On the heels of Richard Rubin’s good question — namely, will local taxpayers recoup the $1 million plus they spent to get the ongoing CIAA hoops tourney — comes the question of the hour in Nashville: Who is a tourist?
Nashville is looking at building a $455 million convention center — don’t do it! — and, of course, the supposed tourism benefit is cited as a reason to build the thing. But it turns out that the definition of a tourist is pretty soft. Travel a mere 50 miles and spend money and boom, you are a tourist. The category of tourism-related spending is similarly suspect, roping in a big chunk of all retail workers including department and bookstore employees.
Keep all this in mind as economic impact numbers for the CIAA event, Uptown baseball, and the NASCAR palace get batted about in Charlotte.
