AUGUST 2016 A HEMISPHERES SUPPLEMENT INFLUENCERS ECONOMY INNOVATION GLOBAL IMPACT REVITALIZATION Dossier_Julyv3.indd 1 01/07/2016 15:48 HOUSTON DOSSIER BIGGER AND BETTER How population growth and visitor appeal are driving investments across the Greater Houston area Downtown Houston “This past month, I’ve eaten in four new says Bob Harvey, president and CEO of Already the nation’s most diverse major restaurants that didn’t even exist a year the Greater Houston Partnership. “But metro, Houston is also the fastest- ago,” says Mike Waterman, president of we can make this a very high quality of growing, adding more than 740,000 the Greater Houston CVB. “The pace of life, fun city by the things we create and people since 2010. Its bedroom development and new infrastructure nurture, and we can create an communities are expanding, its cities improvements, whether it’s restaurants opportunity city that says everyone has are on the up, and—as in cities across or hotels or venues to accommodate the economic means of accessing what the nation—downtown Houston is visitors, is astronomical.” the city has to off er.” seeing an infl ux of residents at an Many of these amenities are arriving unprecedented rate. just in time, as the city prepares for one Galveston Island This downtown population increase of the most important days in the U.S. Head south along I-45 from Houston, has been accompanied by enormous sporting calendar, Super Bowl LI, which and you’ll soon fi nd yourself on investment in its buildings, parks and will be hosted here on 5 February, 2017. Galveston Island, a barrier island on the infrastructure. Since the mid-1990s, “The Super Bowl is a marquee event Texas coast that in the late 1800s was more than $6 billion of projects have with media exposure that allows us to known as the ‘playground of the south’. contributed to downtown’s renewal, showcase these assets to the rest of the The grandeur that made it popular including new stadiums for the Rockets world,” says Sallie Sargent, president then is still evident in one of the and Astros, and an expansion of the and CEO of the Houston Super Bowl nation’s largest concentrations of George R. Brown Convention Center. A Host Commi ee. “It then takes on this well-preserved Victorian architecture, light rail system extending through and ripple eff ect that you can go back to which complement 32 miles of beaches beyond downtown was opened in 2004 and identify in other host cities, when and a host of modern a ractions, many and extended several times since. your conventions increase as a result of which were established as the island Beyond this, downtown has also and your tourism increases as a result.” recovered from the impact of Hurricane witnessed a renaissance in its lifestyle All told, more than $3 billion of projects Ike, in September 2008. and visitor a ractions, including the are still under construction downtown, Discovery Green and Market Square around a third of which are residential urban parks, which have helped drive developments, as the city continues to growth in the east and north, blaze its own path as an exciting respectively. Add to that seven new destination to live, work and play. hotel high-rises, and its clear to see “We don’t have San Francisco Bay to there are plenty of new arrows in the look out at, or Sydney Harbor; we don’t tourism industry’s quiver. have some of those natural a ributes,” HOUSTON WAS RANKED AMONG THE TOP PLACES TO VISIT IN 2015 BY THE BOSTON GLOBE, TRAVEL + LEISURE AND CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER. IN 2016, VALUEPENGUIN.COM RANKED HOUSTON SECOND ON ITS LIST OF BEST CITIES TO RAISE A YOUNG FAMILY. HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM/DOSSIER | 17 Dossier_Julyv3.indd 17 01/07/2016 15:51 DOSSIER HOUSTON For a community where the visitor large corporate community provides the industry supports close to a third of all bulk of the 63,000 jobs that The TAKING FLIGHT jobs, the storm could have proven Woodlands now supports. catastrophic, but instead tourism With that diversifi cation has come According to its most recent surpassed pre-Ike levels as soon as 2011. tremendous growth. Its population is economic impact study, the Houston At the heart of this was a decision to around double the 55,649 recorded at Airport System is directly responsible not just repair what was damaged but the 2000 census, while more people for 230,000 jobs in the region, and build Galveston be er than ever before. now enter The Woodlands on a daily contributes more than $27.5 billion to The beaches were quickly restored basis than leave to work. And with the local economy each year. That’s and more than $125 million were another 10,000 residents expected to only set to rise as it builds upon the invested in new a ractions—a move in before the end of the