Hospitality industry needs state support
At this difficult time in the country’s economic life, state leaders should invest in tourism promotion and development.
Tourism & Hospitality
Articles
Downtown development great for citizens, visitors
The development of shopping, restaurants, museums, public arts and hotels downtown in the past 25 years has made Indianapolis
a vibrant, more interesting place to live—and to visit.
Pacers reforms, new Lucas Oil Stadium, NCAA 2010 tournament boost Indy’s sports reputation
The Pacers opening victory, new game innovations at Conseco Fieldhouse and retaining Danny Granger are bright spots in the
city’s vast sports scene.
City prepares to compete for mega-conventions, risks losing small events
Over the years, the city has made a name for itself by hosting a handful of large conventions and a bevy of small and midsize
gatherings. But as companies and other organizations tighten their belts, the number of conventions
held nationwide is expected to shrink in the months ahead.
Super Bowl group hires Sports Corp. official as CEO
The woman chosen as president and CEO of the city’s Super Bowl host committee isn’t exactly a household name, but those who hired her think she’ll make Indianapolis the best host city ever. Allison Melangton, 46, is the first paid member of the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee, and is expected to throw planning and organization into overdrive over the next 30 days.
Greenwood company hits it out of the park: Big League Tours tripled its revenue this year
While most Major League Baseball fans are focused on this year’s playoffs, local entrepreneur Glenn Dunlap is already thinking about next year. Dunlap formed Greenwood-based Big League Tours in 2006, offering group trips to big-league baseball games and other related attractions. One such trip took swings through games at Fenway Park in Boston, Yankee Stadium in New York, and the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Other trips hit fabled ballparks in Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and San Francisco….
Tough economy touching all industries, but some are hurting more than others
Stock markets are falling, jobs are disappearing, and the outlook for the economy seems grim. Banks, real estate developers,
retailers and manufacturers are taking the worst hits, but all types of businesses in central Indiana are hurting. From health
care to technology, education to philanthropy, every industry is trying to take the setbacks in stride.
Plan would make Monument Circle grand public space
A group of local business and civic leaders is working on a plan to transform the city’s most visible symbol into a public-gathering space without equal in the United States. Monument Circle already hosts dozens of activities each year–including major concerts like last year’s NFL Kickoff–and it will host several events connected to the 2012 Super Bowl. But many stakeholders believe the Circle has yet to live up to its true potential.
First-ever driving festival could put French Lick on the map of exotic vehicles
Organizers of the inaugural World Class Driving Festival at the West Baden Springs Hotel Sept. 3-7 hope to put Indiana
on the map when it comes to exotic cars and potentially lucrative business opportunities surrounding the accompanying lifestyle.
NCAA mum on date to reopen fire-damaged Hall of Champions
Almost a full year after a fire in a single exhibit closed the NCAA Hall of Champions, the wait for the college sports
museum’s reopening is becoming as prolonged and agonizing as sitting through a college football game during
a freezing November rain. The NCAA is apparently in no hurry to relieve the suspense.
EYE ON THE PIE: How I spent my summer vacation
Helen Heavybreath is one of the most intrusive persons in my life. She always wants to know, “Where have you been? What have you been doing? Whom did you see?” At least the woman’s grammar is good. Before she accosts me again, I will report my vacation activities. What do you think an economist would do this summer, given current circumstances? Quite naturally, high gasoline prices induced me to take a 3,000-mile driving vacation from Indiana into Colorado, New Mexico…
Center at IU helps nation’s rec areas become inclusive: Venues of all types, sizes learn methods to make attractions more accessible to visitors with disabilities
Since its inception, the center’s staff has worked with venues ranging from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to local parks in the Indianapolis area. Besides facilities, it also comes to the aid of individuals. Recently, the center helped a bride who wanted to get married on the beach at sunset. A family member uses an electric wheelchair, so the center offered advice to her Florida hotel on how to construct a portable wheelchair path to the ceremony that…
State Fair brings in bounty of corporate sponsorships
An economic dry spell may have corporate America praying for rain, but tough times have led to a bountiful year at the
Indiana State Fair. Two weeks before the fair’s Aug. 6 start date, corporate sponsorships were running 22 percent ahead of
2007, surpassing $1.5 million for the first time.
Hotels feeling travel slump: City occupany rates fall, but downtown operators performing well this year thanks to convention biz
Staggeringly high gasoline prices and a sputtering economy are preventing scores of would-be travelers from packing up their thirsty sport-utility vehicles and heading to their favorite vacation destinations. Nationwide, hotel occupancy rates slipped to 68 percent through June of this year, down from 71 percent the same time last year, according to the most recent data from Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research. For the most part, local hotel operators are feeling the same pain. Through the first six months of the…
Tourism chief excited to sell world on Indianapolis: Former Seattle exec will have work cut out for him
Few in Indianapolis’ hospitality community knew what to think when Donald Welsh announced he was leaving Seattle to lead convention and tourism efforts here. But Seattle insiders say their loss is Indianapolis’ gain. “He’s behind a lot of the energy in the [Seattle] organization and getting people engaged,” said Anthony Anton, president of the Washington Restaurant Association. That energy will be needed at the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, which is working to fill an expanded Indiana Convention Center and…
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Sky-high gas prices are revving up the political rhetoric
From all the noise surrounding gasoline prices, you’d think nobody actually benefited from the high prices. But, of course, some folks do benefit. Let’s figure out who they might be. Obviously, consumers don’t benefit. The average car owner in the United States pays about $80 more per month with gas at $4 per gallon than he did back when it was $2.25. Not good news, of course, but hardly the end of the world. Folks who provide goods and services…
Prized state tourism account ‘big deal’ for Williams Randall
Williams Randall Marketing Communications pulled a surprise victory by snatching the $2.5 million Indiana Office of Tourism
Development advertising account away from incumbent Hirons & Co. and eight other bidders, most of which were larger than Williams
Randall. The two-year contract starts July 1.
Central Canal might get floating stage
A floating stage for concerts and a submarine memorial are in the works for Indianapolis’ Central Canal, adding to the downtown
waterway’s growing base of attractions. Efforts to develop a one-acre site at the heart of the canal, meanwhile, remain stalled.
Zoobilation sells out fast despite $200-plus admission
Far from the typical rubber-chicken fund-raiser attended mostly by board members and their friends–Zoobilation, the 22-year-old,
annual black-tie fund-raiser for the Indianapolis Zoo–attracts 4,300 ticket holders eager to spend an evening wining and
dining at the zoo.
Commentary: Do we need a disaster to wake us up?
About 20,000 historic properties were damaged in the storm, and Gay, executive director of Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, has led the charge to save them. “We never felt like throwing up our hands,” Gay said. “We don’t do that.” The Preservation Resource Center contacted owners of the nearly 4,000 historic properties that were condemned after the hurricane. About 600 of them have been spared to date. The PRC also has been helping review the planned demolition of buildings…