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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro
Indeed.
We have possibly four to five cities that are international draws: New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, and Orlando (I'm on the fence with San Francisco, it just barely makes a strict cutoff).
The rest of the cities in America, are very much national and regional attractions with a small and stringent miniature sized pull on the world of tourism globally.
I would think San Francisco would be in that list as well?
I would think San Francisco would be in that list as well?
Absolutely. It's the last city and where I would draw the line for "America global". It even has higher numbers (and rank) than what I previously thought. Basically anything 2 million on up seems about right for me. For Washington, it's sort of a "we're almost there" but "not quite there yet" thing, which is a fitting description on my experience I suppose.
New York: 9,285,000
Los Angeles: 3,653,000
Miami: 2,956,000
San Francisco: 2,872,000
Las Vegas: 2,788,000 [tied]
Orlando: 2,788,000 [tied]
Washington DC: 1,812,000
Honolulu: 1,785,000
Boston: 1,311,000
Chicago: 1,199,000
San Diego: 753,000
Philadelphia: 613,000
Houston: 586,000 [tied]
Atlanta: 586,000 [tied]
Seattle: 474,000
Dallas: 418,000
Right now would be the perfect time to visit Washington, D.C. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom as we speak and the temperature is in the 70s-80s (Fahrenheit) today. It will be very crowded.
But if you missed it this time around, there's always next year. ;-)
Right now would be the perfect time to visit Washington, D.C. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom as we speak and the temperature is in the 70s-80s (Fahrenheit) today. It will be very crowded.
But if you missed it this time around, there's always next year. ;-)
Yeah the cherry blossoms this time of the year are quite beautiful.
The weather across the map in the United States right now is crazy. Weird hearing of snow in Denver this morning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
This is true. I think cost, or the perception of Tokyo as being an expensive place, is one of the main reasons for Tokyo's lack of popularity. For Americans on the east coast and European's it's pretty far too. Historically, Westerners tended to favour visiting Europe for culture and history, while most Asians were too poor to visit Japan. Much of the attraction in Asia is it's cheapness, which Tokyo doesn't have. Tokyo has some authentic Japanese/Asian culture but with European prices, so it's a bit in between.
I think though we'll see tourism to Japan rise fairly steadily. The number of people in the West learning Japanese has increased considerably since 1990. Even Korea might be seen as an international tourist destination.
Boston and Philly are sort of 'neither here nor there' for mass tourists. While historical for Americans most Europeans would be unimpressed. Most Asians and Australians are attracted to the US for it's plastic glamour, unfortunately, although the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone.etc remain popular.
That's very true but at the same time I think the Asian cities of Hong Kong and Singapore, being as they come across as more socially cosmopolitan than Seoul and Tokyo have an edge gaining tourism. I've personally noticed that Hong Kong ends up being one of those "must see at all costs" type of cities whereas people use the same "I don't speak Japanese" excuse with Tokyo. It's a pity, they're missing out on one incredible experience but at the same time, I'll use the standard "good, don't go! more oxygen for me and the residents of Tokyo without you hogging an extra of it". Haha. So many people say the same with Nagoya and Osaka and I always tell them, "well good! if you're bent on not going, you're missing out and if you do go with that attitude, you're just going to hog all the oxygen!".
I also agree that I expect tourism of Japan to skyrocket soon. We've been culturally influenced by them more and more and they have by us, then again the world on over is mixing well now. I heard a few years back people in Tokyo were going ballistic over salsa dancing, globalization is hitting the world's largest cities hard.
One additional thing, I'm pretty cynical and like things to be picture perfect situations. In regards to Washington, I want the tourism to go up only when we become more like a Boston type of place, as in very few holes in the city when it comes to bad areas (it's moving in the right direction though) and like New York when it becomes more 24/7 and active place where tourists don't just go for the sites but for the city itself, to experience the nightlife, musical acts, cultural festivities, so on.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 04-09-2013 at 09:39 AM..
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro
Yeah the cherry blossoms this time of the year are quite beautiful.
The weather across the map in the United States right now is crazy. Weird hearing of snow in Denver this morning.
That's very true but at the same time I think the Asian cities of Hong Kong and Singapore, being as they come across as more socially cosmopolitan than Seoul and Tokyo have an edge gaining tourism. I've personally noticed that Hong Kong ends up being one of those "must see at all costs" type of cities whereas people use the same "I don't speak Japanese" excuse with Tokyo. It's a pity, they're missing out on one incredible experience but at the same time, I'll use the standard "good, don't go! more oxygen for me and the residents of Tokyo without you hogging an extra of it". Haha. So many people say the same with Nagoya and Osaka and I always tell them, "well good! if you're bent on not going, you're missing out and if you do go with that attitude, you're just going to hog all the oxygen!".
