City Branding: Part 3: Observation Towers in the USA Landmarks Create US City’s Identity & Image What’s Your City’s Claim to Fame? By Jeff Coy, ISHC Orlando is the number one most visited city in the USA with 48 million domestic and international visitors, according to Forbes, followed by New York City, Chicago and Anaheim. OK, I can understand why Orlando is #1. It has landmarks and visual images that are immediately recognizable. Just say the word Top 10 Most Visited US Cities Orlando and Rank City Number of Visitors visual images of 1 Orlando FL 48,000,000 Mickey Mouse, 2 New York City NY 47,000,000 3 Chicago IL 45,580,000 the Magic 4 Anaheim/Orange County CA 42,700,000 Kingdom, Shamu 5 Miami FL 38,100,000 and thrill rides 6 Las Vegas NV 36,351,469 appear in my 7 Atlanta GA 35,400,000 mind’s eye. 8 Houston TX 31,060,000 9 Philadelphia PA 30,320,000 Say New York City and I see images of the Big 10 San Diego CA 29,600,000 Apple, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and Sources: Forbes, Smith Travel Research & US Travel Association Broadway theaters. I can even hear Frank singing, “these little town blues are melting away.” Mention Chicago, and I see the Sears/Willis Tower and Oprah and I can hear the blues. And when you say Anaheim, I envision all the fun things to see and do at Disneyland, Sea World and Knott’s Berry Farm. What’s your city’s claim to fame? On the world stage, New York City was the USA’s most-visited city in 2010 with 9.7 million international arrivals, according to the World Tourism Organization. The Top 10 Favorites are headed by Paris, London and NYC --- cities with strong architectural icons, nicknames, slogans and songs that are immediately recognizable around the world. Top 10 Most Visited by International Tourists Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Arch of Triumph, Notre Dame, Moulin Rank Country 2010 Rank City 2010 Rouge and Palace of Versailles. 1 France 76.8 million 1 Paris 15.1 million London has Big Ben and Tower 2 United State 59.7 million 2 London 14.6 million of London. New York has many 3 China 55.7 million 3 New York City 9.7 million 4 Spain 52.7 million 4 Antalya 9.2 million visual symbols that project the 5 Italy 43.6 million 5 Singapore 9.2 million city’s personality and hospitality. 6 United Kingdom 28.1 million 6 Kuala Lumpur 8.9 million 7 Turkey 27.0 million 7 Hong Kong 8.4 million The rest of the world’s favorite 8 Germany 26.9 million 8 Dubai 8.3 million cities include the emerging 9 Malaysia 24.6 million 9 Bangkok 7.2 million 10 Mexico 22.4 million 10 Istanbul 6.9 million destinations of the Middle East Source: World Tourism Organization and Asia --- evidence of a blossoming middle class that is traveling the Asian continent and, hopefully, will soon discover America. Consider the millions of global travelers visiting their favorite cities, such as Antalya, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bangkok and Istanbul. What’s your city’s claim to fame? Is your city an attractive place to visit? Global Travel Market Currently, “the USA struggles to attract international guests,” according to HotelNewsNow.com, “due in part to a bloated visa process and the lack of a cohesive unified marketing push.” The total number of global travelers grew from 152 million in 2000 to 213 million in 2010, yet the US market share dropped from 17% in 2000 to 12.4% in 2010. Brazil, China and India are the fastest-growing, highest-spending sources of overseas travel to the US, but the wait to even apply for a yearly visa can be 100 days or more.” We are talking about a visa to visit the US, spend money, create American jobs and then go back home, not to stay here. This delay results from policies adopted following 9/11 but it doesn’t make our country safer; it just makes us look like we can’t process visitors effectively. But according to the US Travel Association, all that is changing fast. What is Brand USA? The Corporation for Travel Promotion is transforming into Brand USA Inc, a public-private partnership created to restore our prominence as a destination in the world. Brand USA is okay as a name, but it is not a marketing strategy. It is not a slogan, it is not a tag line and as a message it communicates nothing. “To me, Brand USA gives no reason for people in China to visit the US,” say Ed Watkins, editor of Lodging Hospitality. The USA needs to establish its brand as