The Tourist-mageddon Is Upon Us. (Houston, Dallas: hotel, unemployed, neighborhood)

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by jfre81

I saw a "Discover Chicago" store in the Midway Airport terminal and it made me think. What would be in a "Discover Houston" store?

We don't even have a good visitor center
when I first came to Houston I went to the visitor center in downtown and I didn't even know where to park

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Dopo

We don't even have a good visitor center
when I first came to Houston I went to the visitor center in downtown and I didn't even know where to park

Right. And I yield back the fact that visitors don't want to drive and hunt for parking everywhere in this city.

[Chicken_of_Bristol]

Houston doesn't have a real Chinatown.

I remember when I first moved here locals were telling me about Houston's "Chinatown." Having been to real Chinatowns in DC, San Francisco, Vancouver, etc., I had my expectations and they were completely destroyed. I drove all the way out there and for what? A bunch of sorry strip malls?

He's a friendly hint to Houston residents: Don't tell newcomers or the slim number of tourists who come here that Houston has a Chinatown. Just tell them, "If you want decent Chinese food, I know of an area where you should go." Don't refer to it as "Chinatown."

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Chicken_of_Bristol

Houston doesn't have a real Chinatown.

I remember when I first moved here locals were telling me about Houston's "Chinatown." Having been to real Chinatowns in DC, San Francisco, Vancouver, etc., I had my expectations and they were completely destroyed. I drove all the way out there and for what? A bunch of sorry strip malls?

He's a friendly hint to Houston residents: Don't tell newcomers or the slim number of tourists who come here that Houston has a Chinatown. Just tell them, "If you want decent Chinese food, I know of an area where you should go." Don't refer to it as "Chinatown."

That's the best example of what Houston is all about
You have money... you'll have fun
Are you looking for a Chinatown to spend the afternoon with your family without having to spend money... wrong city.

Most tourists want to go to places that are free and then they'll spend some money buying a few things.
A good example of this.... The Woodlands Waterway and The Woodlands Market Square.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by Chicken_of_Bristol

Houston doesn't have a real Chinatown.

I remember when I first moved here locals were telling me about Houston's "Chinatown." Having been to real Chinatowns in DC, San Francisco, Vancouver, etc., I had my expectations and they were completely destroyed. I drove all the way out there and for what? A bunch of sorry strip malls?

He's a friendly hint to Houston residents: Don't tell newcomers or the slim number of tourists who come here that Houston has a Chinatown. Just tell them, "If you want decent Chinese food, I know of an area where you should go." Don't refer to it as "Chinatown."

Chinatown is very much alive and well in Houston. It's just a Houston version of Chinatown - sprawling and spread out, not very aesthetically pleasing, and market-driven. Have we ever heard these words associated with Houston? There is a Hong Kong City Mall, and Fungs Kitchen (while not technically in Chinatown) has some of the best dim sum in the country.

[Truth713]

Originally Posted by Chicken_of_Bristol

Houston doesn't have a real Chinatown.

I remember when I first moved here locals were telling me about Houston's "Chinatown." Having been to real Chinatowns in DC, San Francisco, Vancouver, etc., I had my expectations and they were completely destroyed. I drove all the way out there and for what? A bunch of sorry strip malls?

He's a friendly hint to Houston residents: Don't tell newcomers or the slim number of tourists who come here that Houston has a Chinatown. Just tell them, "If you want decent Chinese food, I know of an area where you should go." Don't refer to it as "Chinatown."

Here is a hint this is not execulive to Houston , in fact there was a article not to long ago where they talked about the difference in old china towns and new china towns... the new china town popping up are more car centic, as the current generation has different views on such things....don't blame Houston blame the chinese people for not conforming to your stereotype of what china towns should look like

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/a...on-1768129.php

[jfre81]

Maybe what we need is a double-decker bus going out to Chinatown. But for less than $30. Gotta leave room in the budget for the dim sum.

[NorthSDLifer]

Reading to the end has provided me some clues, but it still seems weird that a city aspiring to "world-class-ness" considers tourism almost a novelty. So it's the summer weather and lack of natural scenery? If I'm visiting a city, terrific restaurants, fun bars and a play or sporting event are in the plus column. Excellent museums? Sweet. Aren't there theme parks in Houston or nearby?

[PedroMartinez]

Originally Posted by NorthSDLifer

Reading to the end has provided me some clues, but it still seems weird that a city aspiring to "world-class-ness" considers tourism almost a novelty. So it's the summer weather and lack of natural scenery? If I'm visiting a city, terrific restaurants, fun bars and a play or sporting event are in the plus column. Excellent museums? Sweet. Aren't there theme parks in Houston or nearby?

There are a few waterparks that are relatively mediocre, but you'll need to travel to San Antonio for Fiesta Texas for the theme park.

Houston doesn't have that much in natural beauty. We have a beach, but due to nature, the water normally has a brown tint due to the sediment and the "sand" is closer to hard mud that dries quickly than sand.

We have a great arts scene with museums, galleries, opera, stage, etc. We have wonderful restaurants. We have shopping. We have sports. I personally believe there are people that will travel here for those, but most people seem to believe that travel is for pristine beaches and mountains only.

Personally, if I lived somewhere like Iowa, New Mexico or Florida and wanted to do a cultural vacation (museums, performing arts, restaurants, music, etc), Houston would be somewhere to strongly consider. It will cost you a fraction of NYC.

However, I really only see that as a reason to vacation in Houston.

Houston is a great place to live.

Edit. Yes, in the summer it can be fairly brutal for those who have not acclimated to the heat and humidity.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by NorthSDLifer

So it's the summer weather and lack of natural scenery? If I'm visiting a city, terrific restaurants, fun bars and a play or sporting event are in the plus column. Excellent museums? Sweet. Aren't there theme parks in Houston or nearby?

There was one of those "Top 10 (x)" lists that listed Brussels as the most boring city in the world, followed by Houston. If I found myself in Brussels, odds are I'd be too busy drinking the finest beer on the planet to care whether there was a happening party outside.

Houston is an excellent museum city, and I'm saying this not a month after coming back from Washington. DC and New York are easily Nos. 1-2 in the country, but Houston is easily a contender for No. 3. Considering a multitude of factors, the dropoff isn't as much as you might think.

For example, the Smithsonian Natural History museum is amazing, but it's also insanely crowded. Especially in the middle of summer, when school's out, every school/boy scout summer camp's tour bus in an 8-state area has converged on the National Mall and it's just about as hot outside there as it is here in Houston. There's something to say for a quality museum that you can actually move around. Houstonians have a way of taking this stuff for granted. And, for as much as we talk about how spread out Houston is, we have our major museums in a fairly small place. It's a shame the space center is in BFE in a drab 60s complex.

There are probably 8,000 threads here concerning theme park news. I kind of stopped paying attention, but I hear something's in the works. Yes, we used to have one.