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Old 06-25-2009, 10:30 PM
 
Location: Techified Blue (Collar)-Rooted Bastion-by-the-Sea
663 posts, read 1,866,180 times
Reputation: 599

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Quote:
Originally Posted by darius321 View Post
No matter what AJC say, people love Atlanta. We have one of the busiest airports in the world. Now think about this. Even if people are comming down here for economic opportunites(ect.), we still have one of the largest numbers of leaving passengers. And Atlanta is not getting any smaller, so that means we have a very large number of vistors that is comming and going.
No matter what you say, there are various ways to skew statistics. The fact that ATL is the busiest airport in the world (not just one of the busiest) has much to do with it being the main hub for Delta Air Lines (now the largest carrier in the U.S.) as well as for AirTran. Connecting passengers who never set foot outside of the airport make up a sizeable percentage of the total passenger numbers. Yes O/D numbers are still fairly high (and have increased over the years) for ATL, but that is because Atlanta is a major business/convention city and because of the net in-migration.

The fact that Atlanta is growing larger means that there will be more migration and back and forth for those new residents returning to their previous places of residence to visit family/complete the moving process etc. This does not mean that tourism is/will be on the increase.
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Old 06-25-2009, 10:45 PM
 
Location: Techified Blue (Collar)-Rooted Bastion-by-the-Sea
663 posts, read 1,866,180 times
Reputation: 599
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe2000 View Post
I havent seen any reports of 3 million people moving to North Dakota. Nobody is putting a gun to 3 million people's head making them move here. Those same 3 million people can get a job in Paris, NY, Cali, Miami if they wanted but they are choosing to come here

People move here because of the mild winters, cheap cost of living, ranked #10 for the retired, black mecca, southern hospitality, etc.
Why would 3 million people move to ND in the next 30 years? And who says those same 3 million could get a job in NYC or Calif. or Paris? I'm sure that those who have high-paying, highly skilled jobs would be able to and would rather live in those areas than Atlanta. Those who are priced out of NYC and Calif. are the ones who flock to Atlanta. I agree that housing costs and taxes are sky-high in those places, but that is the premium for those who want to live in truly world-class areas. But for the 3 million who move here, Atlanta is world-class enough and a bargain at that. It doesn't mean that if they had a million bucks, they would still choose Atlanta. There are a lot more people who are treading water out there, than well-off, and that is why Atlanta is such a hot spot.
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Old 06-25-2009, 11:34 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
608 posts, read 1,710,315 times
Reputation: 455
Guess I'm not surprised. Atlanta's not really a great city to visit. It's a better place to live.

The major problem is that there's very little for a tourist to explore or experience. The things ATL does have that might appeal to tourists are very decentralized and inconvenient. Plus, there's ATL traffic, which is not exactly a vacation.

I live in the DC area right now. If I were a tourist, I would much rather visit DC or Baltimore. There's so much to see up here and so many unique places to visit. DC offers so many sites for tourists and most of it is in a fairly condensed area that is easy to access for tourists. Baltimore is a very beautiful city that has so many historical neighborhoods and attractions. Atlanta doesn't have much for tourists. But it's probably a better place to live than either DC or B'more.
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Old 06-26-2009, 06:27 AM
 
Location: ATL
4,688 posts, read 8,031,659 times
Reputation: 1804
Quote:
Originally Posted by JakilaTheHun View Post
Guess I'm not surprised. Atlanta's not really a great city to visit. It's a better place to live.

The major problem is that there's very little for a tourist to explore or experience. The things ATL does have that might appeal to tourists are very decentralized and inconvenient. Plus, there's ATL traffic, which is not exactly a vacation.

I live in the DC area right now. If I were a tourist, I would much rather visit DC or Baltimore. There's so much to see up here and so many unique places to visit. DC offers so many sites for tourists and most of it is in a fairly condensed area that is easy to access for tourists. Baltimore is a very beautiful city that has so many historical neighborhoods and attractions. Atlanta doesn't have much for tourists. But it's probably a better place to live than either DC or B'more.


Who wants to live in DC? DC has....

DC's HIV rate is higher than any city in America. Even higher than countries in Africa. B more is ranked #2.

One out of 3 people in DC can't read

Last call is at 1:45 am on the weekdays...lol

It cost an average of $15 a day to park and ride the metro.

