Poll Ranks Denver As Most Desirable Metro Area
Denver was selected as the No. 1 city in which people want to live, according to a survey by Pew Research Center. The poll of 2,260 Americans placed the Mile High City as the metropolitan area where people would most like to live, followed by San Diego, Seattle, Orlando, Tampa, San Francisco, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento and San Antonio.
“We’re very pleased to be recognized as the most desirable place to live because the things that make Denver a very livable city also make it a great place to hold a meeting, convention or to vacation,” states Richard Scharf, president & CEO of VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Scharf points out that in these challenging economic times, Denver has been doing well: “Denver International Airport had 21 consecutive months of increased traffic through the end of October 2008, and the city finished the year with the highest average room rate in our history, up four percent over 2007.”
Scharf feels the 2008 Democratic National Convention (DNC) held in Denver in August was a “tipping point” for awareness about the city.
“Meeting planners are aware of the renaissance that has taken place in downtown Denver, but for many people in the general public, the DNC was the first time they had a close look at what has happened here in the past few years,” Scharf said.
Last year, the Brookings Institute named Denver the fourth “most walkable” city in America, largely because of its 1.2-mile-long pedestrian mall, new light rail project and the growth of the downtown core, which now boasts 8,000 hotel rooms and 300 restaurants all within walking distance of the recently expanded Colorado Convention Center. The city recently added The Ritz-Carlton and Hilton Garden Inn and has a Four Seasons Hotel set to be completed in 2010.
The downtown also features three sports stadiums, the nation’s second largest performing arts center, two new art museums and some 60,000 residents. A new light rail program is linking downtown with 180 miles of track including lines to Denver International Airport, Golden and Boulder.
Courtesy of leisuregrouptravel.com
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