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At least Houston has Nasa. Dallas has the Gaylord across the state line? Not trying to be facetious, just trying to figure it out. Ft. Worth Stockyards?
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JFK’s assassination sight was pretty big. I wouldn’t consider Dallas (not Houston) a major tourist draw though
Tier 1
New York City
San Francisco
LA
Miami
Las Vegas
Chicago
New Orleans
DC
Boston
Honolulu
Tier 2
Orlando
Atlanta
Anchorage/Alaska
Seattle
Philly
Nashville
Austin
San Diego
Orlando
Tier 3
Baltimore
St Louis
Cleveland
Albuquerque
Memphis
Tampa/St Pete
Phoenix
Tier 4
Milwaukee
Twin Cities
Detroit
Tier 5
Sacramento
Charlotte
Jacksonville
Colombus
Cincinnati
Etc
Tier 1 offer world class attractions. They themselves might not be world class (New Orleans , Vegas) but when they offer for tourist novelty is especially for international people.
Tier 2 offers something impressive and uniquely American with perhaps a sprinkling of world class stuff.
Tier 3 is very American with some strong legacy amenities or serve as a gateway to an interesting region.
Tier 4 is a weaker version of the above. Some of these cities like the twin cities offer a lot but are a little too generic or far from must see stuff to make the cut or have suffered from decay
Tier 5
May be a nice place to live but too unremarkable overall
So forget Cleveland and St. Louis, but definitely include Austin?
What on earth would a foreign tourist do in Austin? Hang out at the lake?
Austin does have two very large international events in SXSW and the USGP. Beyond that, you will get backpacker types and there are foreigners that will do Texas road trips (can't say that I would recommend this, but it is a thing for sure), and of course people will come to visit family; Greater Austin is 15% foreign born compared to 7% in St. Louis and 6% in Cleveland.
As an international destination it certainly would not be in the same tier as an Orlando type of place but I can see tier 3 I guess. Austin is much more of a domestic destination for long weekends, as Texas is too isolated to really make sense for a foreign traveler.
It's possible to be entertained in any city, including Dallas.
But where are Dallas' tourist-heavy districts? I'm not aware of any. A pretty sizeable downtown definition (with Uptown and Deep Ellum) has a moderate number of hotel rooms (12,000) despite a huge convention business.
Pleasure tourism (outside family and friends) concentrates in relatively few cities.
Maybe lack of tourist-heavy districts is a feature not a bug
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker
What would you do with a 4 day vacation in Dallas that you can't do in Boise? Prosports yes, but a lot of cities have that.
Yes, Boise has a zoo, museums, and other things to do. But it's a difference in scale. My family could totally have a great time for 4 days in Dallas: Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas Museum of Art, pro sports, Perot Museum of Nature and Science. My youngest would love the Log Cabin Village. The kids would also love Hurricane Harbor water park. Yes, we have a great water park in Boise, but it's always fun to explore somewhere different. Obviously, the music and food scene is also different, which adds to the fun.
Don't get me wrong, we love visiting touristy metros. We did a trip this summer to NYC to see a Broadway show and take in the sights. That was all well in good, and it's something I want my kids to experience at least once. But truth be known, I'd rather go to cities like Dallas, SLC, etc. that aren't overrun with tourists and high prices. And we actively avoid the major resort destinations like Disney and Universal Studios... between price gouging and the lines, just not worth the hassle.
I don't mean that tourist-heavy districts are the attraction, though some are. I mean that's one gauge for whether a lot of pleasure tourists visit the city.
As for Boise, the greenbelt and tubing the river are both world class.
Maybe lack of tourist-heavy districts is a feature not a bug
Yes, Boise has a zoo, museums, and other things to do. But it's a difference in scale. My family could totally have a great time for 4 days in Dallas: Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas Museum of Art, pro sports, Perot Museum of Nature and Science. My youngest would love the Log Cabin Village. The kids would also love Hurricane Harbor water park. Yes, we have a great water park in Boise, but it's always fun to explore somewhere different. Obviously, the music and food scene is also different, which adds to the fun.
Don't get me wrong, we love visiting touristy metros. We did a trip this summer to NYC to see a Broadway show and take in the sights. That was all well in good, and it's something I want my kids to experience at least once. But truth be known, I'd rather go to cities like Dallas, SLC, etc. that aren't overrun with tourists and high prices. And we actively avoid the major resort destinations like Disney and Universal Studios... between price gouging and the lines, just not worth the hassle.
Yea. Your paragraph describing Dallas? Feels like I can get similar experiences in most major cities.
Easily the majority of the top 15 cities or so are interesting enough for a normal person to visit from 2,000 miles away just to visit, if they like city tourism. Just not all of them.
Southern cities, including LA, make it hard to be a city tourist...the interesting stuff tends to be spread out and not easy to walk to for starters.
Of course if we're talking people from other continents the list gets smaller, though long-distance visitors tend to have more time so they can get beyond the obvious places.
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