The average cost for an one bedroom apartment that is not in the ghetto is $1200

Everybody in Dc is rude

Too cold in DC

Traffic is bad even on Saturday and Sunday on 95 and 66

DC crime is horrible. Averaging close to 200 murders per year

Good place to visit for a day but DC is a horrible place to live, IMO


And Bmore is the armpit of the Mid-Atlantic region
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Old 06-26-2009, 07:09 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
314 posts, read 1,279,058 times
Reputation: 123
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmusket View Post
Atlanta is just not a tourist city. It's has always been more of a business city. Atlanta does have attractions that draw visitors regionally.. Six Flags, White Water, Aquarium, and Stone Mountain...(something that people will travel about 4 hrs by car for).. but it doesn't have the tourist attractions of Vegas, Orlando and it doesn't have Beaches like Florida and California. Another downside for tourism, is that Atlanta is not very pedestrian freiendly and the transit system is limited.
exactly! I think people are seeing this as a dig against Atlanta as a place to live...and its not really. Its an okay place to live if you like cheap, business friendly place, but to visit as a vacation...why would you? If I lived in Cali I would rather visit the attractions of San Fran or Los Angeles than Atlanta...even Detroit over Atlanta as a vacation spot for me! (I like cars and architecture, both of which are better represented in Detroit than Atlanta)

Who here would really want to visit Houston on vacation? same thing. Doesnt mean people dont want to live there (for the same reasons as Atlanta, cheap and business friendly)

I could go my whole life with out visiting Houston and be just fine with that...I'm sure there are millions of people who live outside Atlanta who feel the same way about our city.
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Old 06-26-2009, 07:24 AM
Status: "Pickleball-Free American" (set 19 days ago)
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,509 posts, read 44,187,501 times
Reputation: 16925
Quote:
Originally Posted by JakilaTheHun View Post
Guess I'm not surprised. Atlanta's not really a great city to visit. It's a better place to live.
Yes, Atlanta, Dallas and Houston could be seen as your good and faithful wife; San Francisco, NYC and Miami would be your mistress.
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Old 06-26-2009, 07:31 AM
 
2,685 posts, read 6,054,563 times
Reputation: 952
Agree, the beltline will make it a more fun area for tourists to get around.

Earlier this year there was a survey on msn that had Atlanta as one of the top destinations in the U.S. for summer vacations.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lilmusket View Post
Atlanta is just not a tourist city. It's has always been more of a business city. Atlanta does have attractions that draw visitors regionally.. Six Flags, White Water, Aquarium, and Stone Mountain...(something that people will travel about 4 hrs by car for).. but it doesn't have the tourist attractions of Vegas, Orlando and it doesn't have Beaches like Florida and California. Another downside for tourism, is that Atlanta is not very pedestrian freiendly and the transit system is limited.
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Old 06-26-2009, 07:32 AM
 
Location: ATL by way of Los Angeles
847 posts, read 1,460,070 times
Reputation: 644
The bottom line is that Atlanta is not really a tourist spot overall. It is a decent place to live, but in some cases decent cities to live in don't make great tourist spots and vice versa.

Most of us know where to go and what to do here since we live here and have transportation. However, Metro Atlanta has never struck me as a place where someone can just pop up and zip around town with ease. This is especially true for those who visit and do not stay in one of the hotels Downtown or close to a MARTA line. A person who visits and is in a hotel Downtown or in Buckhead would probably have a better experience than someone who ends up in the suburbs without a rental car and/or someone local to take them around.

I have known people who visited family out here or who chose to stay in cheaper hotels or motels in the 'burbs and then felt that they had visited Atlanta. Truth be told, staying in a motel in Marietta or your cousin's house in Lawrenceville will not give you the "Atlanta" experience unless you actually go into the city.
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Old 06-26-2009, 07:36 AM
 
Location: ATL by way of Los Angeles
847 posts, read 1,460,070 times
Reputation: 644
Quote:
Originally Posted by LovinDecatur View Post
Yes, Atlanta, Dallas and Houston could be seen as your good and faithful wife; San Francisco, NYC and Miami would be your mistress.
That is probably the best way to put it.

Ironically, Dallas, NYC, and Miami are three of thecities that I have visited in the past year or so for various reasons. I had fun in NYC and Miami and got around with ease, but I couldn't see myself living in either city. Dallas was more subdued, but it struck me as a decent place to live and/or raise a family.
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Old 06-26-2009, 07:36 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
314 posts, read 1,279,058 times
Reputation: 123
I guess the other question is:

What does Atlanta have to offer that isn't also available in other regions of the country to make it a true tourist destination for folks across the country and world?

what can we add to make it such?
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