What is here that makes our scenery so inviting that tourists come here instead of venturing to the Bay Area or Southern Cali?   We should face it....we are in the armpit of California.   Every show that features/mentions Bakersfield emphasizes the notion that we live in a rural farming community.  Even our Highway 99 fails to advertise anything fun about our city.  Most travelers think our town is barely here.  How about our fabled secret tunnels?  Are they real?  Google it. 

Got a point, dash. When I stayed with a friend in the Bay Area, I mentioned to some people that Bakersfield has a symphany orchestra, a convention center, an art gallery, a community college, a university, an international airport---they looked at me like I was delusional and lying. Their concept of Bakersfield was Shafter or Taft or something.

Until Bako improves things like it's air quality, it deserves the "armpit of California" award mentioned by "Dash" above.  Let's face it, with the bad air and dairies, sometimes it smells like an armpit too.

A good start would be people believing in their town/city and making some constructive suggestions in the proper places.  Complaining on a blog (as many do) isnt' going to improve the city.  Bringing in yet another chain restaurant isn't going to do it either.  Bringing in a high end department store isn't going to do it.  You need something different from other areas to make people WANT to come here.  Who would go to Anaheim just to shop or eat?

Attending city council meetings, board of supervisor meetings, petitioning the city , coming up with new ideas might be positive steps.  Sitting around criticizing the staus quo isn't the way to bring anything here.

Having said that, I don't want tourism here.  I never wanted it to grow the way it has.  I LIKED living in a mid sized town with lower population, less traffic, less crime. But noooooo...people couldn't have THAT.  Let's grow, lets expand, lets compete with larger cities they cried.  Hope everyone is happy acause now it's attempting to be a bedroom community to Los Angeles. 

Bring on a Magic Mountain.   Valencia was a rural community once too..now look at it.  A shining example of growth. (a little sarcasm there.)

Maybe another '52 earthquake would be a blessing in disguise. Give us a chance to do it right when we rebuild.

One would have hoped that the 52 earthquake would have scared off people so that our population growth would have stayed low.  Nope, didn't work then, prolly wouldn't work now.

When people talk about us being a shakey town and bbrrrrrr they're scared of earthquakes,  I laugh and try not to remind them that it's been 56 years since we've had a good shaker.

The idea behind tourism is to bring in added revenue to the community. Hosting events for various organizations and trade groups is a key part of the effort to attract these dollars. The dilemma for Bakersfield right now is that there is no center to the community. There is no showcase to draw visitors. It is far easier today to promote Tehachapi, Mojave, Lake Isabella and the Kern River canyon than it is to promote Bakersfield.

There is nothing special about Bakersfield. It has become just another mid-sized collection of single family homes along the Highway 99 corridor with the same strip malls and dead downtown that every other mid-sized city in the San Joaquin Valley has to offer. Fresno has become the southern metropolis of the Valley while Bakersfield busies itself with planning the next big Wal-Mart Supercenters on the edges of the city.

I do think there have been some good things that have been started, like our bike and walking trails, here in Bakersfield. These paths need to be expanded and filled out with trees and vegetation that can get people connected in a more personal way than our current roadways allow us to travel within the city limits.  If we look at these trails as an opportunity to create a world class system of improved traffic for the modern urban world we might have people come from far and wide to explore them.

The higher gas prices and slumping dollar will actually help.   Folks'll *HAVE* to settle for Kern County. 

One positive suggestion, one negative comment.  It's a wash.  That's why there's no progress.

You have got to be kidding! Tourism in Bakersfield/ Kern County.

It is more difficult to sell Bakersfield to another California resident than anyone from another area of the U.S. or international market.  Sure we might be the "armpit" but there is actually a lot to offer here that most local's don't even realize.  The reality of working in the hospitality/travel and tourism industry in Bakersfield is that NO ONE wakes up in the morning and thinks, "I want to visit Bakersfield today!"  BUT the FORMER (yeah you know the ones that Tandy decided he didn't want to keep on board when the city took over the bureau so after YEARS of faithful service and priceless experience in the destination marketing industry they were not "re-hired" by the City of Bakersfield. . .) Sales Managers and PR staff at the Bakersfield CVB worked day in and day out to sell Bakersfield to groups, conventions, and even individual travelers.  Think about how many negative perceptions are out there for us to overcome when trying to convince someone to visit Bakersfield, and instead of complaining, DO SOMETHING to change one person's opinion each day!

I love Bakersfield.  Don't get the wrong idea because I posted a ( seemingly ) Bakersfield-bashing comment at the open of this forum.  This is my home.  I know it's a great place to live.  I've lived in several large cities where I find myself missing the heck out of green grass, clean streets, and safe parks.  You see where I came back to.  My intention is to promote a more thought-provoking and interesting marketing campaign showcasing our city's pluses rather than allowing various forms of media to passively turn our city's name into Bakersville.  Bakersfield may never be more than a "community" with single-family homes, but  it is growing and our image can definitely be enhanced through relevant forms of communicating the undeniable attraction that Bakersfield has to anyone who dares to shake off their "hick" town perception.