MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — The tourism and travel numbers for the city of Waco are in! In the past year, several attractions across Waco, like the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Dr Pepper Museum, have seen close to 3 million visitors passing through.
- According to Data presented at a recent city council meeting, the top places of interest in Waco are Baylor University, Central Texas Market Place, and Magnolia Market at the Silos.
- Data shows they spend just over $150 shopping, around $120 on food, and about $200 on attractions, but the big bucks are spent on hotels.
- The top visitors are coming from Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A tour around the city,
“With our tourists from out of town, they ask, What’s a good spot to stop?” Ennis Charleston said.
Ennis Charleston, the owner of Waco Pedal Tours, said he sees visitors from all over the country,
“We give tours to visitors from upstate New York, to down to Florida from California to the East Coast,” Charleston said.
In the past year, our community has seen close to 3 million visitors passing through Waco to see places like the Cameron Park Zoo, The Art Center Waco, and the Mayborn Museum. Charleston says when his customers are passing through, they like to stop at,
“The Silos is one, and Dr. Pepper Museum and Baylor Games,” Charleston said.
According to Data presented at a recent city council meeting--the top points of interest in Waco—are Baylor University, Central Texas Market Place, and Magnolia Market at the Silos, but Charleston takes people downtown to support local businesses and nightlife.
“We take them to five a club, Austins,” Charleston said.
While people are in town, that data shows they spend just over $150 shopping, around $120 on food, and about $200 on attractions, but the big bucks are spent on hotels.
“We’ll pick them up at their hotel or Airbnb,” he said.
Waco’s hotel occupancy tax collection is up one million from last year at 7.4 million dollars. The city is now saying that “hotel demand is stronger than ever”, an opportunity Charleston takes advantage of, giving people the street view of Waco’s beauty.
“You get to meet different people from different places and feel the enjoyment of having fun,” Charleston said.
The city of Waco said, "Regarding the $1 million increase in hotel occupancy tax, this can be attributed to factors like more overnight stays, an increase in available hotel rooms, and/or higher average daily rates."
As far as people visiting out city, most of them are our neighbors from Dallas and Austin, the next highest percentage are coming from Houston and San Antonio. According to the City of Waco, "Over the past three years, Magnolia Market has consistently been the top point of interest (POI) in our area."
