Donâ€™t pity Detroit

Sunday, 19 May, 2011 0

Potential conventioneers are starting to hear some surprising news about poor and downtrodden Detroit: its downtown is extremely safe. The Motor City is also a top concert and performance town and has some of the best museums in the country.

Huh? This is defunct Detroit.

"While cars will always be in our DNA, we also have some of the world’s great museums—like the Detroit Institute of Arts and The Henry Ford, and three Vegas-style casinos," said Christopher Baum, senior vice president, sales and marketing for the Detroit Metro CVB.

He told meetingsfocus.com:

"We’re also one of America’s top concert and performance towns—home to Motown, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, The White Stripes, Eminem and many more—and home to several of America’s favorite sports franchises, including the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings. Nobody ever comes to southeast Michigan and says, ‘There’s nothing to do.’"

That safety figure, incidentally, is from the FBI.

Despite a recent wave of bad publicity, Detroit 3.0 is a promotional effort launched last year by the Metro Detroit CVB to nurture and spread the word of a revived city.

“A number of the top meeting venues and attractions are benefitting from, and contributing to, the city’s ongoing reinvention,” said Meetings focus.com.

Stylish casinos are also adding to the appeal, which not rival Vegas but MotorCity Casino provides 67,000 square feet of function space and the MGM Grand adds another 30,000.

There’s also a US$300 million makeover at the Cobo Convention Center. It will add a new banquet and event space over the next three years.

By David Wilkening

David

Travel Outlook, the premier hotel call center™ Travel Outlook is an innovative, custom off-site central reservations office (CRO) service that...

Palladium Hotel Group is a renowned Spanish hotel chain that first emerged towards the end of the 1960s. Currently present...

Central Florida’s Polk County is conveniently located between Orlando and Tampa, and an easy drive to Central Florida attractions and...

Located in the heart of the Northeast and within easy driving distance of a third of the population of the...

Chargebacks911 offers scalable solutions that are customized for any business of any size in any industry. With the flexibility to...

Why choose Titan Travel? There are some great travel companies out there – so why Titan? Well, we’re one of...

At Visit California, our mission is to develop and maintain marketing programs – in partnership with the state’s travel industry...

Atout France guides and supports the French regions with their development strategy and helps set up investment projects in order...

Our Mission Ecommerce has transformative powers, and we believe everyone should be able to take part. But outdated solutions and...

Our leadership is bold. Our agility thrives on open innovation and we embrace the new, whether it’s diversity, trends, challenges....

The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB) is the only organization that promotes metro Detroit regionally, nationally and...

City Cruises is a leading operator of sightseeing, dining and charter services operating in London, York and Poole. We offer...

Since its launch in 1999, TravelMole.com has become, one of the largest global online travel industry communities. It is comprised...

Offering the most powerful portfolio in the industry, our 30 brands and 8,000+ properties across 139 countries and territories give...

It’s easy to find perfection in Santa Barbara, but what if there was even more of your favorite finds, activities,...

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. FOR THOSE WHO WANT A LITTLE MORE. South Australia. It’s a beautiful place. A place for the restless,...

Discover Sarawak Revealing a side of Asia unlike anywhere else, Sarawak offers an alternative for those seeking humble authenticity far...

Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 22 world-class brands comprising nearly 7,300 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms, in...