How is the tourism Industry in Houston compared to Dallas? (San Antonio: luxury, high school)

[theSUBlime]

Touristic travel is fairly non-existent in both cities, but Dallas has the edge, as it does market itself quite a bit more than Houston. (Go figure!) In recent times, I've seen ads in gay magazines for "gay travel" to Dallas. (I'm pretty sure that's San Francisco, Provincetown and Ft. Lauderdale's thing!) I actually don't think that I've ever seen any travel ads for Houston. Well, maybe one, and I think that was in a magazine/pamphlet I saw in Louisiana.

In any case, it seems like if you want a piece of the "tourism pie", you have to buy into some other city's gimmick, or come up with your own lame excuse for tourism if you don't really have one (ie. "being weird"). Unfortunately, I do have to admit most Texas cities don't really have that appeal--externally, they're primarily business-oriented in function. (This is one of the reasons why I believe, especially for Texas cities, living here is a much different experience than visiting. People just won't see what you see on a daily basis. The same could be said for cities that exaggerate their appeal though.)

In my experience, people from out-of-state (and to some extent in state) visit San Antonio--that's San Antonio's true claim to fame; Someone asked me about the riverwalk when I was in Boston and they told me they heard it was "supposed to be really nice." And I basically said (no offense to San Antonio) "It's OK, It's really just a river..." But hey, those are the kinds of things that stick out in peoples heads, I guess. Texans and residents of their neighboring states tend to visit beach cities like Corpus, Galveston, simply because of their proximity.

[John C H]

Originally Posted by coolieandre

Basically I'd like to know if Houston has a strong tourism economy compared to Dallas, and which city can offer the most in that career area.... I know Dallas is going through a hotel boom with the W, and Mandarian Oriental but I haven't heard much about Houston?

Houston or Dallas are not know as vacation destinations. They are great places to live, not to visit per say. The one thing we have that Dallas doesn't is WATER. We have a beach, and a port for cruises. Now, if you are looking for a career in travel, move to South Florida. Houston is all about Oil, Medicine, Space and those who support it.

[Sampaguita]

Originally Posted by theSUBlime

In my experience, people from out-of-state (and to some extent in state) visit San Antonio--that's San Antonio's true claim to fame...

Absolutely. Of all the cities I've lived in aside from NYC, San Antonio was the most popular destination of all my "visitors".
Even when I lived in Santa Barbara and then San Diego, I still had more visitors out to see me in San Antonio. Go figure! They LOVED San Antonio - the Riverwalk, La Villita, the Missions and of course, The Alamo. They found all those places to be very interesting and unique. My younger visitors even tried to visit during Fiesta (and NIOSA) which they'd "heard" about. LOL

I may be biased as when I lived there was a very fun & colorful time in my life but while it's not Houston or Dallas (why should ANY city have to be like any other city anyway?), it's a city that definitely has its own flavor.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

Jeez, isn't San Antonio bigger than Dallas now?

I do think "Dallas" the show did more for the metroplex than mere marketing ever did.

Yeah but again, nobody cares about city population stats. When I go to San Antonio, I don't get the feel that's bigger in Dallas nor does it look bigger than Dallas. The same with Austin and Atlanta. Austin city is bigger but nobody in their right mind will actually believe that if anyone visited both cities.

[love roses]

Houston has NASA and people do travel to Galveston (Mardi Gras and Dickens on the Strand come to mind) plus the cruise ships. Also the Kemah Boardwalk draws local visitors.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by Lake Conroe resident

Would have to agree with this ^^^. Why would anyone sitting in the midwest, or anywhere else for that matter want to come to Houston or Dallas for a vacation when they could go to CA or FL. Those places have Universal City, Disney, Knotts, Magic Mtn, Yosemite, Carmel, Sonoma, Wine country, beautiful Beaches etc... I could go on but you get the idea.

What would someone come to Houston or Dallas for that they couldn't get more of in one of the above referenced destinations??? Anybody??

This was what I was referring to in my previous post

[txstate]

Ive never heard of any body touring Dallas or Houston, more or less just visiting or wanted to come down for the weekend type trips.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Don't leave out Austin. I was a tourist in Austin and I had more than enough to do. Downtown was nice, the nightlife was fantastic, and the hill & lakes outside of town make it worth the trip. I'd say an Austin/San Antonio combo is probably the best destination in Texas for a tourist.

Based on museums, dining, and shopping Dallas & Houston could merrit a vistit, but agreed, most people go to Dallas & Houston for business

Austin is not a tourist destination. I'd place Dallas and Houston above it. Austin has barely anything for children and caters mainly to adults and college students.

San Antonio has Sea World, Sixflags, Schlitterbahn, Splash Town, Alamo, Riverwalk, The missions,etc

[Jezer]

Originally Posted by jluke65780

The only cities in Texas that are tourist destinations are San Antonio, and maybe Galveston and South Padre Island. I'd even throw in West Texas.

Plus Austin, as was pointed out, and the Hill Country.

I loved it round Big Bend and once travelled 1300 miles in a round trip from Houston to go and see a film there.

Buy never, ever was I tempted to go to Dallas.

[Mayor Bill White]

Originally Posted by spade

he's right. Houston does nothing to market itself compared to dallas. Dallas is seen as the city of texas in other parts of the country. This is why people think dallas is the largest city in the state.

ugh.