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What don't you get? People go to DC to see the nation's capital and all the accoutrements that go with it. Does Pittsburgh have the same? People go to NYC to see, well, NYC! The Empire State Building, Broadway, Central Park, all the other attractions. Does Pittsburgh have that? If you live in any kind of urban area, you have parks, arts offerings and the like similar to, maybe, just maybe, even better than Pittsburgh's! People go to Philly to see the Liberty Bell, the Valley Forge battlefield, stuff like that. Does Pittsburgh have that?
you keep obsessing over NY,DC, and Philly for some reason. If you've read my posts you will realize it doesn't need to be as big a draw as those places to see an increase in tourism. in fact, adding 3k rooms ( I believe it's adding half that) will get the city to where cincy was a few years ago..not exactly outside the realm of reasonable expectations. yes, if someone was going to say, pittsburgh is going to quadruple the number of rooms and give ny a run for its money I can understand the disbelief. as I mentioned, philly has 20k more rooms and is considered low for a city of its size (primarily due to the lack of cbd employment).
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Originally Posted by Katiana
Living and having lived in different parts of the country, I can tell you no one I know is booking/has booked a vacation to Pittsburgh just to sight-see. I know people that go there for the reasons I stated in my previous post, also sometimes for a college visit; someone I work with went to Moraine State Park for some Civil War enactment thing that she's involved with.
oh, well, then it must never have happened. what do room number increases and occupancy rates have to do with anything? they are the indication of whether the number of visitors is increasing or decreasing. the world changes.
I recently returned from a two week trip in Sarasota, Florida. There is no argument that at least in people's mind that city is superior to Pittsburgh as a vacation spot. I like a good getaway as well as the next person, especially after a long and harsh winter in the north. To be honest, after a week, I was ready to go home. Different people like different things along with different families. At first mention, it almost sounds laughable to suggest that Pittsburgh could compete with a Florida Beach community like Sarasota as a vacation destination. Looking at the details more closely on paper, it is not as cut and dry as it one may think. Here are some comparisons.
[b]WEATHER-Florida gets the edge to those who like warm weather all year long and hot and humid weather in the summer. Pittsburgh gets the edge for people who like four seasons. Florida wins this because it only makes sense that Florida wins the weather battle.
[b]SCENERY-This is a tossup. Pittsburgh is known for it's scenery due to it's geography by the three rivers and it topography. However, sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico aren't too shabby.
[BCULTURE- Pittsburgh wins this one handily. Sarasota may actually have the best or near the best art scene in Florida, but it still does not come close to Pittsburgh, which is highly regarded as having an arts scene comparable to larger cities, and has for years. Pittsburgh wins for art lovers.
FOOD AND DINING-I would have to say it is a tie. Pittsburgh has the ethnic groups form Europe and also Asian influence. Florida has seafood and more Hispanic choices like Cuban and Hispanic. The restaurants in the coastal towns charge $15.00 for a fish sandwich for simply having a view of the bay of gulf. That gets old after a while and make you long for a Nieds.
[SPORTS-Pittsburgh wins the sport because it has the pro venues.
RECREATION-Tie. Florida has it for those who like to fish, sail, golf, tennis, and other outdoor activities. Pittsburgh also has it's share of this. The Pittsburgh area is one of the top areas in the nation for golf courses per capita. Plus there is skiing in the winter thanks to our terrain. Boating on the river may not quite be the Gulf of Mexico, but gives a lot of pleasure to may and has gotten more popular. Pittsburgh's topography and winters allow for a variety of outdoor activities all year long.
NEIGHBORHOODS-Pittsburgh
I could go on. I just wanted to make the point that it depends on who we are referring to when we say City A is a better vacation destination then City B. If someone just blurts this question out in a bar, maybe they would be laughed at. Upon further examination, the truth is that Pittsburgh can compete very well thank you very much. That is why it does well on these lists. National Geographic does their homework. They just don't throw darts at a map. Different stokes for different folks.
Note: Before someone points out the fact that if I would have picked another city in Florida that is a popular vacation spot, Miami, rather than Sarasota, the results would have been different. Not really. Miami does have four professional sport franchises, but it is not a better sports town than Pittsburgh. Nightlife, yeah there is South Beach. The area is beautiful and there are a lot of clubs. A lot of people would prefer a less pretentious and less expensive area like East Carson. LIke I said. It all depends.
you keep obsessing over NY,DC, and Philly for some reason. If you've read my posts you will realize it doesn't need to be as big a draw as those places to see an increase in tourism. in fact, adding 3k rooms ( I believe it's adding half that) will get the city to where cincy was a few years ago..not exactly outside the realm of reasonable expectations. yes, if someone was going to say, pittsburgh is going to quadruple the number of rooms and give ny a run for its money I can understand the disbelief. as I mentioned, philly has 20k more rooms and is considered low for a city of its size (primarily due to the lack of cbd employment).
oh, well, then it must never have happened. what do room number increases and occupancy rates have to do with anything? they are the indication of whether the number of visitors is increasing or decreasing. the world changes.
It's not an obsession. It came from the post, below. What's this obsession with rooms? I thought this was an article about the desirability of Pittsburgh as a vacation spot, not "Pittsburgh's hotel/motel rooms have increased by X amount".
