With more than 600 miles of coastline stretching from Louisiana down to Mexico, the Texas Gulf Coast provides endless opportunities for groups heading to the Lone Star State.
It’s a region of vacation spots and wildlife refuges, and it’s the place to relax, stroll along the beach or enjoy a variety of water activities.
Meanwhile, investment in meeting facilities, hotels and urban revitalizations in recent years is paying off in several communities in the region.
Houston
Spread over 600 square miles off Interstate 10 and down to the Gulf, America’s fourth-largest city is home to a plethora of distinctive neighborhoods and suburbs.
It boasts the most parkland of any of the country’s 10 most populated cities, according to a recent study. It has one of the nation’s largest museum districts and the country’s second-largest theater district, not to mention a revitalizing downtown that is attracting attention.
“We’ve changed dramatically. All the pieces meeting planners were waiting for are here,” says Ken Middleton, vice president of sales at the Greater Houston CVB. “We’re affordable and have become a significant alternative to first-tier cities.”
The number of hotel rooms in Houston’s central business district has more than doubled since 2001 to 5,000-plus rooms, Middleton notes, and other hotels are taking shape.
The new hotels are within a mile of downtown’s George R. Brown Convention Center, which has 1.2 million square feet of rentable space. In late 2003, the center doubled in size and its connected headquarters hotel debuted: the 1,200-room Hilton Americas–Houston, with 91,500 square feet of meeting space.
A month later the 7.5-mile MetroRail was unveiled, connecting downtown’s Main Street with the city’s other large convention facility, Reliant Center.
The George R. Brown Convention Center is flanked to the north by Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, and to the south by Toyota Center, the 3-year-old home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
More attractions are slated to come on-line. Discovery Green, a 12-acre park, will open in front of the convention center in February, the month MPI holds its annual Professional Education Conference in Houston.
Nearby, Houston Pavilions, a $200 million, 600,000-square-foot entertainment, retail and office complex, which will include a House of Blues, is scheduled to debut next October.
Across Interstate 45, Midtown is blossoming with new lofts, apartments, restaurants, and nightlife.
Aside from Hilton Americas–Houston, the city’s major meetings properties include the InterContinental Houston, Hyatt Regency Houston, Four Seasons Hotel Houston, Westin Oaks Houston, Hilton Houston Post Oak, Westin Galleria Houston, and Houston Marriott Westchase. Several boutique hotels are also equipped for meetings, including Hotel Icon, Magnolia Hotel, Alden Houston Hotel, and three newcomers: Hotel Indigo, Granduca Houston and Hotel ZaZa.
Between Houston and Galveston, Bay Area Houston provides 35 miles of waterfront, almost 40 hotels and seven distinct cities: Kemah, League City, La Porte, Nassau Bay, Seabrook, Webster, and Clear Lake City.
Promoted by the Bay Area Houston CVB, it is packed with marinas, attractions, golf courses, and dining and shopping options.
Nassau Bay is home to Space Center Houston, which handles events of up to 5,000 people. Across from the space center, the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake has meeting space.
League City boasts Big League Dreams Sports Park, offering sports event packages and team building, as well as South Shore Harbor Resort & Conference Center.
Kemah Boardwalk, with its rides and restaurants, is another off-site option.
Galveston
With 32 miles of beaches, Galveston combines a vacation playground with an historic downtown centered on the Strand District, home to shops, restaurants, galleries, and landmark buildings.
The city’s main group facility, the 140,000-square-foot Galveston Island Convention Center, is located across from the beach. It is part of the 30-acre San Luis Resort, Spa & Conference Center, which has 700 guest rooms in three properties: San Luis Hotel, Galveston Island Hilton and Holiday Inn Resort, as well as a 40,000-square-foot conference center.
The convention center opened in 2004, the same year the island’s other major event facility, the 428-room Moody Gardens Hotel & Convention Center, expanded.
Since then, seven limited-service hotels have debuted, according to Melody Smith, director of tourism at the Galveston Island CVB.
“We’ve been attracting more regional and national business,” she says.
