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Curious question, as I couldn't really find a comprehensive list that gave me the data I was looking for. It's a bit of a chicken or the egg type question.
For say metros 1-2M persons, does a high rate of tourism throw gasoline on the fire that are these rapidly growing metro areas? When you look at Nashville, Austin, New Orleans, etc...these metros that are growing exponentially had a baked in audience that I'm sure contributes heavily to influx of transplants. At least my theory is that it did.
I travel 200 days a year, I never once have been brought to Birmingham on business prior to living here. I certainly wasn't coming here for tourism. Now that I am here I have a hard time getting other folks to spend their hard earned time off here. When I try and get family and friends to visit Birmingham it's typically a "hard pass." Tourism could be a huge revenue generating economy for the metro that I believe is overlooked.
Curious question, as I couldn't really find a comprehensive list that gave me the data I was looking for. It's a bit of a chicken or the egg type question.
For say metros 1-2M persons, does a high rate of tourism throw gasoline on the fire that are these rapidly growing metro areas? When you look at Nashville, Austin, New Orleans, etc...these metros that are growing exponentially had a baked in audience that I'm sure contributes heavily to influx of transplants. At least my theory is that it did.
I travel 200 days a year, I never once have been brought to Birmingham on business prior to living here. I certainly wasn't coming here for tourism. Now that I am here I have a hard time getting other folks to spend their hard earned time off here. When I try and get family and friends to visit Birmingham it's typically a "hard pass." Tourism could be a huge revenue generating economy for the metro that I believe is overlooked.
I think there's a lot of merit here. Tourism is an industry that each of those cities can bank on no matter what and those cities offer a gravity for young people to move to. Nashville's country music scene is a huge magnet. It's cool to go to dinner in The Gulch and probably sit by someone famous.
I definitely think that as generations become more and more mobile and willing to move, those cities with charm and intrigue will grow the most as long as they offer good career options and don't make stupid decisions.
See, a while ago, it was way more common to stay closer to home. Air travel was not near as accessible. Nowdays, way more people are "spreading their wings" and living in interesting/lucrative places.
This does not bode well for Birmingham.. Which is why I like what Woodfin said about being the best Birmingham can be.
I think there's a lot of merit here. Tourism is an industry that each of those cities can bank on no matter what and those cities offer a gravity for young people to move to. Nashville's country music scene is a huge magnet. It's cool to go to dinner in The Gulch and probably sit by someone famous.
I definitely think that as generations become more and more mobile and willing to move, those cities with charm and intrigue will grow the most as long as they offer good career options and don't make stupid decisions.
See, a while ago, it was way more common to stay closer to home. Air travel was not near as accessible. Nowdays, way more people are "spreading their wings" and living in interesting/lucrative places.
This does not bode well for Birmingham.. Which is why I like what Woodfin said about being the best Birmingham can be.
There's a ton of potential for tourism IMO and not based around the Civil Rights attractions which are a hard sell for many folks.
A lot of the travel I do for work is for various trade shows all over the country. There are plenty of cities that do exceptionally well with trade shows and the tourism they provide. BHM could certainly chase some of that once the BJCC gets an overhaul and brings our convention center out of the Stone Age. The coolest convention centers are typically walking distance to a rad part of town with eateries, retail, upscale hotels, etc...so UPTOWN will need an overhaul if that is ever a goal.
Another tourism draw here to the metro would be the outdoor scene. I never knew how much topography there was in the metro until living here. We have some exceptional parks and rivers around the metro that are extremely under marketed that could draw folks from all over.
I just don't get the lack of self promotion for the metro. I see all sorts of tourism campaigns for metros of all sizes...can't remember the last time I saw one for here.
There's a ton of potential for tourism IMO and not based around the Civil Rights attractions which are a hard sell for many folks.