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Originally Posted by pman
let's see vacation in: Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincy, Buffalo or spend an assload more money to get to Philly, NY, or DC. not hard to figure out why someone would pick Pittsburgh for a taste of city life. kayak nearby? check. catch a game without driving? check. zoo? check. one of the best hotels in the country? check. relaxed atmosphere? check. I suppose the bigger question is where does pittsburgh's total room count stand in relation to other cities. while the city might not be the next san francisco, perhaps it is just normalizing in terms of rooms. I would say that the fact the hotels are in and around downtown would suggest to me it's a combination of business and leisure. fwiw, it's cheaper to stay on the north shore than downtown...and quite frankly there's a good reason for that.
here it is, article is from 2012. if you look at the graphic pittsburgh is a few thousand rooms shy of cincinnati (and also below columbus). there's no reason to think the city couldn't over take them in rooms, cincy isn't exactly the end all be all for urban vacations. I think the city is just normalizing.
if business stays are growing, then all it takes is weekenders to fill otherwise empty rooms to make hotels more profitable.
Other than kayaking, you could find those activities in just about any city, and many offer kayaking as well. What's "one of the best hotels in the country"? You could do it all in Omaha.
If you live in farm land pa or ohio pittsburgh is a great vacation spot. Kennywood, carnegie museums, plays, concerts, clo, symphany, strip district, inclines.
Just because you guys live here and are bored does not take away from pittsburgh as a vacation spot.
You cannot visit the Liberty Bell or Valley Forge battlefield in Pittsburgh. You cannot see the site of the Twin Towers, go to a Broadway show, etc, in Pittsburgh. You cannot visit the nation's capital, the Smithsonian, Arlington National Cemetery, etc, etc, etc, in Pittsburgh. That is the reason people spend money to go to Philly, NY and/or DC.
Yes, Pittsburgh is a cool city with some interesting things to do. So are most cities.
Just because some Pittsburghers are happy for making another Top Ten list does not automatically mean that they are oblivious to the offerings of other cities. How can someone insinuate as much just because someone comes on to a forum and shows their pride? Yes, other cities have cool things too. However, not all of those cities made the list. Pittsburgh did. Take it for what it is worth. This the Pittsburgh City-Data. Not Denver. Not Minneapolis. Not Omaha. We are talking about the list that PITTSBURGH made. I have no problem talking about other cities, but every time a list like this comes out, we have to get a lesson about how other cities have these things too. We know. Is there anything wrong commenting positively about Pittsburgh about a list on a forum called PITTSBURGH City-Data?
Just because some Pittsburghers are happy for making another Top Ten list does not automatically mean that they are oblivious to the offerings of other cities. How can someone insinuate as much just because someone comes on to a forum and shows their pride? Yes, other cities have cool things too. However, not all of those cities made the list. Pittsburgh did. Take it for what it is worth. This the Pittsburgh City-Data. Not Denver. Not Minneapolis. Not Omaha. We are talking about the list that PITTSBURGH made. I have no problem talking about other cities, but every time a list like this comes out, we have to get a lesson about how other cities have these things too. We know. Is there anything wrong commenting positively about Pittsburgh about a list on a forum called PITTSBURGH City-Data?
Kat has an allergic reaction to lists in the Pittsburgh forum. I wish she'd get over it, but it doesn't look like she will. Disengaging is the wisest cause of action, 'coz she is never wrong ....
I want to see a Kat - Erieguy argument. It could fill a 100 forum pages in a day ...
On topic, a co-worker of mine from DC told me this afternoon that she will spend a week here on vacation with her son at a camp in July. Kat obviously doesn't know her.
It's not an obsession. It came from the post, below. What's this obsession with rooms? I thought this was an article about the desirability of Pittsburgh as a vacation spot, not "Pittsburgh's hotel/motel rooms have increased by X amount".
sorry if you don't like facts. the room and occupancy numbers are relevant since they prove that people are in fact staying in Pittsburgh more than they used to.
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Originally Posted by Katiana
Other than kayaking, you could find those activities in just about any city, and many offer kayaking as well. What's "one of the best hotels in the country"? You could do it all in Omaha.
good for omaha, so what? the fairmont is one of the best hotels in the country, it's run that well. you're not paying attention. omaha is really far away, that's not much use to someone who wants a long weekend in the city and is choosing Pittsburgh over cleveland, buffalo, or columbus. omaha has 10,000 hotel rooms, perhaps it's not the tourist destination you make it out to be. I think you just want to argue. Omaha Hotels - Details, Reviews, Maps & Photos
Completely unappealing line up of free events - free so they must be worthless. Who is Lucinda Williams anyway? Amos Lee? Kaiser Chiefs? 4th rate at best, I'd say. Along with a bunch of nobodies in support, an iffy Symphony and some arty stuff that no one cares about. I bet Kat doesn't know anybody who likes this bunch of loser has-beens. Not even some decent organized kayaking.
(recommendations appreciated for stuff I haven't heard of, BTW ...)
Last edited by gortonator; 06-03-2014 at 07:29 PM..
We were at a bar last weekend and met a couple from Ireland. They were in the U.S. for three weeks and decided to include Pittsburgh on their itinerary. They saw the city on a travel show and were intrigued (especially by the inclines). They were also excited about the Warhol Museum. I think more and more people visit 'off the beaten path' places like Pittsburgh nowadays. Heck, we went on a vacation to Cleveland a few years ago! Some of us like to explore new and interesting places, especially if we don't have to fork over $300 a night for a hotel room.
P.S. I am not allowed to rep you again, gortonator, but great post.
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