Thursday, August 30, 2007

Charlotte better for tourists than Nashville?

Charlotte a better tourist destination than Nashville?

A recent national ranking that named Charlotte the 26th most-visited city in the nation, ahead of Nashville, was part of the buzz this afternoon at the general meeting of the Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance.

That’s the folks who run local hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions, and those who do business with them.

Some are surprised to hear that news, given Nashville’s national draw as the home of country music.

The hospitality and tourism industry generated $3 billion in economic impact in Mecklenburg last year and aims to increase that total to $4 billion by 2010, said the group’s leader, Mohammad Jenatian.

Among the ways they’re aiming to do that:

--Bringing minor-league baseball to uptown Charlotte with a complicated land swap. The deal as planned should also result in the redevelopment of Second Ward, currently the government sector of uptown, and a new park in Third Ward near Bank of America Stadium. Charlotte Center City Partners honcho Michael Smith told the group land should start changing hands by Sept. 30, another swap is planned by Oct. 15 and the Mecklenburg County Commissioners should vote on the deal Oct. 16.

--Participating in the campaign opposing the repeal of the county’s 1/2-cent sales tax that goes toward mass transit. If the county’s bus and light rail system are cut back as a result of repealing the tax, many hospitality workers might have trouble getting to work in early mornings or late nights, Jenatian said. (An anti-tax petition got a measure to repeal the tax onto the Nov. 6 election ballot).

--Getting more people to go rafting at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. As recently reported in the Observer, visitor traffic is ahead of projections, but not enough of the visitors are actually going rafting, center director Jeff Wise said. "A lot of people are intimidated by the activities out there," he said. So the new focus is getting the message out that the whitewater isn’t just for Olympic-caliber athletes – it’s for beginners too. The center is also reaching out to meeting planners to hold corporate retreats there.

--And finally, the much-hyped NASCAR Hall of Fame, scheduled to open in uptown Charlotte by 2010. Tim Newman, who heads the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, told the crowd the hall’s design is done, schematics for the museum exhibits and public art on the outdoor plaza will take another six months or so, and it’s on schedule – so far. After discovering the ground it’s on at Stonewall and Brevard streets is less rocky and softer than anticipated, the city recently approved adding a basement to the building for storage and exibit space, bringing the price tag from $154.5 million to $157 million.

What else could we do to make Charlotte more appealing as a tourist destination?

21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think we're doing okay. I'd like to see activities in uptown (including shopping) going late at night every night.

I'd prefer a pro baseball team.

Rail down to Ballantyne and over to the airport would help visitors. From Huntersville and up 74 would be even better for commuters.

I'd like to see more ethnic restaurants. There are some, a few good ones, too - but they are scattered about.

I would guess that most of our tourism is business related not for fun stuff.

7:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The numbers are based on factors such as airport passenger disembarkment and hotel occupancy. In Charlotte, as everyone knows, the airport traffic consists largely of people changing planes on US Airways, and the hotel volume consists overwhelmingly of business travelers who don't visit anything or spend any money other than for meals. It all sounds nice and it makes our tourism people puff up with pride ("Look at us!!! Everyone loves to come to Charlotte!!") but the figures have nothing to do with Charlotte as a tourism destination.

7:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is really nothing of any interest to do here. They are putting all their hope on whitewater rafting? A pro baseball team really has little to do with tourist either. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is really the only draw that would bring anyone in and that is probably going to be centered twice a year during the races. Charlotte is not a destination city and never will be.

9:42 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Way more pople go to Nashville as tourists. Think about it...

2:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

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9:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do think semi pro ball is great playing but will drop of after the first two years; Somebodt must have gotten their palm greased to pull this off. In my town semi pro ball tickets are given out by all companies and thrown in the trash outside the factory ; They give the tickets away to neighbors. Just look at footage of DURHAM BULLS the stadium is noly %39 full; I say make the stadium pro for later because CHARLOTTE you are being sold another light rail/

9:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 9:04

Umm...you sound racist.

2:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

7:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

7:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

7:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Im a hip swinging liberal voting for DEMOCRATS; I can take a hint from the Blog Administrator. My Gems of wit are not wanted here in CHARLOTTE I understand. I resign my post

9:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

9:05 AM  
Blogger unicorn1824 said...

It's not semi-pro, it's still pro ball, just not the majot leagues. IMO having the Knights will help uptown, and the local big corps will get more involved too.

10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This city is exploding and the only ones complaining are the ones that don't have the kahuna's to invest themselves. Quit your crying and go home.

Retail uptown is only 2 years away at the most.
They can't ignore the amount of people we will have in the next 2 years.

Fine dining is everywhere. But we need REAL NY pizza. Fuel is a joke and embarrassment for our uptown.

More music venues will be a plus. A Blues club ?

