Has Anyone Seen Fort Worth's Imaginary 8.8 Million Visitors?

This morning I got an email from someone who shall remain anonymous asking me if I'd seen this.

This was referring to an article in this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram titled Fort Worth attracted 8.8 million visitors last year in booming tourism market.

I replied to Anonymous that I had already seen the article and that I found it to be yet one more appalling piece of Star-Telegram propaganda.

8.8 million  visitors to Fort Worth?

A few years ago the Star-Telegram joined with the Fort Worth chamber of commerce sorts in spewing the nonsense that a sporting goods store in Fort Worth would be the #1 tourist attraction in Texas and was well worth the bribes, I mean, incentives, Cabela's was requesting for Fort Worth to land such a coveted prize.

During the selling of the Cabelas con job the number of visitors, annually, to what would be the top tourist attraction in Texas ranged from 6 to 8 million. Something around 30 to 40 thousand sporting goods shoppers a day.

Fort Worth was left, yet again, with embarrassing egg on its face after falling for the Cabela's con, only to soon learn that the Fort Worth Cabelas was not going to be the only Cabelas in Texas, and soon not even the only Cabelas in the D/FW Metroplex.

And now we are supposed to believe that Fort Worth attracted 8.8 million visitors last year?

Was it to the sporting goods store those millions of visitors were attracted?

Long ago I remember reading that anyone coming from a distance of 50 miles or more was considered a visitor to Fort Worth. How this number of visitors statistic is compiled I have no clue. I suspect it is likely a bogus false statistic conjured out of thin air.

Anyone who has actually been to a town  which attracts out of state visitors knows such is not the case in Fort Worth. One seldom sees out of state license plates, and most of those are from Oklahoma.

Go to San Antonio and make note of how many out of state license plates signifying tourists you see. Do the same in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Phoenix, New Orleans or even Dallas and you will see a lot of out of state license plates.

Fort Worth is not any sort of tourist mecca. To pretend otherwise is delusional. Why does this type ridiculous propaganda get spewed?

Here's an embarrassing quote from the article...

“There is an excitement about the city and a sense of opportunity that exists right now,” Jameson said. “Our visitors have more things to do than ever.”

Excitement about the city? More things to do than ever?

Like what? Go wakeboarding? No, that effort by America's Biggest  Boondoggle sank. More things to do, like floating in the Trinity River in The Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube  Floats?

More things to do? Like check out The Boondoggle's bridges being built to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island?

The construction of which has been stalled for what will be a year in March. Is gazing at those moldy V Piers stuck in the air near that Roundabout homage to aluminum garbage cans one of the exciting things to do in Fort Worth?

The Tourism Boom article is full of embarrassing gems. Items about conventions bringing  in big bucks. About expanding the convention center. About the new arena that still is not under construction which voters sort of voted for years ago.

And the need for another convention center hotel built with taxpayer help.

Here's a clue, Fort Worth, to that actual health of your imaginary tourist boom. If such was really the case, developers would be eager to build new hotels, with no incentive help, such as what happens in actual booming tourist towns such as Seattle and San Francisco and others.

Why does the Star-Telegram publish embarrassing propaganda puff pieces like this without  asking  any critical questions? How many times now has Fort Worth been burned by getting conned?

A few examples come to mind. The Santa Fe Rail Market. Cabelas. The Radio Shack Corporate Headquarters. The Mercado, or whatever it is called on Main Street south of the Stockyards.

And then there is the biggest Fort  Worth con job of all.

The Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision which has  become known far and wide as America's Biggest (and most embarrassing) Boondoggle....