Tourist tax for Manchester?

Now I know it is over a decade since I spent time working out of Manchester but I read that Manchester is the third most visited UK city for foreign visitors. The Council have now got a number of hotels etc. to sign up for the tourist tax scheme £1 per night. Apart from Old Trafford (at Salford!) I cannot really think of any particular draw or attraction that would make me want to stay in the Centre for more than a night.

There are plenty of cities and towns throughout Europe that apply tourist tax but places like Paris, Rome, Lucca, Pisa, Bologna Vienna all have historic Centres.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what I am missing?

 

Manchester City centre has lots to offer for visitors and incredibly diverse offerings. It’s Englands 3rd biggest city, with massive history.

 

National football museum.

 

Lowry Centre
IWM North

 

Manchester has fantastic theatres, restaurants, shopping, galleries, sports plus the Peak District and Cheshire close by.
It'sit's a city with a real cosmopolitan feel. I could happily spend a few nights there.

 

2 massive football teams involved in huge champions league games, regular international cricket, world class gigs at the arena and the cricket ground. That’s without the actual attractions of the city.

 

Fair enough. Like I said, it is well over 10 years since I worked on a project out of Manchester (Salford) and spent long hours working on site and going back late to hotel late evenings. I remember a couple of team evenings at a great Thai restaurant there though. I don't dispute the attractions for sports fans, it is more the city centre itself I don't find that interesting.
Possibly my views of Manchester are clouded by the fact my wife was on a trip to Manchester to see a show with work colleagues and was caught up in the Manchester bombing .very close to the scene and but for a sudden decision to stop for coffee would have been even closer to where the explosion took place. As it was some of the ceiling came down where she was at the time It was also in the days before many people had a mobile phone and found it very difficult to get in touch to let me know she was OK. They also had no contact with the coach driver, since the show was obviously cancelled and in any case the pick up point was inaccessible. She did eventually managed to get through to me to let me know they were OK and another colleague had managed to get her husband to collect them and bring them back.
It has never held much appeal to me compared to places like London, York or even Newcastle, for city breaks.

 

From a historical perspective, it probably doesn't have loads to offer.

For an entertainment perspective, it certainly does. As mentioned above, there's the football, cricket and Arena. There's a vibrant nightlife, including one of the most popular gay areas in the country.

It also has over 40,000 University Students, many of whom will be foreign and have families visiting.

I love Manchester, in many ways its not too dissimilar to other popular European cities like Amsterdam or Kraków.

 

I got a brand new member of staff in the summer who works out of our Manchester site.
I enjoy everything about going to visit him except the bloody transpennine train service which is cancelled more often than it runs.

 

Royal Exchange theatre is worth a trip on its own. My favourite theatre of all. A scaffolding drum sitting inside the old Corn Exchange. On the front rows you're virtually sitting on set with the actors. We were actually talking last night about flying into Manchester for a couple of nights so I could take her to see it.
Which reminds me, I need to check what's on.

 

I suppose, in my case it is 'familiarity breeds contempt' Working somewhere (long hours away from home) is different from visiting as a tourist .
I am also totally spoilt as Rome, Bologna, Verona, Ravenna, Pisa, Perugia, Florence and Venice are all within easy driving distance, whilst Milan, Innsbruck, Napoli, Trieste, the Italian Lakes and Istria are all driveable within a single a day.

 

We go there loads really, keep telling the Mrs we’re moving there one day

 

Well over 100k students, and around 8k of those Chinese international students...

 

Don’t forget the pubs particularly in the Northern Quarter

 

And Rusholme if you're into Indian food.

 

Perhaps it's visitors from countries where it doesn't rain wanting to experience it first hand. Or the horrible Manc accent.

 

Manchester is a fantastic city, but the main thing that undermines your argument is that as well as all the amazing cities in Italy, some right shitholes already have one. Naples being the most obvious example.

 

MoSI used to be a fantastic place to visit. Unfortunately now most of it is shut, or you have to pay to see the exhibits. The aerospace section has gone altogether.
The Ryland Library is a splendid building to visit

 

I expect there are more people than usual there to visit the Christmas market.