Off-site options include the new year-round Schlitterbahn Waterpark, the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum, the Galveston Railroad Museum, and the Lone Star Flight Museum, which recently began offering flights in its World War II B-17 and B-25 bombers.
Beaumont and Port Arthur
Beaumont, the city that gave birth to the Texas oil industry in the early 20th century, has 3,000-plus hotel rooms, a waterfront civic center and numerous museums and attractions.
Its primary meeting facility, Ford Park, includes an 18,000-square-foot pavilion, a 48,000-square-foot exhibit hall and a 9,500-seat arena.
“We’re finally making an impact. Ford Park has given us more flexibility,” says Dean Conwell, executive director of the Beaumont CVB. “We have our downtown restaurants and bars; incredible, inexpensive golf; and the outdoors, with fishing, kayaking and hiking.”
Port Arthur, 17 miles from Beaumont, also suffered damage from Hurricane Rita. Its Robert “Bob” Bowers Civic Center, which has a 20,000-square-foot main hall, reopened in August following a $2.4 million reconstruction.
Tammy Kotzur, executive director of the Port Arthur CVB, says the destination offers a diverse tourism product.
“We have fishing, bird watching, airboat tours, two state parks, historical homes, and the Museum of the Gulf Coast, which is a great place for off-site events,” she says.
Meetings-ready hotels include a Holiday Inn and a Ramada Inn, while new limited-service hotels have been opening and more hotels are planned.
Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi is part urban metro and part beach destination.
In 2004, the city remodeled its convention center, the American Bank Center, while adding an adjacent 10,000-seat arena, followed by a new Minor League Baseball field.
“We have a convention center that’s right on the water and more opportunities for meeting and sporting events,” says Kimberly Lemley, vice president of marketing at the Corpus Christi CVB. “The beaches are only 15 to 20 minutes away, and we have the best seafood and the friendliest people.”
Meeting planners, she says, have plenty of choices for off-site events, including the USS Lexington; the Art Museum of South Texas, which opened a new wing in 2006; and the Texas State Aquarium, which added a 300-seat, open-air amphitheater in April.
Major meetings hotels and resorts include Omni Corpus Christi, Holiday Inn Emerald Beach, Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, Radisson Hotel Corpus Christi Beach, and Embassy Suites Hotel Corpus Christi.
Eight new hotels have opened in the last year, including a Hilton Garden Inn with meeting space.
Rockport and Fulton
Thirty miles northeast of Corpus Christi are the laid-back towns of Rockport and Fulton.
In addition to boating, fishing, golfing, and beach activities, there’s bird watching at places like Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and Goose Island State Park along the Great Texas Birding Trail.
The Rockport Center for the Arts, the Texas Maritime Museum and Fulton Mansion State Park are among the area’s attractions.
Facilities include the Paws & Taws Fulton Convention Center and the Rockport Beach Pavilions, as well as a number of meetings-equipped properties.
South Padre Island
Attracting 5 million visitors a year, South Padre Island is 34 miles long and three blocks wide.
“We have the best beach and the warmest temperatures on the Texas Gulf Coast, comparable to the Florida coastline, with water sports and golf year-round,” says Connie Ledbetter, deputy director of the South Padre Island CVB.
The South Padre Island Convention Center, the town’s largest group venue, is adjacent to boardwalks, birding trails and wetlands.
Meetings properties include Bahia Mar Resort, Sheraton South Padre Beach Hotel and Condominiums, Radisson Resort South Padre Island, and Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort.
The 90-unit Suites at Sunchase, with 18,000 square feet of meeting space, will open in early 2008.
Brownsville
Brownsville is the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley as well as America’s southernmost city, with the shopping and dining of Matamoros, Mexico, just minutes over the border.
“We have a subtropical climate, lots of museums and historic sites, our own beach, and seven golf courses,” says Sharee Traskauskas, communications manager at the Brownsville CVB. “The economy is booming, and new malls are opening.”
The Brownsville Events Center features a 15,000-square-foot ballroom and five smaller meeting rooms. Other venues include the Ringgold Civic Pavilion and Fort Brown Memorial Center.
The area has 30-plus hotels, several with meeting facilities, including the Holiday Inn Brownsville.
