Oakland as a tourist destination (San Francisco: city hall, high crime, theater)

[matt345]

I know starting any thread about Oakland is a very risky move on this forum, but I’m hoping we can keep this one civil. I was just thinking the other day – Oakland has a TON of untapped tourism potential, especially with the heart of SF being only a 15-minute BART ride away. Most tourist attractions out there rely mostly on promotion and publicity to bring in the crowds. Just look at how many visitors to Chicago absolutely “must” go out of their way to see the cloud gate, an attraction that wouldn’t bring in nearly as many people if it weren’t for the publicity it receives. If a giant kidney bean-shaped mirror can draw in throngs of tourists, I see no reason why the Grand Lake Theater, the Tribune Tower, the Fox Theater, and the Cathedral Building couldn’t do the same with the proper marketing and publicity. San Francisco and Oakland should be working together to market themselves as a single tourist destination, rather than trying to act like the other city doesn’t exist – it’s only a 7-mile difference, but I digress.

Anyway, with all the publicity about the “Oakland Renaissance” in recent years, do you ever see this town becoming a tourist hotspot? Maybe not on the level of SF, but maybe on par with what Portland, OR has done over the past decade?

[DocGoldstein]

No. Whatever Oakland has as an attraction, S.F does it grander, and better (shopping, theatres, marina, fine dining, etc). Locals, myself included, only go to Oakland when we don't feel like crossing the bridge.

[bmw335xi]

San Francisco won't want to get the short end of a dual marketing campaign. As of now, San Francisco has everything to lose, while Oakland has everything to gain.

Oakland does have a lot of potential, but they need to get their reputation repaired. They need to tackle their crime problem, at least in the areas tourists would be. It's really up to Oakland whether or not they will admit there is a problem so they can solve the problem.

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

It's really up to Oakland whether or not they will admit there is a problem so they can solve the problem.

Pretty much. Despite what Mayor Quan says, the tourist dollars going towards S.F (compared to Oakland) sort of prove that crime is a major deterrent to tourism dollars in Oakland. S.F has done very well in keeping it's touristy areas crime free, and safe.

S.F tops plenty of tourism hot spot list. I've never seen Oakland make it onto a single credible list.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

Pretty much. Despite what Mayor Quan says, the tourist dollars going towards S.F (compared to Oakland) sort of prove that crime is a major deterrent to tourism dollars in Oakland. S.F has done very well in keeping it's touristy areas crime free, and safe.

S.F tops plenty of tourism hot spot list. I've never seen Oakland make it onto a single credible list.

I agree, the best thing Oakland could do is clean up their streets and offer affordable accomdations for tourists who want to see SF.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

S.F has done very well in keeping it's touristy areas crime free, and safe.

Trial for German tourist's San Francisco murder sidelined by missing grand jury transcripts | abc7news.com
S.F. police arrest 7 in killing of German tourist - SFGate

Gangs in SF killing tourists is "safe"?

[DocGoldstein]

One murder for a city that has been a tourist destination for over a century? I think that's pretty good!

[sav858]

^Tell that to her husband. That's really sick of you.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

One murder for a city that has been a tourist destination for over a century? I think that's pretty good!

It's more than ONE btw:

Tourist from Baton Rouge killed in San Francisco robbery | NOLA.com

[matt345]

Yes, I know crime is a big issue when it comes to attracting visitors to Oakland. However, the Asian Art Museum, City Hall, and the Orpheum Theater are all located in relatively high crime areas (Mid-Market/Tenderloin), and yet that doesn't deter people from visiting those areas. New Orleans has a very well-known crime problem, much worse than Oakland, but people are still packing into the French Quarter and Garden District. Chicago's homicide rate is out of control this year, but I'm willing to bet the tourism industry is still going strong there. DC for years in the 90's was the murder capital of the US, but people were still lining up to tour the monuments. St. Louis has a pretty bad crime problem, yet people still want to visit the gateway arch. I just don't think fear of crime is only reason tourists aren't visiting Oakland. I really think it's a lack of marketing. Before moving to Oakland, I had no mental image of the city other than this mysterious place across the bridge from SF. I had never heard of Lake Merritt and had no idea what Oakland's skyline looked like. Oakland wasn't on my list of places to visit, not because I was afraid of it. I just had no idea what was there.