decade, 55 million passengers that passed movement that continued in the years the onus is on making sure the through its facilities in 2015, and the that followed. Landry’s’ $60-million infrastructure required is in place. system is responding in kind with a construction of the Galveston Island “We know that growth is coming and host of infrastructure investments to Historic Pleasure Pier provided the we need to be careful and to be able to support future growth. island with another iconic destination manage that growth,” says CEO of The For example, at George Bush when it opened in 2012, and even more Woodlands CVB, Nick Wolda. “That’s Intercontinental Airport, the system recently, the Bryan Museum launched what the Woodlands has been about has rebuilt Terminal B South, with in 2015 with the world’s largest since the start, and what it will need to construction underway on a new collection of Southwestern artifacts. be about going into the future.” $244-million Terminal C North “The past fi ve years have just This growth has also driven its appeal concourse. A new international transformed the island,” says Meg as a visitor destination—as a location for terminal is the next major project on Winchester, director of the Galveston business events, but also increasingly for the horizon, all complemented by a Island CVB. “The city has really put a lot leisure travel. For evidence, look no revamped concessions program. more focus on infrastructure and really further than the response of The “In fi ve years, you won’t recognize started to enhance areas that needed it. Howard Hughes Corporation, which has Intercontinental,” says director of And from a tourism standpoint, we just opened two new hotels here in recent aviation Mario Diaz. “It will be so keep growing year a er year.” years, while completing a $75-million diff erent, not only with respect to renovation of The Woodlands Resort the physical aesthetics of the The Woodlands and Conference Center. airport, but with the customer Established in 1974, The Woodlands is a “With the growth of The Woodlands, service, the products and the 28,000-acre master planned community and the growth of the Greater Houston relationship that you will some 28 miles north of Houston. Though area, we saw an opportunity to get experience as a passenger that we it made its name as a desirable more into the resort destination expect will be second to none.” residential environment, the plan always business,” says general manager Greg was for it to some day encompass so Parsons. “By adding some amenities to much more, and now it also boasts a the property we really have become a true downtown, retail and numerous drive-in, regional destination for family entertainment venues. Meanwhile, a travel and staycations.” Looking out on the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier GALVESTON IS HOME TO THE THIRD-LARGEST MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION IN THE COUNTRY. IN 2015, NERDWALLET NAMED THE WOODLANDS AS THE NUMBER-ONE PLACE TO LIVE IN TEXAS. Dossier_Julyv3.indd 18 05/07/2016 09:28 DOSSIER HOUSTON FACTFILE ANNUAL VISITORS: 17.5 million (2015) OUT OF OFFICE VISITOR SPENDING: $17.2 billion (2014) From lively downtowns to relaxing resorts and EMPLOYMENT: 135,000 TAX REVENUE: one-of-a-kind cultural a ractions, Greater $1.4 billion Houston's a place to play as well as work Sports Even if you can’t get tickets to Super Bowl LI, there’s still plenty of top-notch action happening in the city throughout the year. Whether it’s J. J. Watt’s Texans, the Astros, the Rockets, or world-class golf, Houston has emerged as one of America’s premier destinations for professional sports. The Woodlands The forested surrounds of The Woodlands offer a respite from the bustle of Houston—but that doesn’t mean there Space Center Houston isn’t plenty to do. Explore more than 11 More than 400 artifacts introduce million square feet of shopping space, guests to the wonders of space and enjoy world-class arts performances exploration at Houston’s at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. number-one attraction for HOUSTON international travelers. Since opening in 1992, more than 18 million people have visited. Sugar Land West of Houston, the city of Sugar Land offers lots for visitors to see and do. Stop by Constellation Field for a Skeeters baseball game, browse the shops at First Colony Mall and get up close with a T. Rex at the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land. Galveston Island Pleasure Pier Galveston Island continues to draw visitors with a variety of new attractions. Case in point: the Galveston Island Pleasure Pier opened in 2012 with thrilling rides, fantastic restaurants and eclectic shopping, while jutting out 1,130 feet into the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.