Intriguing Suggestions to Help Attract More Tourists to Chicago (Time: crime, home)

[gomexico]

Intriguing new attractions to make Chicago more appealing to international tourists could be implemented within months with the potential to attract 75 million visitors by 2020, blowing past Mayor Rahm Emanuel 50 million goal, the board chairman of Choose Chicago said Thursday.

Glass-enclosed cable cars along the Chicago River, designated club cars on CTA trains to O’Hare Airport and plane rides along the lakefront may sound pie-in-the-sky but Bruce Rauner portrayed the ideas as attainable within a relatively short time frame.

I like everything I see mentioned in this article:

Club cars on CTA trains, plane rides on lake could hike tourism - Chicago Sun-Times

[marothisu]

Saw this last night. Not a fan of ALL of it (like the Casino), but I think they can do more to make the city more attractive. They have to be careful to not make it too "corny" though. The above ground cable car thing is cool even if it's outdated.

Personally, I'd like to see street trolley cars on Michigan Avenue (and maybe even State Street) and Metra Electric converted to CTA..but you know..

[Lucky Clover]

Damnit, can't read the whole article. Stupid pay wall.

I like what I'm hearing though.

Is that Casino supposed to be in the downtown area?

[ProgMichael]

I don't think anything would be a greater tourist attraction than positive news on the crime front. Even though the GREAT majority of crime is outside tourist areas, the perception from all the negative publicity we've been getting can only be a deterrent.

Getting the Super Bowl would be sa-weet too.

[marothisu]

^ Agreed. People still visit but a lot of people are very misinformed on the crime. Can you blame them though? The media paints such a weird picture sometimes. At the same time though, do you think partially has anything to do with "lower-than-it-should-be" rents versus some other world class cities in the US?

Super Bowl would be sweet, but it's not going to happen. Chicago is too cold for that to even be considered. The only way it would happen is if they build a retractable roof over Soldier Field.

[Lucky Clover]

Originally Posted by marothisu

^ Agreed. People still visit but a lot of people are very misinformed on the crime. Can you blame them though? The media paints such a weird picture sometimes. At the same time though, do you think partially has anything to do with "lower-than-it-should-be" rents versus some other world class cities in the US?

Super Bowl would be sweet, but it's not going to happen. Chicago is too cold for that to even be considered. The only way it would happen is if they build a retractable roof over Soldier Field.

That's not the only issue either. The # of seats is also a concern which Goodell has emphasized. New York is supposed to give it a try with next year's, and they have a contingency plan in place to have it on Saturday if there's a snowstorm.

But I think the only way Chicago gets a superbowl is with another stadium which would require a 2nd NFL team. I don't think Chicago gets another NFL team though, at least not anytime soon. So, a superbowl is really out of the question for now.

[compactspace]

I think the best way to attract tourists would be to produce interesting, hip movies and tv shows in the city, where the city and its everyday attractions (L train, parks, loop, architecture, neighbourhoods and so forth) become recognisable. Let the place speak for itself.

In my case, I went to New York as a destination, because I wanted to experience what I'd seen. When I arrived, I was instantly oriented, knew where everything was and had a blast. The things I went to see are amenities locals use and value. I tripped over Chicago by accident, knew very little about it (though I found it was the home of several things I hadn't previously 'placed') and had to feel my way around.

People don't come to my city for its casino, monorail, silly buses or what have you. These projects all wound up as white elephants. They come for the things Sydneysiders like, because, in Australia at least, they've seen us like them. I think Chicago has more than enough amazing features to do the same.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Saw this last night. Not a fan of ALL of it (like the Casino), but I think they can do more to make the city more attractive. They have to be careful to not make it too "corny" though. The above ground cable car thing is cool even if it's outdated.

Personally, I'd like to see street trolley cars on Michigan Avenue (and maybe even State Street) and Metra Electric converted to CTA..but you know..

I sincerely hope that casinos are not part of any effort to attract more tourists to Chicago. Hyping sure-fire ways to lose money, along with all the other negative side-effects that casinos bring, is the wrong way to go about it.

Chicago has more than enough, in the way of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, comedy clubs, museums, unique neighborhoods, etc, to attract new tourists rather than resorting to the old, tired "let's build a casino" schtick that has a tendency to bring crime and other vices along with them...

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by marothisu

^ Agreed. People still visit but a lot of people are very misinformed on the crime. Can you blame them though? The media paints such a weird picture sometimes. At the same time though, do you think partially has anything to do with "lower-than-it-should-be" rents versus some other world class cities in the US?

Super Bowl would be sweet, but it's not going to happen. Chicago is too cold for that to even be considered. The only way it would happen is if they build a retractable roof over Soldier Field.

The Super Bowl will be in Giants Stadium next year so there is no reason why Chicago and other ''cold'' cities cannot get the SB as well; besides, football is supposed to be played in cold weather.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by compactspace

I think the best way to attract tourists would be to produce interesting, hip movies and tv shows in the city, where the city and its everyday attractions (L train, parks, loop, architecture, neighbourhoods and so forth) become recognisable. Let the place speak for itself.

In my case, I went to New York as a destination, because I wanted to experience what I'd seen. When I arrived, I was instantly oriented, knew where everything was and had a blast. The things I went to see are amenities locals use and value. I tripped over Chicago by accident, knew very little about it (though I found it was the home of several things I hadn't previously 'placed') and had to feel my way around.

People don't come to my city for its casino, monorail, silly buses or what have you. These projects all wound up as white elephants. They come for the things Sydneysiders like, because, in Australia at least, they've seen us like them. I think Chicago has more than enough amazing features to do the same.

I hope no one relies on the Chicago Fire tv series to get a sense of Chicago; this show is awful.