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As a long-time Austinite, I would have to answer, vaguely, "It depends."
The Formula 1 racing -- for as long as it lasts, which won't be forever -- holds absolutely no appeal for me (and represents much of what is worst about New Austin: too many cars, too much noise, people going in circles polluting the air, getting nowhere) does bring a certain number of well-to-do foreigners, esp. from Mexico, but only for a couple of weekends. SXSW, ACL, etc. festivals are expensive, crowded mob scenes but attract a certain devoted element willing to accept the conditions. Locals usually are indifferent to these events or burn out on them after a few years, then actively dislike and resent them, since they add to our horrendous traffic woes and fill up our favorite restaurants. Note that most Austin big parties are cleverly scheduled for the spring or fall (what passes for them), NOT the miserable 6-month summer of scorching, oppressive heat. It's not much fun to be a tourist in Austin at those times unless you're made of rugged, volcanic stuff.
Austin likes to talk a big game and wish it were an international destination, with its constant aping of others' attractions in pathetic ways (put a table on a tiny sidewalk et voila, a coffee house is in Paris! Put some sidewalks along the open sewer of Waller Creek and suddenly we're a rival to the San Antonio Riverwalk!). But it's not easy to fly here directly, public transportation options are few and puny, we're hundreds of tedious driving miles from every other major city except San Antonio (which is much more tourist-oriented, and justly so), there is no real central attraction other than a fading laid-back ambiance that has been vanishing since the 70s and music "scene" that is decades past its glory days in terms of genuine talent, as opposed to attitude or hype.
There are still some good places to eat and good people scattered about (altho' many old-time Austinites are leaving the city, often priced out by our skyrocketing property taxes and the techie- hipster invasion) but I'd guess most foreign visitors would shrug and say, "Well, it's not the Texas I'd imagined, no cactuses or cattle or oil wells, just another hotter, insecure Silicon valley wannabe."
(Film and tech are the new glory ventures, not music -- where Austin once aspired to be the new Nashville, it now begs to be the new Los Angeles.)
I think Austin has its strong points and charm, but i can think of 15 cities I'd rather live in, including Minneapolis. Still, if I were 23 and super liberal and had an iron kidney, Austin would be great
I think it gets the hype because of it's location, for one. Blueberry in a tomato soup right? In Texas, it's known as a very liberal place to go party. How many places are there like that in the south? It seems isolated. Now, I know posters from Dallas and Houston will come with "we have way more bars than Austin, I don't get it." But it's not about having a lot of bars and a nice downtown district or a ton of Fortune 500 companies.
Austin appeals to hipsters who like the ability to drive 20 minutes and be under a water fall. That's something you can't get in every big city. Again, I will say, for me, I can think of 15 cities I'd rather live in, but there is certainly a charm to that city.
New Orleans fits that role and I'd say Atlanta and Miami do too.
In other words, has Austin become a city that appeals to international travelers as much as to Americans? Is it worth traveling halfway across the world for?
If we think of the American "destination" cities as the following, does Austin fit?:
Boston
Chicago
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Miami
New Orleans
New York
Orlando
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Washington
Very interested to get your feedback.
I'd would say no.
I don't any of the TX cities is a destination city in the vain of most of the ones listed.
If I had to pick one out of TX it would probably be San Antonio.
At least from an international POV.
If they are interested in history the Alamo could be a factor.
Other that that I just can't see that many people traveling to the US to exclusively visit one of the TX cities.
To be fair however I'd argue that also is the case for many on that list, if I think about it.
LA, Vegas, Miami, New York and DC... perhaps SF. All others would be more cities one visits while being in the US, if one makes a tour or has friends and family there. In that case I suppose one could also add Austin!
No doubt someone will now post tourist data to prove me wrong!
In Texas, it's known as a very liberal place to go party. How many places are there like that in the south? It seems isolated.
Let's see -- there's Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, etc. Miami, Atlanta & Dallas have a much better club/lounge scene than Austin and you see certain drugs used more openly there.
It's pretty clear you haven't traveled out of Austin to experience nightlife or the party scene in other Texas cities or the South in general. Again, living in that good ol' bubble. Or whatever Alternative Facts you come up with
I don't any of the TX cities is a destination city in the vain of most of the ones listed.
If I had to pick one out of TX it would probably be San Antonio.
At least from an international POV.
If they are interested in history the Alamo could be a factor.
Other that that I just can't see that many people traveling to the US to exclusively visit one of the TX cities.
To be fair however I'd argue that also is the case for many on that list, if I think about it.
LA, Vegas, Miami, New York and DC... perhaps SF. All others would be more cities one visits while being in the US, if one makes a tour or has friends and family there. In that case I suppose one could also add Austin!
No doubt someone will now post tourist data to prove me wrong!
You can add NOLA, Boston, Chicago, and Orlando. I wouldn't add Austin.
Let's see -- there's Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, etc. Miami, Atlanta & Dallas have a much better club/lounge scene than Austin and you see certain drugs used more openly there.
It's pretty clear you haven't traveled out of Austin to experience nightlife or the party scene in other Texas cities or the South in general. Again, living in that good ol' bubble. Or whatever Alternative Facts you come up with
I'm not looking for drugs. Are you? Is doing drugs in the open liberal and your idea of a good time? Nobody is going to Austin for the lounge scene. I don't consider that a strength for a city btw.
mods, this guy is bordering on the personal attacks. I didn't reference any of the above cities when talking about Austin. Your jealousy of Austin knows no bounds.
New Orleans fits that role and I'd say Atlanta and Miami do too.
Agree wholeheartedly. All three likely get at least triple the visitors that Austin gets. But, all four have a different feel from each other. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I don't get the jealousy and hate for a city that is 1/3 the size of the aforementioned.
Didn't the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce have a booth at SXSW to attract millenials to move there?
Every city doesn't have to be everything to everybody. Each city is going to have its own identity and strengths. Not having something that another city has does not make a place inferior or bad. Of course, most cities want more quills in their quivers and building upon ones resume is what cities often do as they grow.
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