Why does Indianapolis get a bad rap as a boring city? (Columbus: shop, statistics)

[W & C]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Were talking about people in America. Not International tourism. Lets remember the sample here

I was curious about that but I can't seem to find statistics for top domestic tourism destinations.

[Toxic Toast]

Condé Nast Traveler saw fit to list Indianapolis as somewhere worthy of visiting this summer. So there's that.

The 30+ Best Places to Visit This Summer

[W & C]

Ya, when I googled domestic tourism, I found a bunch of "top places to visit" lists with recommendations but couldn't find statistics.

[wh15395]

I'm so sick of hearing people say that no one goes to Indianapolis for vacation. There are people from Chicago, Cincy, Columbus, and Louisville here every weekend. About half of them are here for pre-planned events (sports, conventions, weddings, etc.) and the rest are just on a short vacation. Indianapolis is a major metro in the region and gets vacationers just like every other major metro in the Midwest. I'd argue that Indianapolis has a superior Downtown to basically every regional city, other than Chicago. That's especially important considering most vacationers stay in a city's Downtown, not their smaller neighborhoods. Additionally, the Children's Museum, Indiana State Museum, and Indianapolis Museum of Art are all year around visitor destinations.

It's stupid to compare Indy as a tourist destination to cities in Boston's league, but people definitely vacation here. I work at a hotel, so I feel I have a better grasp on this than most posters here.

[W & C]

Originally Posted by wh15395

I'm so sick of hearing people say that no one goes to Indianapolis for vacation. There are people from Chicago, Cincy, Columbus, and Louisville here every weekend. About half of them are here for pre-planned events (sports, conventions, weddings, etc.) and the rest are just on a short vacation. Indianapolis is a major metro in the region and gets vacationers just like every other major metro in the Midwest. I'd argue that Indianapolis has a superior Downtown to basically every regional city, other than Chicago. That's especially important considering most vacationers stay in a city's Downtown, not their smaller neighborhoods. Additionally, the Children's Museum, Indiana State Museum, and Indianapolis Museum of Art are all year around visitor destinations.

It's stupid to compare Indy as a tourist destination to cities in Boston's league, but people definitely vacation here. I work at a hotel, so I feel I have a better grasp on this than most posters here.

I can sort of confirm the bolded part.

When I lived in Louisville, one guy I befriended would go up to Indy on weekends just to hang out. He thought it was cool as it was more big league than Louisville and a short drive away.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by wh15395

I'm so sick of hearing people say that no one goes to Indianapolis for vacation. There are people from Chicago, Cincy, Columbus, and Louisville here every weekend. About half of them are here for pre-planned events (sports, conventions, weddings, etc.) and the rest are just on a short vacation. Indianapolis is a major metro in the region and gets vacationers just like every other major metro in the Midwest. I'd argue that Indianapolis has a superior Downtown to basically every regional city, other than Chicago. That's especially important considering most vacationers stay in a city's Downtown, not their smaller neighborhoods. Additionally, the Children's Museum, Indiana State Museum, and Indianapolis Museum of Art are all year around visitor destinations.

It's stupid to compare Indy as a tourist destination to cities in Boston's league, but people definitely vacation here. I work at a hotel, so I feel I have a better grasp on this than most posters here.

I am just pulling these stats from memory so they are open for dispute.... I thought Indy was the 13th most populated city with the 10th highest crime rate of major cities. So why shouldn't it be compared to other major cities. When you think of Boston, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, South Beach Miami, Nashville, , Myrtle Beach, San Francisco, Honolulu, New Orleans. each one has a distinct vibe and feel. all other cities have those things such as museums, art etc what do you do the 2nd day?. Indy lacks the national appeal that would make most people think "why Indy?". It is great at hosting sporting events besides that what does it offer?
I was born in Maryland, lived in Florida, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and now Indiana. My perspective is Indiana is a great place to work, live , raise a family. I am not anti Indy
Just like anyplace else I have lived my lifestyle is very similar... wake up, drink coffee, go through the days routines, go to bed. Look forward to those vacations to get away and look forward to retirement to go somewhere else.

the states with the highest tourism are California, Florida, Texas, New York Nothing surprising about this list due to their geographical size and populations. after those there is a big drop. Indiana is right about the middle of the country when it comes to tourism. So I guess you can say at least it attracts more than Alaska and west Virginia.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by nhkev

