Damn Tourists

This Texas city hates tourists even more than New Yorkers do

Out-of-towners may be drawn to AT&T Stadium for a Dallas Cowboys game, but they are not welcome in Arlington, according to a new survey.

Photo courtesy of Dallas CVB

We Texans pride ourselves on friendliness, but a few of our brethren are making the whole state look bad. A new survey has revealed how cities feel about tourists, and Arlington is the biggest hater of them all.

Stratos Jet Charters Inc. turned to Twitter to figure out the cities that were least and most friendly to tourists. For its findings, it gathered 37,171 geotagged tweets, dated from June 1, 2014 to July 20, 2015, that contained the terms “tourist” and “tourists.” Those tweets were rated as positive or negative using the sentiment analysis feature of the AlchemyAPI.

True, it’s not a foolproof way to determine a city’s overall friendliness, but it does shed some light on Twitter users.

Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium and the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Park, was the No. 1 tourist-hating city on the list. New York took the No. 2 spot, followed by Las Vegas; Boston; New Orleans; Orlando; Greensboro, North Carolina; Phoenix; Los Angeles; and San Francisco.

Regionally, the South and Northeast shared similar disdain, while the West remained relatively neutral and the Midwest was downright positive toward tourists.

There is some good news in all of this: Houston represents the Lone Star State as well, as the No. 8 most tourist-loving city. Thanks, H-Town! And Texas did not make an appearance among the 10 states that are least welcoming to tourists.

On the nice list with Houston are Chicago; Atlanta; Philadelphia; Miami; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Paradise, Nevada; and Nashville.

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a shore winner

3 Texas beaches sail onto list of top 2025 spring break destinations

Bolivar Peninsula Tourism and Visitor Center

Get ready for a fun vacation at Crystal Beach.

Believe it or not, it's time to wrap up moves on spring break, which starts March 17 for Austin ISD and University of Texas students. Fortunately Austinites won't have to travel too far to reach Crystal Beach, which was just named one of the top 10 destinations for a beachy spring break in 2025.

Crystal Beach climbed through the ranks to land as the No. 7 best beach in vacation rental company HomeToGo's 2025 Beach Index. The report examined 35 beaches around the country based on seven metrics, including a "hidden gem" popularity score, affordability for accommodations in March and April, and a "local secret score" based on vacationers' average distance traveled to reach each destination.

Avila Beach in California took the crown as the No. 1 best beach for spring break in 2025.

Crystal Beach is located in the middle of Bolivar Peninsula, about 240 miles from Austin on the Texas coast outside Houston. The beach earned high praise for its affordability, clear skies score, and local secret score, earning 9.52 out of 10 possible points in all three categories. It also earned 9.11 points for the report's "heat score" which measured the average temperatures in March and April (where higher temperatures received higher scores).

This is how Crystal Beach performed in the remaining three metrics:

7.33 – Food and drink score
7.19 – Hidden gem score
5 – Visitor satisfaction score

For travelers who want a resort-style vacation, Camp Margaritaville RV Resort offers a beachside concert venue, a Texas-sized pool with a swim-up bar and 50 private poolside cabanas, a large turf playing field, and RV accommodations. The resort also provides access to 27 miles of beaches along the peninsula.

Enjoy a margarita while on spring break in Crystal Beach. Camp Margaritaville RV Resort Crystal Beach/Facebook

If Austinites want to check out a potentially less busy coastal area during their vacation, Surfside Beach (No. 11) and Jamaica Beach (No. 17) were the only two other Texas beaches that were included in the report. Both are situated on Galveston Island less than 65 miles southeast from downtown Houston.

HomeToGo says spring breakers can expect to pay a median nightly rate of $121 per person for accommodations across all of these coastal areas, but prices will likely fluctuate depending on peak travel periods. However, the report additionally revealed that Surfside Beach is the most affordable destination out of all 35 beaches, with visitors paying a median $66 nightly rate per person for accommodations.

"Spring Break continues to be a highly popular time for beach trips across the United States, and with so many destination options available, we are excited to share our annual Beach Index to help travelers navigate the vacation planning waters," said HomeToGo spokesperson Eleanor Moody. "Whether travelers are after blue-sky breaks, savvy stays, or under-the-radar retreats, we hope this report will help pinpoint ideal trips exactly according to personal preferences."

The top 10 best beaches in America for spring break vacation in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Avila Beach, California
No. 2 – Kure Beach, North Carolina and Cherry Grove Beach, South Carolina (tied)
No. 4 – Saint Joe Beach, Florida
No. 5 – Vilano Beach, Florida
No. 6 – Bethany Beach, Delaware
No. 7 – Crystal Beach, Texas
No. 8 – Pensacola Beach, Florida
No. 9 – Miramar Beach, Florida
No. 10 – Navarre Beach, Florida

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