Why would anyone come to Detroit?

[tallboy66]

for tourism.

DEMF/Movement
Festival of the arts
International freedom fest
The Grand Prix
Thunderfest

Suburbs:
Dream cruise
Greenfield Village

[dodgemain]

World class football?

[LodgeDodger]

architecture
automotive heritage tours

[Whitehouse]

Er... Schadenfreude?


And a serious response: A pitstop for a journey into/from Canada.

[MichMatters]

Why would anyone go anywhere that's not a traditional travel destination? The point being that folks do, and do so in numbers many on the coasts wouldn't even realize. Contrary to popular belief, Detroit is still the center of even a crippled domestic auto industry, so the metro gets tons of business travel from around the country and world [[one of the reason why there are flights to Asia out of Metro), and the museums and other cultural amenities continue to rank among the top in the country.

[jtf1972]

Don't forget a little house known affectionately as "Hitsville, USA"

[DetroitZack]

Major league sports, with one being in the suburbs.

[smogboy]

Some of the best people in the world reside here.

[Chuck_MI]

Thug-free Sundays at Belle Isle.

[Zacha341]

To visit family...... that remain in Detroit [[Michigan)

[Ravine]

To induce a heightened sense of satisfaction with the place from which one has travelled.

[jcole]

Detroit is still a large city with the amenities of other large cities [[art museums, historical museums, fine dining, theater, etc) and we have the benefit of being much cheaper than other cities of comparable size. It's actually a good place to vacation with kids [[Henry Ford, proximity to Ann Arbor, Greenfield Village, etc.)

[Searay215]

Free copper wire for the taking?

[bailey]

for tourism.

DEMF/Movement
Festival of the arts
International freedom fest
The Grand Prix
Thunderfest

Suburbs:
Dream cruise
Greenfield Village

If you're gonna make a 'rah-rah' list, you might want to make sure the events you're putting on it still exist.

[bartock]

"Chip and putt" on Belle Isle.

[Eastside]

If you're gonna make a 'rah-rah' list, you might want to make sure the events you're putting on it still exist.

If you're going to correct a 'rah-rah' list, you may want to make sure you note all of the events that no longer exist - Festival of the Arts.

[DetroitPlanner]

Zug Island Boat Cruise
Casinos
Cheap neighborhood bars full of cheaper neighborhood floozies.
Its only an hour from Toledo and an hour and a half from Cedar Point!

[davewindsor]

If you're gonna make a 'rah-rah' list, you might want to make sure the events you're putting on it still exist.

How about Detroit's bid for the 2020 Olympics, lol. http://americajr.com/news/detroit-olympics.html

Ok,ok, the International Autoshow.

[MoparDan]

Never been to Detroit but hope to one day.
My reasons other than being intrigued by the "Fabulous Ruins":
Being a car guy, a tour of an assembly plant[[I'm not sure if they do them or not anymore)
The Woodward Dream Cruise
Architecture of buildings
Hitsville
Touring neighborhoods such as Boston-Edison
Catching a Tigers game if the timing is right
Actually meeting a few of y'all in person at a D-Yes gathering
Other positive things I'm sure I'll discover along the way