a destination in the world. In fact, we have had a strong brand in the past --- we just got off track a bit. Our national mission statement is wrapped up in our monuments, the Statue of Liberty, our Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and our Bill of Rights. That’s who we are! That’s Uncle Sam. And Uncle Sam wants you --- to visit America. USA Top Observation Towers To compete for world travelers, our country and our cities need to create an identity and image that can project personality and hospitality --- inviting the world to visit us. Identity and image are built from landmarks, monuments, architectural icons, nicknames, slogans and songs written and sung about our country and our cities. Let’s visit a few: Stratosphere Royal Gorge Bridge Tower of the America’s Gateway Arch Space Needle JFK Space Center Carew Tower San Jacinto Monument Reunion Tower Washington Monument Las Vegas Eiffel Tower Penobscot Observatory Gatlinburg Space Needle Jefferson Davis Monument Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial Total Tower Overlooking Elitch Gardens Statue of Liberty Sunsphere Knoxville Liberty Memorial Coit Tower Top Observation Towers in the USA Height Year Cost to Annual Name City feet Open Rest Ride Hotel Construct Attendance Owner Stratosphere Tower Las Vegas NV 1149 1996 X X X $550,000,000 Whitehall Street RE Royal Gorge Bridge Royal Gorge CO 1053 1929 X Royal Gorge Bridge Tower of the Americas San Antonio, TX 750 1968 X X US National Park Gateway Arch St. Louis MO 630 1965 X $13,000,000 4,000,000 Service Space Needle Space Needle Seattle WA 605 1962 X $4,500,000 1,300,000 Corporation JFK Space Center Launch Pad Cape Canaveral, FL 600 2009 NASA US National Historic Carew Tower Cincinnati, OH 574 1929 X X $33,000,000 Landmark US National Historic San Jacinto Monument La Porte, TX 567 1939 $1,500,000 250,000 Landmark Reunion Tower Dallas TX 560 1978 X X US National Park Washington Monument Washington, DC 555 1884 $1,187,710 800,000 Service Las Vegas Eiffel Tower Las Vegas NV 540 1999 X X $785,000,000 Caesar's Entertainment Penobscot Observatory Penobscot RI 446 2007 Gatlinburg Space Needle Gatlinburg TN 407 1970 Jefferson Davis Monument Fairview, KY 351 1924 $200,000 Kentucky State Park Perry's Victory & Intl Peace US National Park Memorial Put-in-Bay, OH 351 1915 200,000 Service Total Tower Elitch Gardens Denver CO 336 Statue of Liberty New York 305 1886 Sunsphere Knoxville Knoxville TN 266 1982 X Liberty Memorial Kansas City MO 216 1926 Coit Tower San Francisco CA 210 1933 Source: Jeff Coy, JLC Hospitality Consulting, 480-488-3382. www.jeffcoy.com Rest=Restaurant. Ride=Thrill Ride. Hotel=Hotel Integrated, Attached or On-Site. Stratosphere is a tower, casino and hotel that opened in 1996 in Las Vegas NV. At 1,149 feet high, it is the tallest observation tower in the US. The casino covers 80,000 sq feet and the hotel has 2,427 rooms in a separate 24-story building. At the top of the tower, there are two observation decks, a revolving restaurant known as “Top of the World” and four thrill rides: (1) Big Shot, (2) Insanity, (3) X-Scream and (4) Sky Jump. Big Shot at 1,081 feet is the highest thrill ride in the world. Strap into the Big Shot and prepare to be shot 160 feet into the air at 45 mph as you overlook Las Vegas. In a matter of seconds, the Big Shot thrill ride catapults 16 riders from the 921-foot high platform up the tower’s mast to a height of 1,081 feet and down again. Before you can catch your breath, you’ll be shot back up again at 4 Gs of force on the way and feel negative Gs on the way down. Cost to ride is $13. Insanity the Ride is a mind-blowing experience. It opened in 2005 at 900 feet. It is the second highest thrill ride in the world. A massive mechanical arm extends out 64 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower at height of over 900 feet. This ride will spin you in the open air at speeds of up to 3 Gs. You will be propelled to an angle of 70 degrees, which will tilt your body into one position --- straight down! If you’re brave enough to keep your eyes open, you’ll get a breathtaking view of historic downtown Las Vegas. Cost to ride is $12. X-Scream is the third highest thrill ride in the world. Ever played on a giant teeter-totter 866 feet above the ground? X-Scream propels you and several other riders headfirst 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower.