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Old 12-31-2013, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Cleveland and Columbus OH
11,046 posts, read 12,320,583 times
Reputation: 10365

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Quote:
Originally Posted by table12 View Post
BTW, you mentioned you've spent time in Columbus -- Cedar Point is a huge driver of tourism for the city, despite being 2 hours away. There are many people from outside of Ohio who make a trip with the primary objective being Cedar Point and then layer a trip to Columbus on top of it (or Cleveland). My experience has been that things that seem like gimmicks often resonate with tourists the most (though *definitely* not with locals).
Cedar Point isn't just one casino, or one Ferris Wheel- it's a huge park with world-famous roller coasters that go 100 mph. It is THE place to go for thril seeking, ranked as the world's best (Top 10 Amusement Parks : Fans Favorite Theme Parks : Travel Channel). Sandusky, OH is the "Vegas" of amusement parks.
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Old 12-31-2013, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Cleveland and Columbus OH
11,046 posts, read 12,320,583 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by table12 View Post
That's what a bunch of British people said about the London Eye before it got built, now they can't imagine their city without it, it absolutely brought in people from outside the UK. It isn't that there's any *one* thing that does it, it's the combination of elements and the idea that everyone in the family can have fun. Sure, plenty of people in Boston are going to scoff at the idea of casinos, ferris wheels, amusement parks, etc., but the bottom line is they drive traffic in a way that museums and schools simply don't, and definitely would make the city more accessible for people who might currently view it as a little "above" them.

Orlando is essentially one gigantic gimmick ("a people trap run by a mouse") and it gets almost 60 million *overnight* visitors a year, whereas Boston claims approx. 20 million visitors a year but also happily counts daytrippers in that number. I agree that casinos, amusement parks and wheels are a bit of a gimmick, but right now Boston's batting 0-3 with them and I do think they can only help the city (if done well and in a world-class manner being the big caveat).
I guess there is some validity to this. But along with shopping malls, I just don't get attraction to gimmicky stuff. I have never felt like going to Orlando, probably never will.
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Old 12-31-2013, 04:11 PM
 
37 posts, read 59,909 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bjimmy24 View Post
Sandusky, OH is the "Vegas" of amusement parks.
Cedar Point got 3.22 million visitors in 2012... Disney World got 52.5 million visitors. Orlando is the Vegas of amusement parks and currently the most visited city in the USA, which is why I keep bringing it up as a barometer for tourism. The reason I mentioned Cedar Point is travel agents have often commented on how, if it weren't near Cleveland and Columbus, those two cities would see their tourism drop significantly. If a large casino or amusement complex were to open near Boston, the city's tourism would most definitely go up.
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Old 12-31-2013, 04:37 PM
 
Location: Cleveland and Columbus OH
11,046 posts, read 12,320,583 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by table12 View Post
Cedar Point got 3.22 million visitors in 2012... Disney World got 52.5 million visitors. Orlando is the Vegas of amusement parks and currently the most visited city in the USA, which is why I keep bringing it up as a barometer for tourism. The reason I mentioned Cedar Point is travel agents have often commented on how, if it weren't near Cleveland and Columbus, those two cities would see their tourism drop significantly. If a large casino or amusement complex were to open near Boston, the city's tourism would most definitely go up.
I guess I should qualify- thrill parks with roller coasters. The same people that think Mickey Mouse is sweet are not really the people that wanna ride Milennium Force or Top Thrill Dragster.
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Old 01-01-2014, 11:04 PM
 
503 posts, read 591,659 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ilovethecommunity View Post
Everybody wants to talk about Chicago, New York, or LA.

In my opinion, Boston is just as good. It has a very low crime rate and downtown is beautiful.
Because it simply isn't one of the great US cities. Rude people, terrible dining options, etc.
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Old 01-02-2014, 07:28 AM
 
3,755 posts, read 4,774,833 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oistrakh12 View Post
Because it simply isn't one of the great US cities. Rude people, terrible dining options, etc.
In your opinion of course............if only Boston were more like San Francisco...........
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Old 01-06-2014, 02:59 PM
 
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It's easy. Chicago and NYC are 24-hour cities. Boston is not. Not only does the subway shut down at night, making it inconvenient for locals as well as anyone who is arriving/leaving at Logan early or late, but also restaurants close early. There are limited options for eating out in the middle of the night. If the subway was somehow made 24 hours (even parts of it), it would vitalize the city, encourage new restaurants, and make Boston more hospitable for visitors. It would make life easier/cheaper for night shift workers, which would result in more spending and improve the economy. It would allow more persons who live on the outskirts to get in and out of the city more quickly, resulting in more/better work. One deterrent of people moving to Boston is the high cost of living.

The Boston subway is also cheaper than subways in other major US cities I have been to, especially SF. They should increase the fares while giving a discount to residents of the greater Boston area, as well as solve the problem with green line fare evasion. It would be nice for the red-blue line connector and the green line extension to happen. Plus there is waste with bus routes which could be improved with algorithms.

In addition the traffic lights in Boston are horribly timed, leading to huge traffic jams. Most major cities operate in a grid and all traffic lights in NYC are on the same system. People don't think about living in Boston like they think about other cities because of all of the problems.
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Old 01-07-2014, 07:52 PM
 
7,912 posts, read 7,739,485 times
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I know I've heard about extending T hours and that's fine but given lyft, rideshare and uber it is probably cheaper to use those than the mbta. I know some people work night shifts but I think it would be a leap to suggest that there is this huge amount of money being held back spending it in areas that close at night.

I'd hate to say it but even with the student atmosphere if you are looking for some massive night life just go somewhere else. If you want to go clubbing at 2am maybe try Miami. Most people get up in the morning and go to work. Chris Rock even argued about this paraphrasing here "What the *^%( are you doing at the club at 2am on a Wednesday? Did you get a raise? Is it your birthday?

"Most major cities operate in a grid and all traffic lights in NYC are on the same system."
Most planned cities might operate on a grid. Traffic lights aren't always on the same system. The loop system can work but if there is a break in the line it doesn't.

"People don't think about living in Boston like they think about other cities because of all of the problems."

Boston isn't perfect and might have some faults but "all of the problems" implies as if there's a whole ton of them. I would not make that assessment.
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Old 01-11-2014, 04:59 AM
 
Location: Ohio
2,310 posts, read 6,791,281 times
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I doubt out-of-state visitors come to Boston BECAUSE of the casino. Rather it'd likely be an add-on to a visit. So if the casino isn't assessible by subway, then these visitors will think that's too much of a hassle since visitors typically plan a trip to Boston to see the historical stuff in the city and rely on the subway to get around. Especially with so many casino's in different cities now why bother wasting a day in BOS where hotel rates are sky high. A lot of people have a casino in the vicinty of their home now a days.

If the draw is to target locals or daytrippers, then a casino with a vibrant shopping and restaurant scene may become a 'destination', even for people not into hardcore gambling. Local people who want to gamble already go to Foxwood + Mohegan Sun, so a new casino without other attractions will just steal customers from those without the draw to generate new customers from outside the area.
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Old 01-11-2014, 12:27 PM
 
7,912 posts, read 7,739,485 times
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Yes Boston is without a doubt an expensive place to get a hotel but there's some reasons for that (homeless are kept there, high student population etc)

But there's other ways to find a place like airbnb or to simply stay within the area..providence, worcester, nashua etc.

I see casinos are largely too inclusive that is everything is on set. There is no reason to leave a resort when it is all included.
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