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Interesting Graphic on Columbus & Indy Tourism

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Started 2 years ago by arenn
Latest reply from cc

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arenn

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The Indianapolis Business Journal did a few articles on the convention business this week, and they included a sidebar with a quick comparison between Indy and Columbus:

http://www.ibj.com/ext/resources/pdf/2010/QuickHits-021510.pdf

Obviously to be taken with a grain of salt, but interesting I thought. Columbus has more space and visitors, Indy more booked room nights and restaurants. I assume the difference in the length of the amenity list is simply the Indy folks' greater familiarity with their own products. (My own impression is that Indy does have a better and stronger downtown, but Columbus a much better urban core overall).

Posted 2 years ago #
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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One thing made all the difference: Ohio State Football

Posted 2 years ago #
cc

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Yep, people come for OSU football and most leave after the game.

Regardless, even the article questions the numbers given. Generally I think '<name the city> Business Journals' are not worth the glossy paper they are printed on.

Posted 2 years ago #
Thory
Asheville, NC
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Strange that they left out our Ohio, Palace, and Southern Theaters, and the Riffe Center. Can't see any simple conclusions to draw from this other than the Buckeye theory above.

Posted 2 years ago #
agtw31
columbus
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they forgot the Moparnationals in August,which brings over 100,000 people to the Columbus area in 2 days.
even though a lot of people get rooms in the sticks near the dragstrip where the main event is,rooms in Columbus are non existent on that weekend.

thanks to the idiots in Heath installing speeding cameras,look for more business for Columbus proper,because the organizers of the meet have boycotted Heath.

Posted 2 years ago #
drew

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Analogue Kid wrote >>
One thing made all the difference: Ohio State Football

OTOH, there's the Indy 500 & the Superbowl-contender Colts... I bet it's a wash.

Regarding the discrepancy in visitor #'s, I'm going to throw a thoroughly wild ass guess out and suggest that the folks living around Columbus are far more likely to visit us than the people who live around Indy are to visit it. Also suspect that there are far more people living within, say, a 60 mile radius of Columbus.

Posted 2 years ago #
alove
Downtown
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With a new Hilton and several new downtown attractions coming up, we're well on our way...

Posted 2 years ago #
agtw31
columbus
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drew wrote >>

Also suspect that there are far more people living within, say, a 60 mile radius of Columbus.

if they are 60 miles south or north,they are going to Cleveland or Cinci.

Posted 2 years ago #
Columbusite
Minneapolis
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The list of downtown attractions in Indianapolis is entirely within their downtown whereas those for Columbus include German Village, the Short North, and OSU which are all outside of Downtown. Their "cultural districts" are just like our downtown districts: Arena, Discovery, etc. I think the reasons for why our downtown has half the number of restaurants compared to theirs is due to their city being more downtown-oriented while we're more oriented towards neighborhoods outside of downtown.

Posted 2 years ago #
sugarplumclarey

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I think you nailed it, Columbusite. If you visit Indy, you're pretty much going to stay downtown or in the outerbelt/burbs, but not likely between. Whereas in Columbus you can stay in any of the little mini-cities like GV, SN, etc.

I lived in Indy from the ages of 7-18 and I daresay that Columbus wins, hands down, in terms of just about everything I consider to be cool. My totally subjective opinion!

Posted 2 years ago #
Columbusite
Minneapolis
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There are pockets of urbanism here and there, like Broad Ripple, Fountain Square,Irvington, Falls Creek Place, and Meridian-Kessler, but little as dense as Columbus' neighborhoods.

Posted 2 years ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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We have a bigger river *G*

But we need to sell ours better.

Posted 2 years ago #
ehill27
Short North
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Yes, but unfortunately our river is polluted, brown and often smells from the runoff of raw sewage. So, first priority needs to be cleaning the river.

Columbus' Scioto River vs Indy's White River

Posted 2 years ago #
sugarplumclarey

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alexs wrote >>
We have a bigger river *G*

But we need to sell ours better.

Yup agreed!! Columbus would do well to develop the riverside. Think of the opportunities!

Posted 2 years ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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The Scioto River is the nose on this city's face. I'm working on changing the way this city relates to it. Fortunately FOSR is not alone in these efforts, but we're fighting old perceptions and practices.

Posted 2 years ago #
KSquared
Literally Hell
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alexs wrote >>
The Scioto River is the nose on this city's face. I'm working on changing the way this city relates to it. Fortunately FOSR is not alone in these efforts, but we're fighting old perceptions and practices.

FOSR does great work, thanks for everything your group does and is trying to do. I can imagine it's not easy.

Posted 2 years ago #
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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KSquared wrote >>

alexs wrote >>
The Scioto River is the nose on this city's face. I'm working on changing the way this city relates to it. Fortunately FOSR is not alone in these efforts, but we're fighting old perceptions and practices.

FOSR does great work, thanks for everything your group does and is trying to do. I can imagine it's not easy.

Thanks, the most difficult thing to deal with is this city's tendency to disparage itself. The river is a sewer, the neighborhoods have gone to hell, the parks are full of perverts, the government is useless, blah blah blah.

It's strange to run a group for the Scioto because it's neglected like the downtown that everyone leaves at the end of the workday. There are localized groups for the Olentangy, and Alum Creek and other streams, even neighborhood ravines and parks, but the Scioto is this big thing off in the distance, that belongs to no one.

Well, there's the Scioto Mile, that's an improvement. There's the new Audubon center, and looking farther back there's North Bank Park. But look across the river at Greenlawn and there's a forgotten dump along Scioto Blvd with a panoramic view of the river and downtown, behind a half-hearted concrete barrier that you can actually drive a truck through. I asked the parks planner about the status of the area and she referred me to someone in Facilities and Real Estate.

Meanwhile Dublin celebrates its river parks with the riverboxes project. They're trying to draw people to the parks they have invested in creating. It's a major selling point for the quality of life in that community. Why is there nothing like that in Columbus?

Posted 2 years ago #
michaelcoyote
!seabus
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agtw31 wrote >>

drew wrote >>

Also suspect that there are far more people living within, say, a 60 mile radius of Columbus.

if they are 60 miles south or north,they are going to Cleveland or Cinci.

Not especially. I grew up north of Mount Vernon, and we never went to Cleveland, Akron or Canton for shopping or field trips. Occasionally we'd go to Wooster or Mansfield, but pretty much it was always Columbus.

If it hadn't been for WJW and Big Chuck and Houlihan (later Little John), I probably wouldn't have ever heard Cleveland mentioned in my house.

Posted 2 years ago #
ehill27
Short North
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alexs wrote >>

Thanks, the most difficult thing to deal with is this city's tendency to disparage itself. The river is a sewer... blah blah blah.

This seems to have been directed at me, so I'd like to start by saying that North Bank Park is one of my favorite places in C-Bus. Looking over the river toward downtown is an awesome thing for me, very peaceful, very relaxing and fills me civic pride.

However, every time I'm there, I can't help but wish the water was cleaner and that I didn't have to look at a large storm sewer overflow pipe that warns people to stay out of the toxic water. I couldn't agree with you more that we need to embrace the river, but isn't acknowledging the problem the first step toward a solution.

Posted 2 years ago #
agtw31
columbus
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michaelcoyote wrote >>

I grew up north of Mount Vernon.

a lot of my neighbors are actually from the Gambier area.

Posted 2 years ago #