  Downtown_dave Member Username: Downtown_dave Post Number: 97 Registered: 07-2005 |
"Few travelers (or, for that matter, travel writers) consider Detroit a Midwestern 'destination.' The city certainly doesn't have Chicago's global cachet, or Minneapolis's reputation for being squeaky-clean. And indeed, a shrinking U.S. auto industry -- among a number of other factors -- has negatively affected Detroit. Once called the Paris of the Midwest, the city today is a quintessential underdog, a label that the locals relish." The article is here: http://www.frommers.com/articl es/4032.html | ||
Genesyxx Member Username: Genesyxx Post Number: 612 Registered: 02-2004 |
Meh... | ||
Hit24sqft Member Username: Hit24sqft Post Number: 26 Registered: 11-2006 |
I received and e-mail some time ago entitled "The Shortest Books in the World" - a humorous list that included "Detroit - A Tourist's Guide" Such is the reputation of the Motor City to many outsiders | ||
Fortress_warren Member Username: Fortress_warren Post Number: 192 Registered: 10-2006 |
Detroit is one of the cities you visit because you have relatives living there. Like Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee. Not as a tourist destination. I read that somewhere, made a lot of sense. | ||
Dave Member Username: Dave Post Number: 110 Registered: 10-2003 |
Three of my favorite places to visit were on that list. Detroit, Cleveland, and St. Louis. Have to Czech out Bratislava and get a line on Lyons. dave | ||
Itsjeff Member Username: Itsjeff Post Number: 7127 Registered: 10-2003 |
I see tourist buses all over downtown, every day of the week. Almost all of them from out-of-state. | ||
Crew Member Username: Crew Post Number: 1067 Registered: 02-2004 |
...full of seniors stopping at the casinos no doubt. | ||
Tetsua Member Username: Tetsua Post Number: 885 Registered: 01-2004 |
Detroit gets many architectural nerds as visitors as well. | ||
Tomoh Member Username: Tomoh Post Number: 270 Registered: 11-2004 |
I think someone should start a blog called DetroitIsUnderrated. | ||
Yvette248 Member Username: Yvette248 Post Number: 148 Registered: 10-2006 |
I actually like the city. There are lots of things to do and the traffic is manageable most of the time. Its some of the "intelligent" people who live here that gets my goat. | ||
Spaceboykelly Member Username: Spaceboykelly Post Number: 181 Registered: 04-2005 |
When I worked downtown I came in contact with tourists on a regular basis [almost daily]. | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 809 Registered: 11-2003 |
Detroiters have an inferiority complex as wide as the Windsor River. | ||
Fortress_warren Member Username: Fortress_warren Post Number: 202 Registered: 10-2006 |
"Detroiters have an inferiority complex as wide as the Windsor River." That's a good one, print it on t-shirts. E_d, you think that up or did you see it somewhere? | ||
Itsjeff Member Username: Itsjeff Post Number: 7129 Registered: 10-2003 |
...full of seniors stopping at the casinos no doubt. No doubt. It sounds odd, but Detroit does have a tourist trade. I work downtown and see a dozen buses every day. Not forgetting that have seven hotels at various stages of construction. We could be on to something here. | ||
Stecks77 Member Username: Stecks77 Post Number: 185 Registered: 08-2006 |
Someone in Cleveland runs a bus daily to Detroit specifically for gambling. A friend of mine in Cleveland said it costs $25 round trip and you receive something like $20 in vouchers and casino credit. (Message edited by stecks77 on November 17, 2006) | ||
Yvette248 Member Username: Yvette248 Post Number: 151 Registered: 10-2006 |
There is nothing odd about tourism in Detroit. Believe it or not, its Michigan's 2nd largest industry. According to a recent survey 70% of visitors think Detroit is a great place as opposed to about 30% of residents. We need to stop listening to the nay-sayers and media trash - which accounts for the inferiority complex. If Seattle, with the most miserable weather in the world, can market itself as a great place, surely we can see the good about our city for OURSELVES. | ||
Hit24sqft Member Username: Hit24sqft Post Number: 36 Registered: 11-2006 |
When you take away the homicides, robberies and rapes, the crime rate in Detroit is not much higher than most other cities. | ||
Cman710 Member Username: Cman710 Post Number: 19 Registered: 07-2006 |
While crime adversely impacts all industries, I actually think that it would impact the non-tourism economy more than tourism specifically, because crime deters investment and discourages people from living in a place, and that will have a far greater long-term impact on a city. When I visited Detroit, I felt safe and had a great time (and am looking forward to coming again), but I have to admit that if I were ever going to move to the region, I would have to seriously consider living outside the city, especially if I had children at the time. And that is saying something, because I really like the city. | ||
Downtown_dave Member Username: Downtown_dave Post Number: 98 Registered: 07-2005 |
