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inthetourismindustry.NownearlyacenturyaftertheheydaysofSylvanBeach,theCityof <br />LaPorteonceagainseekstorolloutitswelcomemat. <br />TourismrepresentsanopportunityforLaPortetodiversifyitseconomy,butitwillnotreach <br />itsfullpotentialunlesstheCityinvestsinbeatification,downtownrevitalization,andSylvan <br />Beachimprovements. <br />Attractingacruiseshipcarriertoneighboring.ğƩĬƚǒƩ͸ƭCutorBayportTerminalswouldbea <br />significantboosttourismgrowth,butnotcriticaltosuccess.Daytravelersandovernight <br />travelerscomingfromtheGreaterHoustonandbeyondrepresentenormouspotentialas <br />well.GoodhighwayaccessandtheLaPorteMunicipalAirportmakeiteasyfortravelersto <br />gettothecity.AccordingtoTravelIndustryAmerica,weekendtravelisincreasingin <br />popularity,andthenumberofvacationslastingoneweekorlongerisdiminishing.More <br />than50%ofAmericanadultstakeatleastoneweekendtripeachyear,and30%takefiveor <br />moreweekendtrips.Manyweekendtripsareplannedlessthantwoweeksbeforetravel. <br />Citiesandsmalltownsaretopweekenddestinations(30%),followedbybeaches(16%), <br />mountains(10%),lakes(4%)andamusementparks(3%). <br />RetailReadiness <br />Asdescribedintheͻ‘ĻğƉƓĻƭƭĻƭͼsectionofthisreport,LaPortegenerateslessthanone <br />halfofpercapitaretailspendingcomparedtoothercitiesinthearea.Attractingretailersto <br />thecityisanopportunity. <br />Settingretailasaneconomicdevelopmenttargetisatrickyproposition.Mostnationaland <br />regionalretailershavesophisticatedmodelstodeterminethelocationofnewstores. <br />Populationnumbersarekeydriversinthedecisionmakingprocess. <br />ThisdoesnotruleoutLaPorteforfutureretailgrowth.Ratherthanlaunchinganexternal <br />marketingefforttorecruitretailers,LaPorteshouldutilizeitstimeandenergymakingsure <br />retailershaveasitetobuildonshouldtheychoosetolocateinthecity.Anotheropportunity <br />istoofferlocalresidentsagoodlevelofsupportforstartingtheirownbusinesses.Locally <br />grown,nicheretailwillbeagoodcomplementtodowntownrevitalization. <br />12 <br />| <br />City of La Porte, Texas – SWOT and Target Audience Analysis February 2009 <br /> <br />