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I wasn't sure if a separate tourism thread exists, so I thought I'd present the information.

 

Houstonia posted an interesting article on tourism numbers from 2017 to 2018. The original article can be found here: https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2019/5/3/houston-had-23-million-visitors-in-2018

 

Here's some interesting numbers: 

 

  • The number of booked meetings and conventions rose from 429 in 2017 to 498 in 2018.
  • About 19 million of our visitors in 2018 reside in the U.S., a 10 percent increase from what was reported for 2017.  
  • Of those 19 million, about 75 percent stayed overnight and 25 percent came for day trips.  
  • Roughly 72 percent of domestic visitors came to Houston for leisure activities, 18 percent came on business, and 10 percent came for other reasons.
  • Millennials continue to comprise most of Houston’s domestic visitors, a trend reported in both 2017 and 2018 by an Omnibus study conducted by Omnitrak.
  • Meanwhile, the 3.28 million international visits to Houston in 2018 is actually a 6.3 percent decrease from 2017—likely due to foreign policies and a strong dollar—and it’s expected to decline again in 2019.  
  • One truly big draw for Houston was Comicpalooza, which brought in a record 50,778 attendees from 47 states and 18 countries in 2018 with an economic impact of more than $20 million. 

 

 

Since I'm not native to Houston, I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on these numbers.

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On 5/3/2019 at 5:39 PM, CaptainJilliams said:

I wasn't sure if a separate tourism thread exists, so I thought I'd present the information.

 

Houstonia posted an interesting article on tourism numbers from 2017 to 2018. The original article can be found here: https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2019/5/3/houston-had-23-million-visitors-in-2018

 

Here's some interesting numbers: 

 

  • The number of booked meetings and conventions rose from 429 in 2017 to 498 in 2018.
  • About 19 million of our visitors in 2018 reside in the U.S., a 10 percent increase from what was reported for 2017.  
  • Of those 19 million, about 75 percent stayed overnight and 25 percent came for day trips.  
  • Roughly 72 percent of domestic visitors came to Houston for leisure activities, 18 percent came on business, and 10 percent came for other reasons.
  • Millennials continue to comprise most of Houston’s domestic visitors, a trend reported in both 2017 and 2018 by an Omnibus study conducted by Omnitrak.
  • Meanwhile, the 3.28 million international visits to Houston in 2018 is actually a 6.3 percent decrease from 2017—likely due to foreign policies and a strong dollar—and it’s expected to decline again in 2019.  
  • One truly big draw for Houston was Comicpalooza, which brought in a record 50,778 attendees from 47 states and 18 countries in 2018 with an economic impact of more than $20 million. 

 

 

Since I'm not native to Houston, I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on these numbers.

 

On 5/3/2019 at 10:25 PM, BeerNut said:

Never realized that Comicpalooza had such an impact. 

 

Not exactly into comics, but I am a movie guy, so I sometimes follow updates on comic book movies (because some of them are fun and worthwhile to watch). Comicpalooza has become big because of how watered down and overcrowded ComicCon has become. ComicCon used to be about comics and everything that was associated with it, but now is merely a giant schmoozefest for Marvel and Disney where they show off their movies, shows, and other lineups. It isn't really about comics anymore. Comicpalooza is has grown as an alternate for true fans of this genre of reading material. Its also really big for the cosplay community. So not only is it a much more chill and more authentic con for what people love, but its also in a much more low key city (Houston).

 

Our city actually has a lot of opportunities to bring in worthwhile alternates to other big cons, festivals, etc... Not to mention with the current state of things going on in places like LA, San Fran, and the fact that Austin is getting mega huge all the sudden, whatever events that are going to be held in those locations are going to feel the effects of those environments whatever they entail. It will make those original big time events more commercialized and less authentic and genuine which will push a more dedicated crowd to seek new and more low key alternatives. Houston is that in a nutshell. Cheaper, Low-Key, and more than anything, Houston is simply a more authentic place and scene.

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