Vacation in Detroit ?

[Willi]

For the most part, planes going to Detroit are for 3 purposes :
a.) someone coming to Detroit for Work, employer sent them
b.) someone returning to Detroit, after being somewhere else
c.) some coming to see a family member

When I lived out of state on the East Coast, I could fly a LOT of places cheaper
than the airfare back to Detroit Metro merely to see family, friends.

If your best buddy wanted to come to Detroit for a VACATION
where would you go, what would you do, that was not specific to an event ?
Spending hours and hours and hours in car, doing big mileage, doesn't cut it

What would bring someone to Detroit, spend their hard earned cash,
- If it was NOT related to a sports game, and NOT related to the casino ?

[animatedmartian]

Visit the DIA or any number of museums around the city, visit Belle Isle, the RiverWalk, the Ren Cen, the Gaurdian Building, Henry Ford Village, Detroit Zoo, any number of local restaurants, maybe some other local businesses, Eastern Market, and maybe some historical mansions both in the city and in the metro.

[SWMAP]

Many, many Canadians come to the Detroit region to shop for Christmas and back-to-school. The Somerset Collection and the stores on Hall Road have great big names not too much available in Canada outside of Toronto.
Lots of Europeans and Japanese travel to Detroit to see Motown and, for the Pacific Rim travelers, anything Henry Ford is worth the trip.
Families from Ohio, Indiana and Illinois come for the theater and sports.
The DIA has Van Gogh's, Matisse and a fabulous French collection. Many people appreciate the opportunity to view these things, as there are only a few in all the world. In fact, thre are only a few museums in the entire country that have such a collection of important art.
And why would all the Americans who live in thirsty, water-restrictive drought-stricken regions ever want to come here to experience our clean river and spend time on a dinner cruise or rent a boat and captain and do a little bass fishing just to experience moments of natural bounty.
I'm leaving out Detroit's enviable music scene of national renown, but I get your point- whyever would anyone come here to visit if Detroit didn't have some smoky casinos?

[Neilr]

Last month ~25 people belonging to the Chicago Architecture Foundation had a four day study tour of Detroit. They stayed at the Book-Cadillac. Here's a copy of their jam-packed itinerary:



Last year they traveled to Buffalo and Buenos Aries. Next year they're going to go to Singapore.

[Király]

What would bring someone to Detroit, spend their hard earned cash,
- If it was NOT related to a sports game, and NOT related to the casino ?

What would bring a tourist to Detroit? I came in July for five days and did all of this. I love Detroit!

[Willi]

I'm focusing on Outsiders, people who have zero ties to Detroit, no family, no connections.
Why would they spend a week in Detroit, bother to get a rental car, drive forever here/there ?

I'll easily concede Belle Isle is nice to kill a bit of time, on a nice sunny day
- Worth a Vacation day, to an outsider ...hmmmmmm, maybe if you do the whole BBQ thing

Motown museum, yeah it's nice if your into "that" kind of music, for an hour or two

EVERY city has museums ....no big whoop
...................... a zoo
...................... restaurants
...................... businesses
...................... some historical building

Henry Ford/ Greenfield is a good 15 to 20 miles OUT of Detroit , over in Dearborn

Cranbrook is around 25 miles away, over in Bloomfield

Somerset Mall is about 25 miles away, over in Troy

Just to spend the whole damn day in the car, driving around, OUTSIDE Detroit, doesn't mean
you took a vacation for a week in Detroit, that means you heavily toured the suburbs.

I think it's a hard sell , for a travel agent in those other states , encouraging folks to come to D

Perceptions on a National level
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...n_detroit.html

Is this working, bring money into the city, helping WAYNE COUNTY , where Detroit is located ?
http://www.visitdetroit.com/things-to-do-in-detroit

[animatedmartian]

EVERY city has museums ....no big whoop
...................... a zoo
...................... restaurants
...................... businesses
...................... some historical building

Then what exactly is the point of going on vacation in any other city?

[Willi]

To see something ------ ""different"", something not available to you , unique items .

Does Detroit have enough draw to separate a guy in North Dakaota from $1,000 of his money ?

[Gpwrangler]

I'm focusing on Outsiders, people who have zero ties to Detroit, no family, no connections.
Why would they spend a week in Detroit, bother to get a rental car, drive forever here/there ?

I'll easily concede Belle Isle is nice to kill a bit of time, on a nice sunny day
- Worth a Vacation day, to an outsider ...hmmmmmm, maybe if you do the whole BBQ thing

Motown museum, yeah it's nice if your into "that" kind of music, for an hour or two

EVERY city has museums ....no big whoop
...................... a zoo
...................... restaurants
...................... businesses
...................... some historical building

Henry Ford/ Greenfield is a good 15 to 20 miles OUT of Detroit , over in Dearborn

Cranbrook is around 25 miles away, over in Bloomfield

Somerset Mall is about 25 miles away, over in Troy

Just to spend the whole damn day in the car, driving around, OUTSIDE Detroit, doesn't mean
you took a vacation for a week in Detroit, that means you heavily toured the suburbs.

