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There's actually a fair amount of Civil War-era history stuff throughout IL, including all the Abraham Lincoln stuff, there's the Cahokia mounds that are kind of cool and a UNESCO site, lots of Route 66 Americana stuff, there's a lot of outdoor recreation in the southern part of the state. I'm actually surprised Minnesota was listed for Wisconsin simply because Chicago is such a huge draw, tons and tons of people from the Midwest come here, and it's, well, in Illinois.
Well, that's not really enough to balance the tens of thousands of lakes, all the forests, the hills, or really any of the natural beauty in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The most scenic area in Illinois (Galena region) is a tiny chunk of the Driftless and not an attraction for people in IA/WI/MN. The next is at the southern tip of Illinois, which is 500+ miles from (say) Green Bay, WI, and 650+ miles from Minneapolis. You can just hit up the Badlands or Black Hills at that distance. I agree that Cahokia is awesome and should be a major US destination, but it isn't.
I know that with such a huge % of Wisconsin's population so close to Chicagoland it might seem like Illinois would be the answer (definitely NOT Minnesota, though, as stated above), but this is about states, not cities. People visit nature moreso than urban areas, and Illinois simply isn't very scenic.
Well, that's not really enough to balance the tens of thousands of lakes, all the forests, the hills, or really any of the natural beauty in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The most scenic area in Illinois (Galena region) is a tiny chunk of the Driftless and not an attraction for people in IA/WI/MN. The next is at the southern tip of Illinois, which is 500+ miles from (say) Green Bay, WI, and 650+ miles from Minneapolis. You can just hit up the Badlands or Black Hills at that distance. I agree that Cahokia is awesome and should be a major US destination, but it isn't.
I know that with such a huge % of Wisconsin's population so close to Chicagoland it might seem like Illinois would be the answer (definitely NOT Minnesota, though, as stated above), but this is about states, not cities. People visit nature moreso than urban areas, and Illinois simply isn't very scenic.
It was more a response to the idea that there's nothing in Illinois worth seeing outside of Chicago, which is patently false. As a former Wisconsin resident, I didn't think there was much natural beauty in Minnesota that you couldn't also just see in Wisconsin, so I would wonder what the big draw would be. But of course that's just one person's opinion.
I'm actually surprised that you say people visit nature more than urban areas--is there a lot of data on this? I honestly have no idea. Especially since these data are about hotel bookings specifically, which I'd think there would be more of these in urban areas than rural areas.
I think it probably depends on what kind of person you are. I'm way more inclined to visit urban areas than nature, although I like nature, too. I'm the type of person to visit an urban area an make a day/weekend trip to see natural areas (except in certain notable cases). Many of the people I know are pretty similar, too: visit a city and make day/weekend trips outside of the area.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska (South Central Region)
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Originally Posted by cnd33
It's apparent that they do, as it was ranked 8th in where people are interested in traveling, but much lower on where people actually go. So there is an interest, but fewer people actually make the trip, for different reasons.
Yeah it's good Alaska ranked 8th. It's a huge state with variety of things to do. Most people come up here to enjoy the outdoor activities.
Other than hitting up Chicago, why would anyone in Wisconsin want to visit Illinois? Why would Minnesotans want to visit Illinois, outside Chicago? Both states are scenic/travel destinations. Illinois, in general, is a big flat state with a lot of farms and not very scenic. For people in Wisconsin (and I'm sure Minnesota) who don't care about huge urban areas and are OK with what they have (Milwaukee/Twin Cities) or would prefer going all-out and hitting up (say) NYC instead, Illinois would be one of the last states they'd go to for entertainment.
I normally think your posts are rather wise, and well thought out, but this post here is ludicrous, man.
Do you really there is nothing here to see outside of Chicago? Ill give you the fact that most of the state is farmland, there's no denying that. However, there are some nice attractions (natural and man made) in the thick of all that farmland, believe it or not.
It was more a response to the idea that there's nothing in Illinois worth seeing outside of Chicago, which is patently false. As a former Wisconsin resident, I didn't think there was much natural beauty in Minnesota that you couldn't also just see in Wisconsin, so I would wonder what the big draw would be. But of course that's just one person's opinion.
I'm actually surprised that you say people visit nature more than urban areas--is there a lot of data on this? I honestly have no idea. Especially since these data are about hotel bookings specifically, which I'd think there would be more of these in urban areas than rural areas.
I think it probably depends on what kind of person you are. I'm way more inclined to visit urban areas than nature, although I like nature, too. I'm the type of person to visit an urban area an make a day/weekend trip to see natural areas (except in certain notable cases). Many of the people I know are pretty similar, too: visit a city and make day/weekend trips outside of the area.
When I say "nothing" I mean no major draws for people that are not from the area.Sure there is more in Illinois but its just not well known.So if that is the case ,people will not "want" to visit over some place more well known.
Odd that New Jerseyans most want to "visit" New York. "Visit" is an odd word for this because it has a connotation of tourism and vacations. Most NJ residents don't "visit" New York, they either work there or hang out there in their free time because they live 1-50 miles away. Not the same as New Yorkers wanting to visit Florida or Texans wanting to visit California. NY is right across the river from us and we use that to our advantage. I don't visit New York like a tourist, I go there because it's part of my life. Someone from Buffalo, within New York, is more likely to "visit" the city (which I assume is what people actually mean by New York in this example) than I am because I live 20 miles away and in the metro.
If this is based on what state is searched the most on the internet, the fact that it's New York for New Jersey doesn't surprise me because people search for ways to commute, jobs, stuff like that. In my experience people in NJ most commonly want to go to Florida, and do in large numbers every year. Flawed methodology?
Rhode Island seems to have a unique interest in Texas. Also, interesting that Maine is the state least interested in travel-there does seem to be a lot of homesteaders there settled in for the long haul.
I was a bit surprised by Wisconsin<->Minnesota. I would assume Wisconsin would be more tied to Illinois (Chicago) as would Minnesota instead of each other.
Minnesota's largest cities (Twin Cities, Rochester and Duluth) are all within very close distance to Wisconsin so that isn't a surprise. Wisconsinites going to Minnesota is surprising though, considering most of the population live in the SE part of the state and there really isn't anything unique about Minnesota to a Wisconsinite.
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