A lot of the travel I do for work is for various trade shows all over the country. There are plenty of cities that do exceptionally well with trade shows and the tourism they provide. BHM could certainly chase some of that once the BJCC gets an overhaul and brings our convention center out of the Stone Age. The coolest convention centers are typically walking distance to a rad part of town with eateries, retail, upscale hotels, etc...so UPTOWN will need an overhaul if that is ever a goal.
Another tourism draw here to the metro would be the outdoor scene. I never knew how much topography there was in the metro until living here. We have some exceptional parks and rivers around the metro that are extremely under marketed that could draw folks from all over.
I just don't get the lack of self promotion for the metro. I see all sorts of tourism campaigns for metros of all sizes...can't remember the last time I saw one for here.
That's interesting. I think that outdoor activities don't really drive heavy tourism unless the rocky mountains are close by and they're not. People are not travelling to Birmingham to hike, or to go to Oak Mountain. They might travel for fishing/lakes but those really are not in the metro area. So overall, given Birmingham's vast amount of pine trees and woods, I personally see it as pretty void of recreation like awesome hiking, bike trails, theme parks, even putt putt for that matter. It certainly doesn't offer more outdoor activities than its peers.
You mentioned:
New Orleans - Autobahn zoo, bayou, ocean, lake charles, more historic parks
Nashville - same mountains and state parks with hiking and biking but probably more into the smokeys
Austin - Texas hill country, urban jogging/biking trails, Fredricksburg wineries, enchanted rock, brazos river etc.
So I certainly don't see Birmingham having MORE to offer than those for an outdoor scene. And even if it did, it's not a huge tourism draw.
There's a ton of potential for tourism IMO and not based around the Civil Rights attractions which are a hard sell for many folks.
A lot of the travel I do for work is for various trade shows all over the country. There are plenty of cities that do exceptionally well with trade shows and the tourism they provide. BHM could certainly chase some of that once the BJCC gets an overhaul and brings our convention center out of the Stone Age. The coolest convention centers are typically walking distance to a rad part of town with eateries, retail, upscale hotels, etc...so UPTOWN will need an overhaul if that is ever a goal.
Another tourism draw here to the metro would be the outdoor scene. I never knew how much topography there was in the metro until living here. We have some exceptional parks and rivers around the metro that are extremely under marketed that could draw folks from all over.
I just don't get the lack of self promotion for the metro. I see all sorts of tourism campaigns for metros of all sizes...can't remember the last time I saw one for here.
I agree about the potential for tourism growing especially with trade shows and conventions, although I certainly see the history based tourism as a big part of the draw as well. A lot of Deep South Cities (Birmingham, Memphis, Atlanta specifically) do very well with Civil Rights attractions. The BJCC renovation will really cash in on this front once its completed IMO. Over the past couple of decades B'ham has turned down a ton of revenue from conventions and trade shows due to lack of space, that won't be the case anymore. Now we will see multiple events happening at the BJCC at the same time on a regular basis, that hasn't been something the area has been able to benefit from yet. Those events bring a lot of people to the area that otherwise would not come. I agree with you about Uptown too, as it sits in a soon to be very busy and popular part of town it does need more. From what I've seen of the BJCC master plan an extension of Uptown is coming soon, perhaps with the new stadium? Not sure on the timetable for that but it is a necessary addition.
I agree with the outdoor scene, hiking, biking, Red Mountain Park, Oak Mountain State Park, Rickwood Caverns, urban biking & hiking, Birmingham Zoo, etc. is much underrated. I attribute that to your primary point about the lack of self promotion! I see Tupelo, Chattanooga, etc on the local media here yet barely see Birmingham so I can only assume that on a national level there is little to no promotion of the city/metro happening. As Birmingham's natural beauty and exceptional parks, vistas, and lakes become more well known around the Southeast and the country I think there will be an increase in outdoor based tourism.
Nice response piece to the NY Times article. I liked the corporate extortion as economic development angle. I would prefer quality growth that nurtures Fortune 500 companies to luring them, but luring them shouldn't hurt either.