I think it's a hard sell , for a travel agent in those other states , encouraging folks to come to D

Perceptions on a National level
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...n_detroit.html

Is this working, bring money into the city, helping WAYNE COUNTY , where Detroit is located ?
http://www.visitdetroit.com/things-to-do-in-detroit

There's plenty to do within 15-20 miles of Detroit and within, to make a full day. A few short drives to Dearborn etc won't ruin the trip. You could also tour parts of the city.

[Bham1982]

Then what exactly is the point of going on vacation in any other city?

Because they have stuff other than a zoo, historic buildings, and restaurants. What is there about Southeast Michigan that would make it a natural visitor destination?

Places like New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Miami, Vegas, San Francisco, Washington DC, are leisure visitor destinations, with obvious unique draws. Detroit doesn't have an equivalent.

Every random Columbus/Indianapolis/Kansas City/Cincy has old buildings, a good museum or two, an interesting attraction, maybe a signature food, but these places aren't tourist destinations. Detroit is more like these cities.

[Chicago48]

For the most part, planes going to Detroit are for 3 purposes :
a.) someone coming to Detroit for Work, employer sent them
b.) someone returning to Detroit, after being somewhere else
c.) some coming to see a family member

When I lived out of state on the East Coast, I could fly a LOT of places cheaper
than the airfare back to Detroit Metro merely to see family, friends.

If your best buddy wanted to come to Detroit for a VACATION
where would you go, what would you do, that was not specific to an event ?
Spending hours and hours and hours in car, doing big mileage, doesn't cut it

What would bring someone to Detroit, spend their hard earned cash,
- If it was NOT related to a sports game, and NOT related to the casino ?

I totally agree with this. I live in Chicago and this is THE CITY to staycation. Lots to do. It would take a month to cover all the attractions in Chicago. But Detroit? Maybe 3 days. There's not much of an art museum to see, you can cover it in one hour. Not much of a zoo. There's little live theater. The list goes on and on.
My friends always ask me, why don't you stay longer [[I usually do a 24 hours visit) and I ask back, why? What's there to do?

[Chicago48]

I'm focusing on Outsiders, people who have zero ties to Detroit, no family, no connections.
Why would they spend a week in Detroit, bother to get a rental car, drive forever here/there ?

I'll easily concede Belle Isle is nice to kill a bit of time, on a nice sunny day
- Worth a Vacation day, to an outsider ...hmmmmmm, maybe if you do the whole BBQ thing

Motown museum, yeah it's nice if your into "that" kind of music, for an hour or two

EVERY city has museums ....no big whoop
...................... a zoo
...................... restaurants
...................... businesses
...................... some historical building

Henry Ford/ Greenfield is a good 15 to 20 miles OUT of Detroit , over in Dearborn

Cranbrook is around 25 miles away, over in Bloomfield

Somerset Mall is about 25 miles away, over in Troy

Just to spend the whole damn day in the car, driving around, OUTSIDE Detroit, doesn't mean
you took a vacation for a week in Detroit, that means you heavily toured the suburbs.

I think it's a hard sell , for a travel agent in those other states , encouraging folks to come to D

Perceptions on a National level
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...n_detroit.html

Is this working, bring money into the city, helping WAYNE COUNTY , where Detroit is located ?
http://www.visitdetroit.com/things-to-do-in-detroit

I agree with this too. Yep, every city has an art museum, a historical museum, and true, you need to rent a car to get around. Everytime I go to Detroit to visit family, I have to rent a car and drive and drive and drive.

[Bham1982]

I totally agree with this. I live in Chicago and this is THE CITY to staycation. Lots to do.

And even Chicago doesn't even have much that is truly unique/iconic. It's more known as a huge business destination than a leisure destination. Not many international tourists make it to Chicago.

But, in the Midwest, it's the "big city", so when you want your Great Lakes-area urban fix, you go to Chicago [[or Toronto).

[Bham1982]

IThere's not much of an art museum to see, you can cover it in one hour. Not much of a zoo.

This is silly, though. The DIA is world class and top-10 in the U.S. The zoo is possibly the best in the Midwest.

But, unless we're talking the Louvre/Hermitage/Met, you aren't going to get tons of visitors for an art museum alone, and zoos are pretty much dime a dozen. Columbus has a great zoo too, and Cleveland has a great art museum. Anyone want to spend their vacations in Columbus and Cleveland? Didn't think so.

[401don]

This is a silly thread. Other than maybe NY, who visits any city for a week? You go for the weekend, take in a ballgame, see the sights and enjoy a couple of meals. You vacation for a week in Florida, the Caribbean, the cottage, etc.

[noise]

The zoo is possibly the best in the Midwest.

Is this true? I've never been impressed. I enjoy both Toledo and Milwaukee zoos much more than Detroit.