To echo Itsjeff, I too have seen the tourist trade growing. A few weeks ago I asked an older couple looking at the wayfinding kiosk near the YMCA if they needed any help. The explained they were from Milwaukee, had just been to the Historical Museum and had bused down Woodward to continue looking around. They asked for a post office location and information on other "interesting things to see." I showed them on the kiosk how to find the Penobscot (post office) and told them to be sure to step inside the Guardian nearby. I also said a variety of food was available around Campus Martius, Compuware inside was worth a stop and mentioned the Ren Cen and riverfront for a look at Canada to the south. What I thought was cool was they wanted to know where they could get the Megabus back to Milwaukee - these people know how to travel! - and I was able to point that out as well. (There's a small sign beneath Grand Circus People Mover station.) Curious and adventurous people like this make me smile and tell me our city is coming back. The fact that an influential travel publisher like Frommer's has Detroit on its radar screen bodes well for all of us. We can all be travel ambassadors in our interactions with people here. I hope this particular couple returned to Milwaukee with good things to say about about what they saw and how they were treated in Detroit. | ||
Yvette248 Member Username: Yvette248 Post Number: 191 Registered: 10-2006 |
I would have to seriously consider living outside the city, Actually, crime statistics show that Downtown Detroit is safer than most of the suburbs. You'd have to be "right" downtown though. Not any of the outlying areas. Also the fact that high end condos are being snapped up almost as fast as they can build them shows that urban living is in demand (mostly by singles with no children). | ||
Ron Member Username: Ron Post Number: 314 Registered: 03-2006 |
I believe Michigan is ranked 9th of the states in tourism, with the metro area getting 1/3 of that interest. (Can't remember where I got those stats from, and I'm too tired to look for the source) That's not too shabby. | ||
Drankin21 Member Username: Drankin21 Post Number: 36 Registered: 12-2003 |
Good work Downtown Dave! I would be "that guy" helping out where I could as well. I find myself doing the same thing here in Germany when I hear Americans (English speakers) either in front of me in line and need some help with ordering something, directions etc. in German. I love living in Germany and do what I can to give people a positive attitude about it when they go home. Word of mouth is ALWAYS the best advertising. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 414 Registered: 04-2006 |
Its Jeff, Seven Hotels? 1) Doubletree @ Pick-Fort Shelby 2) Sheraton Ponchartrain 3) Westin Book Caddy 4) MGM Grand 5) Motor City 6) Greektown Which one am I missing?? | ||
Downtown_dave Member Username: Downtown_dave Post Number: 107 Registered: 07-2005 |
Guten morgan Drankin21 - and thanks. Where in Germany are you? | ||
Supersport Member Username: Supersport Post Number: 10911 Registered: 10-2003 |
I help people from out of town out all the time. One instance that sticks in my mind though was probably about a year ago. While walking downtown down Grand River I spotted a car sitting at a stoplight. The line was green, yet they weren't moving. As I got closer I realized the Crown Vic had Florida plates and was packed with 5 or 6 senior citizens. As I was about to the car they rolled down their window. Before they could even ask I said "So, which casino are you trying to find?" They all laughed, gave me a name, and I relayed them the directions to the slots. You can spot an out of towner or visitor in need of help almost every time. They just have this look on their face, one that says "I'm not sure where I'm going or what to look for, but I'm curious." I always go out of my way to offer up assistance, just like during the World Series when I welcomed every Cards fan I spotted to Detroit, told them I was glad to see they made the trip. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 630 Registered: 01-2005 |
I think that the crime study that demonstrated that downtown Detroit has/had a lower crime rate than many other central cities used numbers that reflected the relative emptiness of our downtown just a few years ago. In just the last two years, with many new clubs and other "adult" entertainment coming into downtown(Detroit is thought of as an adult destination by outsiders), the crime rate is going up just in downtown. Last night's shootings at a club near Grand Circus Park comes to mind. Also, the girl who was killed outside a downtown club during Super Bowl week. | ||
Yvette248 Member Username: Yvette248 Post Number: 209 Registered: 10-2006 |
Okay, um, two killings in a year does not represent a crime wave. There's been two killings in Warren in the past couple of months. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 154 Registered: 11-2005 |
When you say Greektown, are you talking the Atheanum or however it's spelled? And there's the Marriott in the RenCen, right? |
