 5 convention city, as well as a place with excellent air service Business Travel is just too important to our economy to not count in Atlanta. It's the primary reason that there are nearly 100,000 hotel rooms in the Metro, not to mention countless bars and restaurants. The same would apply to many cities across the Country, including yours.
The parameters of this discussion are a moving target.
Dallas gets lot of visitors. Ah, but business travel doesn't count. It has to been leisure travel.
People do travel to Dallas for leisure. Ah, but they are regional visitors, not from far away places. And there has to be attractions.
As discussed up thread, Dallas has lots of attractions. Museums, architecture, public art, amusement parks, pro sports, etc. Ah, but other cities have similar things. The attractions must be unique.
But they are unique. No city has the exact things Dallas has. Ah, not just unique, but iconic!
So we aren't really discussing destinations, but rather iconic tourist cities. I dunno, seems pretty narrow.
And this misses something important. Locals in tourist locales, understandably, roll their eyes at visitors that only see the typical sites. The Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Alcatraz... while there's nothing wrong with visiting these, we also know this isn't the same as experiencing the city. This is because most cities are more than the sum of their parts. There's a local culture, history, a vibe that goes beyond the surface-level attractions. For example, check out the various neighborhoods in Dallas. Dallas has its own sense of place. Is this enough reason to visit? I guess that's a personal decision, and for many here on the thread the answer is no. But for me, I would have a blast visiting and exploring Dallas, no question.
Last edited by AnythingOutdoors; 08-15-2023 at 06:27 PM..
This parameters of this discussion are a moving target.
Dallas gets lot of visitors. Ah, but business travel doesn't count. It has to been leisure travel.
People do travel to Dallas for leisure. Ah, but they are regional visitors, not from far away places. And there has to be attractions.
As discussed up thread, Dallas has lots of attractions. Museums, architecture, public art, amusement parks, pro sports, etc. Ah, but other cities have similar things. The attractions must be unique.
But they are unique. No city has the exact things Dallas has. Ah, not just unique, but iconic!
So we aren't really discussing destinations, but rather iconic tourist cities. I dunno, seems pretty narrow.
And this misses something important. Locals in tourist locales, understandably, roll their eyes at visitors that only see the typical sites. The Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Alcatraz... while there's nothing wrong with visiting these, we also know this isn't the same as experiencing the city. This is because most cities are more than the sum of their parts. There's a local culture, history, a vibe that goes beyond the surface-level attractions. For example, check out the various neighborhoods in Dallas. Dallas has its own sense of place.
Touche!
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