My counter point would be that these other metros lure away talent at an alarming rate and that can’t be refuted.
Sure, one may be tempted to create a garage startup in Birmingham due to his or her ability to “afford” said garage. However, the moment a big money opportunity or “job” arises in Nashville, Austin, San Fran, or wherever...they’ll moth ball that startup and see Birmingham in their rear view.
Moderator cut: baiting
Last edited by harry chickpea; 01-05-2019 at 01:27 PM..
There's a ton of potential for tourism IMO and not based around the Civil Rights attractions which are a hard sell for many folks.
A lot of the travel I do for work is for various trade shows all over the country. There are plenty of cities that do exceptionally well with trade shows and the tourism they provide. BHM could certainly chase some of that once the BJCC gets an overhaul and brings our convention center out of the Stone Age. The coolest convention centers are typically walking distance to a rad part of town with eateries, retail, upscale hotels, etc...so UPTOWN will need an overhaul if that is ever a goal.
Another tourism draw here to the metro would be the outdoor scene. I never knew how much topography there was in the metro until living here. We have some exceptional parks and rivers around the metro that are extremely under marketed that could draw folks from all over.
I just don't get the lack of self promotion for the metro. I see all sorts of tourism campaigns for metros of all sizes...can't remember the last time I saw one for here.
Tourism is big business in Alabama...from May 2018,
Baldwin County led the state in tourist spending with $4.4 billion while Jefferson County's tourism industry had the highest growth in Alabama at 9.8 percent, or an increase of 148,498 tourists. The state's most populous county also recorded more than $2 billion in tourist spending for the first time.
Madison County (Huntsville) had more than 85,000 more tourists visit from 2016 for 3.1 million guests. Those visitors spent $1.3 billion in the county - a 9.8 percent gain from 2016.
Mobile County's tourism industry grew by 8 percent, the report found. About $1.6 billion was spent by the county's 3.4 million tourists last year.
Montgomery County added 8,940 visitors from 2016 and recorded a 3.3 percent increase in tourist spending, the report found. The city of Mongomery had nearly 2 million visitors who spent $841 million, according to a study conducted by Montgomery economist Keivan Deravi.
The natural beauty in the Birmingham area may not lure tourists, but it should be a selling point for newcomers looking for a great location where they can be active outdoors. Or even people who just want to be able to live in a beautiful, wooded, hilly natural setting.
Education is a big big problem. I work in the community college system, and I recall being at a seminar a few years ago with the state superintendent of education (K12) and the chancellor for the two year college system. Both talked about being in meetings with big manufacturers who wanted to locate in Alabama because they really liked the work ethic of the people. However, they couldn't because so many potential workers are poorly educated. I don't know what the solution is, but until Alabamians actually value education (not just the ones who've walled themselves off inside wealthy suburbs), it's hard to imagine much changing. Education inequity is a big mountain to try to move, and certainly not just for Birmingham.
Tourism is big business in Alabama...from May 2018,
Baldwin County led the state in tourist spending with $4.4 billion while Jefferson County's tourism industry had the highest growth in Alabama at 9.8 percent, or an increase of 148,498 tourists. The state's most populous county also recorded more than $2 billion in tourist spending for the first time.
Madison County (Huntsville) had more than 85,000 more tourists visit from 2016 for 3.1 million guests. Those visitors spent $1.3 billion in the county - a 9.8 percent gain from 2016.
Mobile County's tourism industry grew by 8 percent, the report found. About $1.6 billion was spent by the county's 3.4 million tourists last year.
Montgomery County added 8,940 visitors from 2016 and recorded a 3.3 percent increase in tourist spending, the report found. The city of Mongomery had nearly 2 million visitors who spent $841 million, according to a study conducted by Montgomery economist Keivan Deravi.
These numbers are pretty small in comparison to the previous stated cities, hence my original point.
Example (from 2017)
Tennessee- 20.8B
Nashville alone - 6.5B
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