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eTail , the e-commerce conference , shared her team ’ s reasoning for choosing Boston as their 2024 host city :
“ The event is always held at a hotel near the Prudential Center , a great hub for shopping and restaurants . Amtrak ’ s Back Bay Station is within walking distance and also connects to Boston ’ s Logan Airport on the T .
“ Attendees always give eTail Boston rave reviews , and whenever possible , we try to give them the opportunity to get outside the conference centre to see iconic sites like the Boston Seaport and Fenway Park .”
Highway to Houston Houston is Boston ’ s polar opposite . It ’ s one of America ’ s largest cities , known for gas guzzling cars and scorching summers . Walkability is not a Houstonian trait .
Catering to a driver population , public transport has been shunned in favour of a sprawling highway system . The widest highway in the world is in Houston – the Katy Freeway , 26 lanes across .
The city may not be designed with pedestrians in mind , but it has something else going for it . Houston is home to two airports : one small and convenient , the other huge and bustling . The first is William P . Hobby ( HOU ), 10 miles from the centre of town . The
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second , much larger airport is George Bush Intercontinental ( IAH ), United Airlines ’ second largest hub in the USA .
Both airports achieved impressive rankings in 2024 ’ s ‘ World Airport Awards ’ by Skytrax , global air transport rating organisation . Bush Intercontinental came in at fourth in the US and 38th globally , while William P . Hobby ranked an impressive third in the US and 29th worldwide .
Back in 2022 , Hobby became the first North American airport to gain a 5-star rating by Skytrax . It joined a list of just 16 5-star airports in the world . Skytrax commented at the time : “[ William P . Hobby ] embarked on a major journey of quality change and improvement over the last four years , and … has made further significant upgrades to guest facilities in the past two years .”
But for cheap flights and mass availability , the winner is George Bush Intercontinental . With more than 500 daily arrivals , it ’ s one of the busiest airports in the American South . Any large event in Houston will rely on Bush ’ s teeming network .
The airport spans over 44sqkm . As well as being well-positioned as a meeting point for both coasts of the US , it ’ s also a major gateway to Central and
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Left : Houston , we have a conference |
South America , servicing 54 cities across Latin America , Mexico and the Caribbean .
The downside of choosing George Bush Intercontinental is its location . Connecting to the airport is easy ; connecting from there to downtown is more of a challenge . Delegates have to choose between a bus route , taxis and shuttles to make the 27km journey . Ubers will run around $ 35 and take up to an hour and a half to arrive .
For a higher price tag , attendees can opt for the much closer , much smaller William P . Hobby Airport . 11km closer than Bush Intercontinental , Hobby airport is linked to downtown Houston by 20-minute transfer .
Michael Heckman , president and CEO of Houston First , explains why Houston ’ s connectivity is a major selling point : “ Domestic clients know that their conference attendees will be able to get here easily from both coasts and just about anywhere else in the continental US within just a few hours . We ’ ve also been able to secure international conferences in areas such as energy and healthcare thanks in large part to our robust airlift led by United Airlines .”
Looping in Las Vegas The desert is a city planner ’ s dream . Nevada ’ s Las Vegas Strip was built from nothing in less than 80 years . Across a 4.8km span , dozens of hotel-casinos are packed in among convention centres , restaurants and entertainment – all a 15-minute drive from Harry Reid International .
This proximity doesn ’ t translate to walkability , unfortunately . The Strip is a driver ’ s town , so much so that taxi lobbyists managed to shut down plans to build a light rail servicing the Strip from the airport .
Upon arrival at Harry Reid LAS , it ’ s a choice of automobiles – taxi , Uber / Lyft , bus or shuttle . It takes about 10 minutes for a $ 23 taxi or Uber / Lyft ride-share , an hour for a $ 4 bus ticket , or half an hour for a $ 30 shuttle .
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