What we could use is a landmark building (BofA) to open up an observation deck for tourists to view all of the exciting development that is going on. Every major city has one. Charlotte desperately needs one. Maybe Trump will do it ?

We also need a full time or at the very least a 3 season market uptown. A smaller version of Pikes in Seattle. With 22,000 PLUS residents by 2009 we can and will support it. The tiny one across from Reids is a slap in the face. How about locating it in the new 3rd Ward park and building a permanent indoor/outdoor structure to house it.

Finally, these cafe's and smaller type restaurants need to be open on the weekends. Gone are the days where Dean and Deluca should be closed at 7pm and closed all weekend long. Come on people, wake the hell up already. I walk into the new Soup Man at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon and they are closed. Only in Charlotte........only in Charlotte. This mentality has GOT to change.

8:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What has to change is the mentality that Charlotte has to be a baby New York. That's insane. So many yankees (excuse me, I mean northerners) who moved down here moved here because Charlotte ISN'T New York. We don't need cold greasy New York pizza, we don't need late-night diners, we don't need more sports we can't support...

We also need to understand that Charlotte is a working town. We're not a tourist destination; we're a business destination. And there's nothing wrong with that. let other towns have their historical buildings, their zoos and museums, their nightlife scene.

When I first moved here in 1997, I was depressed to see only one old building in uptown (the old mint) and it was imploded that very day. Since then, I have learned to appreciate Charlotte for what it does have: friendly people, good jobs, improving schools, tasty restaurants, and low cost of living. We're not New York, we're not Nashville, we're not LA, we're Charlotte. And that's OK.

9:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

^
Calm down Redneck (excuse me, I mean Southerner).
Nice hospitality Bubba. Or is it Miss bubbette ?
You people kill me. You are the bottom of the barrel.

No one's saying "make it a baby NY". Just make it more diverse. You can find good pizza DOWNTOWN in most mid to large sized cities (not just NY) you damn North hater.

If you stayed in school longer you would have been able to read the blog and realize that the question asked was "What else could we do to make Charlotte more appealing as a tourist destination?"

It didn't ask "what do local Bumkins think about all the change".
Yeah, we are a working town. But one that likes to play after hours and be proud to show our visiting guests around. This is indeed a great city to live in. It keeps getting better due to the influx of new comers. Not just Northerners either.

I think a major tourist attraction might also be to FINALLY get the damn lights back on I77 and I277.
Now that would NEVER happen in any other city. How many years has this gone on ?

Get over yourself already Bud.

10:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This city is exploding and the only ones complaining are the ones that don't have the kahuna's to invest themselves.

Almost all major metropolitan areas are "exploding" in terms of population and development.

Nashville is well known throughout the country. A lot of people still haven't heard of Charlotte and others think it's in SC.

The fact that Charlotte has two large banks and is home to NASCAR doesn't impress a lot of people. Those "assets" alone will probably keep some people away.

2:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

^
Are you interested in why I think it's exploding ?
I have many friends in the North East and all they hear about is CHARLOTTE. It's the place to be, place to move....Charlotte is "IT". If it's raising a family in the burbs or living care free in the uptown. This town is on the verge of being great. Just take a look at the month of September. I barely have a free evening or weekend to relax because there is just so many great things to do.

10:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

^

No,Charlotte is not "IT". It's one of several cities throughout the U.S. that are "hot spots". Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Austin, etc. are all "IT".

12:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

^
Portland and Seattle.... I will give you that. Very, very cool towns. But not nearly as affordable as Charlotte. I know, I looked into making the move.

Vegas real estate has been going down the toilet for the past 12 months and Phoenix is just to damn hot.

San Diego is extremely nice but forget about the prices for a home.

Haven't been to Denver, Minneapolis or Austin. I've heard Austin was very cool. But it is still in Texas so I would have to pass on that one.

Sure, right now Charlotte's not Seattle or Portland but in the next 5 to 10 years it may very well be a smaller version of them. Buying now affords me to live in the center of a city that has great potential for being incredible in a few years.

That's why Charlotte is "IT". You have to factor in everything.

7:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I first moved here in 1997, I was depressed to see only one old building in uptown (the old mint) and it was imploded that very day.

Um... you sure about that? The old mint is currently sitting in Eastover and is called the Mint Museum. There hasn't been a mint in Charlotte since it closed, so I'm not sure what building you're referring to.

In any case, there are still plenty of old buildings uptown -- just not a lot, and it's probably a good thing because otherwise we'd have a Spartanburg-sized core (not a lot of highrises here prior to 1960). You almost have to intentionally ignore the skyscrapers to find the old stuff tucked away in the corners and alleys.

We're not New York, we're not Nashville, we're not LA, we're Charlotte. And that's OK.

Amen to that. We'll know we've "made it" when we stop trying so hard to be something else.

3:04 PM  

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