But then, I may be an anomaly. The first thing I want to do when I get to Chicago is get the hell out of there.

[DetroitPlanner]

Motown museum, yeah it's nice if your into "that" kind of music, for an hour or two

EVERY city has museums ....no big whoop
...................... a zoo
...................... restaurants
...................... businesses
...................... some historical building

Henry Ford/ Greenfield is a good 15 to 20 miles OUT of Detroit , over in Dearborn

Cranbrook is around 25 miles away, over in Bloomfield

I think you have a very distorted view of where things are and the draw of Museums. Not every museum is the same. You won't be able to see things at the Muskegon museum of Art that you will at the DIA.

The Henry Ford is about 1.5 miles from Warrendale tops. If you live at 8, and Lasher Cranbrook is no more than 8 miles.

Why would anyone shop at Somerset? It is not unique there are dozens of malls with the same high end mix of chain stores in this country. Okay, sure they got that bridge, that is sort of Unique, but it is not the only mall with one.

We do have some nice museums, better than most cities. We also have lots of water features, more than most Cities. We have an auto show that draws folks from around the world every year. Unfortunately, we also have bone cold weather.

[Islandman]

This is a silly thread. Other than maybe NY, who visits any city for a week? You go for the weekend, take in a ballgame, see the sights and enjoy a couple of meals. You vacation for a week in Florida, the Caribbean, the cottage, etc.

Depends on where you go. Europe and the Caribbean is a minimum of 10 days for me. No point on getting on the plane and burning a day of vacation for 6-7 days.

I personally would not want to vacation in NYC [[or Vegas) for more than 4 days.

[TTime]

Bham's comment is absurd. Chicago is a world class city. Period.

[iheartthed]

For the most part, planes going to Detroit are for 3 purposes :
a.) someone coming to Detroit for Work, employer sent them
b.) someone returning to Detroit, after being somewhere else
c.) some coming to see a family member

Is this limited to people who actually leave the airport? Detroit Metro is a transit airport, like Atlanta. A good chunk of the travelers never even leave the airport.

[Bham1982]

Bham's comment is absurd. Chicago is a world class city. Period.

Chicago does not get a huge number of leisure visitors relative to business visitors. It also isn't among the main tourist centers in the U.S. for international visitors.

I have no idea what your [[entirely subjective) comment has to do with my previous comment. Whether or not you think Chicago is world class has nothing to do with objective visitor numbers.

Is Vegas world class? Orlando? Highly doubtful. As cities, they kind of suck. Are they enormous leisure destinations? Yes, definitely.

[DetroitPlanner]

Bham's comment is absurd. Chicago is a world class city. Period.

And what does your comments have to do with Detroit? A comparison of a comparison is absurd.

[Willi]

Nothing silly about the cold hard facts -- Detroit sucks for a vacation.
To a complete OUTSIDER, never having been to the INNER City of Detroit, its lame.
Landing in Detroit Metro Airport, staying near the airport, driving all day, every day,
- a full 20 to 30 miles ONE WAY , for a 60 mile round trip to see a few sites - sucks !

We need to do better if we want people to come to Detroit, Michigan
- and I mean Detroit , not the suburbs , or Alpena or Traverse City or Pictured Rocks, etc.

Other cities, other countries, have ALL the same major stuff, a tourist trap of crap.
Just can't see what the big draw would be to get someone to fly to Detroit, spend their money, here

[dtowncitylover]

Chicago does not get a huge number of leisure visitors relative to business visitors. It also isn't among the main tourist centers in the U.S. for international visitors.

Yes it is. I would say being consistently within the top 10 American cities for intl tourists makes you a main center.

http://www.travelersdigest.com/5968-...ign-travelers/

http://skift.com/2014/06/18/20-most-...elers-in-2013/

It's the only city, besides Las Vegas for obvious reasons, that's not on the coast or in a warmer climate. International tourist go to the coasts first then when they want to go inland, they flock to Chicago. Walk down Michigan or State and you'll for sure hear 20 different languages spoken by obvious tourists.

[iheartthed]

Nothing silly about the cold hard facts -- Detroit sucks for a vacation.
To a complete OUTSIDER, never having been to the INNER City of Detroit, its lame.
Landing in Detroit Metro Airport, staying near the airport, driving all day, every day,
- a full 20 to 30 miles ONE WAY , for a 60 mile round trip to see a few sites - sucks !

We need to do better if we want people to come to Detroit, Michigan
- and I mean Detroit , not the suburbs , or Alpena or Traverse City or Pictured Rocks, etc.

Other cities, other countries, have ALL the same major stuff, a tourist trap of crap.
Just can't see what the big draw would be to get someone to fly to Detroit, spend their money, here

For what it's worth, my friend is a native New Yorker with no ties to Detroit whatsoever and he took two leisure trips to Detroit this past summer. In all he's been there three times and loves it.