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I just got back from a week long cruise that left out of (and returned to) Miami; and we spent Saturday exploring Miami before our evening flight home to RDU...including a walking/eating tour of Little Havana.
Very impressive tour and really gave a strong sense of "place"...the tour guide had grown up in the neighborhood and still had strong ties to so many people there and to relatives who chose not to/were not able to leave Cuba.
Driving all over Miami it had a lot of cool and unique "special" attributes that make it clearly a tourist destination; with our without the cruise-port (the largest/busiest cruise port in the world by a significant margin)...it's a fun, unique, and special place to see and spend time.
Raleigh/the Triangle just isn't a tourist destination. There is nothing and probably will be nothing in the foreseeable future that has that much of a strong ingrained cultural flavor. I'd give a head-tilt response to anyone booking a "vacation" anywhere in the Triangle.
The Triangle is a wonderful place to live and, somewhat objectively and statistically, is fairly "exceptional" (educational attainment, economic wellbeing, etc)...just not necessarily "special". And there's a difference between the two. Personally I couldn't live in Miami not just due to the weather but also the traffic and overall congestion.
I wouldn't go as far as saying that places that are tourist magnets with a higher degree of "special"....and places that are "exceptional" have a higher overall quality of life are "mutually exclusive"....but I think there is some correlation.
First of all, I will agree with you that Miami and the surrounding area is a top notch tourist destination seeking for those seeking fun and entertainment, and Raleigh could hardly compare in that regard. We have no beaches, tropical weather, excellent caribbean or latin american cuisine, nor a wealth of physical beauty that can be found there.
On the other hand, people tour places for all sorts of reasons. People tour places to find a new place to live, to find a job, to scout out a location for a business expansion, when looking to invest in real estate (you should know this being a real estate agent), when they are considering a school in that area, etc. The list of reasons is extensive.
You're thinking of tourism in the most popular sense, but again, people have various reasons for touring a place and in that sense, I can see why this area has a higher than expected tourism rate.
Last edited by uncchgrad; 08-28-2023 at 12:21 PM..
I just got back from a week long cruise that left out of (and returned to) Miami; and we spent Saturday exploring Miami before our evening flight home to RDU...including a walking/eating tour of Little Havana.
Very impressive tour and really gave a strong sense of "place"...the tour guide had grown up in the neighborhood and still had strong ties to so many people there and to relatives who chose not to/were not able to leave Cuba.
Driving all over Miami it had a lot of cool and unique "special" attributes that make it clearly a tourist destination; with our without the cruise-port (the largest/busiest cruise port in the world by a significant margin)...it's a fun, unique, and special place to see and spend time.
Miami compared to the Triangle as a tourist destination isn't fair. My wife is Cuban and grew up in Miami, so I've spent some time there. Cuban bakeries are cheap and delicious. Cuban food is wonderful but find the right spot. Seafood can be fantastic, but the same caveat: find the right spot.
The Triangle? It's a much better place to raise a family. There is better tech business (Miami is the 2nd largest banking center in the US, after NY - I wonder why?). But for a vacation? I can think of 100s of places in the US alone I would rather visit than the Triangle. And I'm not trying to be overly negative, it's just we are what we are.
Miami compared to the Triangle as a tourist destination isn't fair. My wife is Cuban and grew up in Miami, so I've spent some time there. Cuban bakeries are cheap and delicious. Cuban food is wonderful but find the right spot. Seafood can be fantastic, but the same caveat: find the right spot.
The Triangle? It's a much better place to raise a family. There is better tech business (Miami is the 2nd largest banking center in the US, after NY - I wonder why?). But for a vacation? I can think of 100s of places in the US alone I would rather visit than the Triangle. And I'm not trying to be overly negative, it's just we are what we are.
I agree with all of this.
I'd choose the Triangle to live in over Miami 8 days a week for all of the same reasons you've mentioned.
Omg how bad does your life have to suck that you vacation in Raleigh...lol
Family, Business, Passing Through, or maybe you're first time out of Mayberry.
Even though the title implies "destination", a lot of time tourism occurs as a secondary reason for a visit. Wherever I travel, I try to find unique things to do in that place. It's still tourism, still adds to the economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Big
Probably someone who has 19,108 posts on this forum.
But it's a fair question. (The answer you got was top notch though. )
The report breaks down the data to analyze the trends in the OP's ABC topline report. A visitor is defined as anybody who traveled 50 miles to reach their destination in Wake County for a day visit (45%) or staying overnight (55%).
Total visitors in 2022 is just shy of the 2019 peak (# of visitors in millions)
2018: 16.8
2019: 17.9
2020: 12.9
2021: 15.8
2022: 17.8
Visitor Spending in Dollars (in billions):
2018: $2.71
2019: $2.91
2020: $1.67
2021: $2.34
2022: $2.95
Raleigh visitation share by segment in 2022:
Day visitor: 45.1%
Overnight visitor: 54.9%
Leisure: 90.4%
Business 9.6%
Domestic: 99.7%
International 0.3%
The Raleigh Report does not capture the reason for a visit, but Visit NC does capture the top activities by visitors to the broader Piedmont Region of the state. 47% of Piedmont visitors report their top activity is visiting friends/family (unsurprising given the amount of transplants in this region of the state), 22% are shopping, 17% plan fine dining, 10% plan to visit historic sites, and 9% for unique local cuisine. https://partners.visitnc.com/content...or+Profile.pdf
The report breaks down the data to analyze the trends in the OP's ABC topline report. A visitor is defined as anybody who traveled 50 miles to reach their destination in Wake County for a day visit (45%) or staying overnight (55%).
Total visitors in 2022 is just shy of the 2019 peak (# of visitors in millions)
2018: 16.8
2019: 17.9
2020: 12.9
2021: 15.8
2022: 17.8
Visitor Spending in Dollars (in billions):
2018: $2.71
2019: $2.91
2020: $1.67
2021: $2.34
2022: $2.95
Raleigh visitation share by segment in 2022:
Day visitor: 45.1%
Overnight visitor: 54.9%
Leisure: 90.4%
Business 9.6%
Domestic: 99.7%
International 0.3%
The Raleigh Report does not capture the reason for a visit, but Visit NC does capture the top activities by visitors to the broader Piedmont Region of the state. 47% of Piedmont visitors report their top activity is visiting friends/family (unsurprising given the amount of transplants in this region of the state), 22% are shopping, 17% plan fine dining, 10% plan to visit historic sites, and 9% for unique local cuisine. https://partners.visitnc.com/content...or+Profile.pdf
I believe "tourism" is being used very broadly. In this case I assume that it includes not only what we typically consider as tourism, but also people coming to the area to attend concerts, conventions, sporting events, and any other type of event that attracts hoards of people that spend $$$.
I believe "tourism" is being used very broadly. In this case I assume that it includes not only what we typically consider as tourism, but also people coming to the area to attend concerts, conventions, sporting events, and any other type of event that attracts hoards of people that spend $$$.
With a loose interpretation of the rules, someone with a long commute (>50 miles) could be considered a visitor for just coming to work.
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