I am just pulling these stats from memory so they are open for dispute.... I thought Indy was the 13th most populated city with the 10th highest crime rate of major cities. So why shouldn't it be compared to other major cities. When you think of Boston, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, South Beach Miami, Nashville, , Myrtle Beach, San Francisco, Honolulu, New Orleans. each one has a distinct vibe and feel. all other cities have those things such as museums, art etc what do you do the 2nd day?. Indy lacks the national appeal that would make most people think "why Indy?". It is great at hosting sporting events besides that what does it offer?
I was born in Maryland, lived in Florida, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and now Indiana. My perspective is Indiana is a great place to work, live , raise a family. I am not anti Indy
Just like anyplace else I have lived my lifestyle is very similar... wake up, drink coffee, go through the days routines, go to bed. Look forward to those vacations to get away and look forward to retirement to go somewhere else.

the states with the highest tourism are California, Florida, Texas, New York Nothing surprising about this list due to their geographical size and populations. after those there is a big drop. Indiana is right about the middle of the country when it comes to tourism. So I guess you can say at least it attracts more than Alaska and west Virginia.

Almost all of those metros (key word) are either bigger than Indianapolis or have some sort of distinguishing natural/cultural feature. Indianapolis' city limits are ridiculously exaggerated. Coming back on I-74 last night from Cincy, there are several miles before you get to 465 that are just cornfields and are technically Indianapolis. Stupid.

Nashville has music. Las Vegas has gaming. New Orleans is a party town. Honolulu has climate and beauty. Most of the others are just plain huge and are a draw due to that or have beaches. Maybe Indy can develop some sort of image like Austin/Portland/Nashville that begins to draw people, interest, etc.

My complaints about Indianapolis are generally things that aren't going to change - it's not going to be noticeably warmer here, nor are beaches, lakes, mountains, and other natural features going to appear. For people like myself who value the outdoors, yeah, this place will seem boring. Most of the people I know here have little interest in the outdoors, so it doesn't bother them, or have never elsewhere, so that's all they know. A couple of my buddies here are gamers/nerds who don't care about outside stuff at all - they're perfectly happy here.

My other complaints are fairly minor in comparison to climate/topography (lack of single young women) or could maybe be solved by moving into the city. No, Indy isn't going to have the hot women or nightlife of Miami or LA, but is it any worse than its peer metros like St. Louis, Cincy, Cleveland, etc.? I doubt it.

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by wh15395

I'm so sick of hearing people say that no one goes to Indianapolis for vacation.

Did anyone say that not one single person in the history of the world ever went to Indy on vacation? Of course not.

The fact is that Indy isn't a tourist city. There aren't any obvious draws.

[W & C]

Originally Posted by nhkev

I am just pulling these stats from memory so they are open for dispute.... I thought Indy was the 13th most populated city with the 10th highest crime rate of major cities. So why shouldn't it be compared to other major cities. When you think of Boston, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, South Beach Miami, Nashville, , Myrtle Beach, San Francisco, Honolulu, New Orleans. each one has a distinct vibe and feel. all other cities have those things such as museums, art etc what do you do the 2nd day?. Indy lacks the national appeal that would make most people think "why Indy?". It is great at hosting sporting events besides that what does it offer?
I was born in Maryland, lived in Florida, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and now Indiana. My perspective is Indiana is a great place to work, live , raise a family. I am not anti Indy
Just like anyplace else I have lived my lifestyle is very similar... wake up, drink coffee, go through the days routines, go to bed. Look forward to those vacations to get away and look forward to retirement to go somewhere else.

the states with the highest tourism are California, Florida, Texas, New York Nothing surprising about this list due to their geographical size and populations. after those there is a big drop. Indiana is right about the middle of the country when it comes to tourism. So I guess you can say at least it attracts more than Alaska and west Virginia.

Doubtful. Alaska attracts plenty of tourism. Where I live, I see cruise ships going there all the time.

[Dyadic]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Did anyone say that not one single person in the history of the world ever went to Indy on vacation? Of course not.

The fact is that Indy isn't a tourist city. There aren't any obvious draws.

Ever heard of Sport Tourism?