I can understand the cynicism that's written on here & some of the circumstances are out of your control. However, constant negativity is counter-productive, not to mention it takes no effort. You have to promote your own city while the rest of the country & media dump on it. Just before I retired from my National Guard unit, we had a new airman transfer in. He's from Detroit originally, attends the University of Houston & travels to San Antonio to perform his duty. He was offered a scholarship so he moved down here. One of my last tasks was ensuring he processed into the unit & got set up for appointments. At each stop, the person signing off on his records asked him where he was from: "I'm from Detroit". To a person, each one made comments such as "I bet you're glad you got out", "What a dump", etc. He asked if they'd been there[[of course none had); he rattled off several good things about the city, primarily the music scene. I'm not saying he turned the city into an instant tourist destination but he changed the image these people had. He also defended the city against the "Good Ol' Boy" NCOs in the shop. I gave him credit for having the balls to do it. The entire time he was cool & respectful to rank.
My wife thought I was nuts for wanting to go up there: "You want to get us killed???". After showing her the Dream Cruise site & architecture pictures, she slowly changed her perception. I told her we survived growing up in San Antonio which is drug & gang infested. Every city is going to have a criminal element; you just have to be situationally aware to avoid becoming a victim.
Ok, back on topic: If I can convince my wife of eventually doing a trip up there, you Native Detroiters should be able to do it as well to the outside world. You can either help the rest of the country throw dirt on the body or pull it out of the hole.
Personally, I have no stake in the area/region, other than hoping the auto industry survives & re-establishes itself as well as the direct/indirect manufacturers & suppliers along with it. I met a lot of people from Michigan while I was active duty military & still keep in contact with a few of them. It's your home; defend & promote it as though your lives depend on it. Chances are, it does. You may hate the bitter winters up there, however, I doubt you want to hunt for a job in Houston where it routinely gets well over 90 degrees with 90% humidity in the summers. If you enjoy living in a grimy sauna a good part of the year, go for it. Oh yeah, plus the occasional threat of hurricanes. Anyway...
So, ask yourself, what can YOU do to make your city a destination point or more attractive? This site is a good communication tool so why not utilize it to put together a citizen's group or connect with another one to influence what goes on there? Things may never be the way they "used to be" but you can make it better than it is now.
My intent is not to lecture or be patronizing, but to add an outsider's viewpoint. Take the ball & run with it.
Good luck!

[GOAT]

Being serious. Other than a couple of short stays to see only a few things, there isn't any reason to stop by Detroit. No shopping, "architectural gems" don't reallly exist in context to the rest of the world, very poor image, dirty and ugly, ghost town most nights...I could go on and on but you get the picture.

Compared to so many other things on this planet Detroit is not a "destination" place regardless of how some people will spin it.

[bailey]

If you're going to correct a 'rah-rah' list, you may want to make sure you note all of the events that no longer exist - Festival of the Arts.

well, they're still doing it as "midsummer nights"....aren't they?

[dookie joe]

Time Magazine came to Detroit. Ask them why.

[bartock]

Being serious. Other than a couple of short stays to see only a few things, there isn't any reason to stop by Detroit. No shopping, "architectural gems" don't reallly exist in context to the rest of the world, very poor image, dirty and ugly, ghost town most nights...I could go on and on but you get the picture.

Compared to so many other things on this planet Detroit is not a "destination" place regardless of how some people will spin it.

How often have you been here? People that are much more knowledgable than me I'm sure will address the "architectural gems" comment, but Good God, 4+ million people are here and we could "go on" about the shopping and ghost town comments. If we're talking just within city limits, I'll give you the shopping [[in large part the reality is that this is true) and the poor image comments.

The region as a whole [[including Detroit) is beautiful. You should stop by some time.

[Retroit]

I come into the city of Detroit to see what happens when society breaks down and one of the world's most prosperous cities transmogrifies into a degenerate, worse-than-Third-World disaster area.

If you listed all the "rah-rahs" that the city of Detroit has to offer, in my mind they would not alleviate in the least bit the despair I sense when I drive through the residential areas of the city.

[English]

worse-than-Third-World disaster area

Have you ever been to the developing world??? By American capitalistic standards, Detroit isn't up to par, and I love the city. But Detroiters have clean water to drink, and the electricity doesn't only come on a few hours per day... among 1000 other things. Crime is bad by Western standards, but you ought to read my former Michigan colleague Uwem Akpan's short story collection "Say You're One of Them" to learn what life is like for children in one region of the so-called Third World. Detroit kids' reading scores are bad, but most of them aren't sold into slavery or child prostitution rings so that their families can eat.

In fact, I'd bet if you were to allow 2 million "Third Worlders" to resettle in Detroit, in 10-20 years we'd have a thriving metropolis. I've long thought that Detroit and a few other American cities have potential as places to resettle legal immigrants and refugees that the Sun Belters are complaining about. Sure, the weather up here's bad, but if the Somali refugees can get used to Maine and Minnesota, I'm sure they'll make do through our Michigan winters.