I also agree that I expect tourism of Japan to skyrocket soon. We've been culturally influenced by them more and more and they have by us, then again the world on over is mixing well now. I heard a few years back people in Tokyo were going ballistic over salsa dancing, globalization is hitting the world's largest cities hard.
One additional thing, I'm pretty cynical and like things to be picture perfect situations. In regards to Washington, I want the tourism to go up only when we become more like a Boston type of place, as in very few holes in the city when it comes to bad areas (it's moving in the right direction though) and like New York when it becomes more 24/7 and active place where tourists don't just go for the sites but for the city itself, to experience the nightlife, musical acts, cultural festivities, so on.
My cousin is actually in Japan right now. He can't speak a lick of Japanese, and seems to be doing alright, and he isn't the most adventurous traveller, so I think the language thing is as you say an excuse. It's pretty tourist-friendly overall I would say. It can also be surprisingly affordable if you're smart about it. Japan or India will probably be the next Asian country I visit.
Yes that's the problem with American cities. Too many sketchy areas, even in touristy cities like DC or New Orleans. In NOLA we were told not to even go to Armstrong Park. I had money stolen in Vegas just off the strip. In some ways the US just isn't what I'd call 'world class.' However, if a tourist stays within the central area of DC they should be fine.
Yes that's the problem with American cities. Too many sketchy areas, even in touristy cities like DC or New Orleans. In NOLA we were told not to even go to Armstrong Park. I had money stolen in Vegas just off the strip. In some ways the US just isn't what I'd call 'world class.' However, if a tourist stays within the central area of DC they should be fine.
Plenty of neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. are fine for tourists. Of course, the area around the White House, the monuments and memorials, Smithsonian museums, U.S. Capitol Building and U.S. Supreme Court are great. But there's also downtown D.C., Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, DuPont Circle, Adams Morgan, Embassy row, U Street, Rock Creek Park, Penn Quarter and some other areas worth visiting. I also recommend parts of Arlington and Alexandria (especially Old Town) across the river in Virginia.
The eastern part of D.C. is not recommended, but there's not that much to see there for tourists anyway - except maybe the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which was visited by Pope Benedict in 2008.
Yes that's the problem with American cities. Too many sketchy areas, even in touristy cities like DC or New Orleans. In NOLA we were told not to even go to Armstrong Park. I had money stolen in Vegas just off the strip. In some ways the US just isn't what I'd call 'world class.' However, if a tourist stays within the central area of DC they should be fine.
Ideally, as a perfect travel situation I'd like for our cities to be emulating the status of the Japanese ones. They are a great role model for us (United Kingdom is as well). I never want to come across an excuse from someone saying "yeah I was walking around and walked off into a bad part or drove into a bad part and became a victim of crime".
When I was in Boston last, the liberation was to be able to walk freely with absolutely zero thought in the back of my mind about turning into the wrong street and having a gun in my face. I realize crime can happen anywhere, even good areas but I'd like for my city to return the favor and become as presentable as Boston is right now. It's an ideal situation or better yet something like a Tokyo or Osaka where even "bad areas" are very tame and civilized.
I think these being implemented and cleaned up is essential before advertising tourism and leisure, you must crawl before you walk. It makes for a more presentable city and one of which people will not be so ready to knock for crime issues.
In the next 15 years, Washington's going to be an incredible place to visit carefree as it spends the next several years cleaning up rapidly and filling in the holes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
My cousin is actually in Japan right now. He can't speak a lick of Japanese, and seems to be doing alright, and he isn't the most adventurous traveller, so I think the language thing is as you say an excuse. It's pretty tourist-friendly overall I would say. It can also be surprisingly affordable if you're smart about it. Japan or India will probably be the next Asian country I visit.
Exactly, if you're genuinely into travel and curious about a place then not even a language or culture barrier will stop you from going and exploring.
Lots of people throw in the towel too early, well the jokes on them for missing out on what could have been a tremendous experience.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 04-09-2013 at 10:56 AM..
Not sure what year the data is from and whether those numbers are comparable, but it looks like they used the number of overseas visitors to NYC (8.7 million i.e. close to the more recent 9.3 million listed by valentro). As stated on the ITA website from which those numbers were taken, 'overseas' excludes Canada and Mexico, and if so, the 9.3 million number is significantly understated:
NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL VISITORS TO THE US Jan-Nov 2012 (source)
Canada 21,190,047 (35%)
Mexico 12,763,783 (21%)
All others ("overseas") 27,195,414 (44%)
Total 61,149,684
This table says NY state received 3.7 million visitors from Canada in 2011, I would assume the overwhelming majority of this is to NYC. So the true number of international visitors to NYC is at least 12.5 million.
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