See how Allen city leaders plan to continue bringing in visitors, tourism dollars

Allen American
By Winston Henvey / Star Local Media
February 16, 2023

Through more gathering spaces, entertainment options and shopping experiences, the city of Allen is revisiting its identity as a destination city.

At a Feb. 14 Allen City Council meeting, a study to be presented by Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Karen Cromwell was rescheduled.

During the item, Cromwell planned to present the second part of the CVB's study regarding what visitors do and where they visit when they come to the city.

“We conducted two studies so far, and we have a third one coming,” Cromwell said. “Overall, we're looking at our top five out of Texas markets that are travelling into Allen and watching what they're visiting and doing. We're interested in how they're moving around the market and what their potential spend may be while they are here.”

For the last several years, Allen has seen a near 50-50 split between in state and out of state visitors, Cromwell said.

“Every time we get a corporate relocation to Collin County, family follows,” she said. “We have a lot of people moving in from California and Arizona due to a corporate relocation anywhere in Collin County. We're all going to see that family visitation when they visit.”

Cromwell added that there’s additional visitation when companies conduct business travel to a corporate headquarters in Allen for meetings. In a 2020 study, the most recent from the state of Texas, tourism brought $140.8 million in revenue to Allen businesses, supports 1,300 jobs and generates $16.7 million in tax revenue between the city and state, Cromwell said. 

Additional out-of-state visitors come from Texas’ neighboring states looking for a unique shopping experience. Places like Watters Creek, the Allen Premium Outlets, The Village at Allen and the newly opened HUB have attracted several visitors to Allen, Cromwell said.

“The HUB is a great new asset, but it is too new to tell how much it will actually draw,” she said. “It is a hot offsite venue for hosting. The Texas City Managers Association will be here this summer. It's a unique event space and experience.”

Cromwell said much of Allen’s visitation is convention and conference driven, with events like Retro Expo and the Dallas Card Show. She also highlighted safety and mobility as important draws for visitors.

“Looking to the future, we need to stop and look at where Allen is post-COVID-19” she said. “I know we're all tired of talking about that, but there's still a trickle effect.”

Since the pandemic, Allen’s hotels have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, reaching an average 60%-70% occupancy, Cromwell said.

The next hurdle is helping restaurants recover necessary staffing to remain open.

“We still have restaurants that are not open at lunch time, or they're closed on a Monday or Tuesday because there's not enough staffing,” she said. “Our hotels are back and stable. We're doing very well. Now we're looking at staffing challenges. We'll need to continue evolving and sort it out over time.”

As the Sam Rayburn Tollway (Highway 121) develops, Cromwell said she will have a better idea of how new growth will affect tourism. New convention centers or conference areas could serve as a game-changer for the community, she said.