The Texas Innovation Corridor excels not only in job growth and economic diversity but also as a location that offers a wide range of destinations and amenities for both residents and visitors.
With natural attractions like the San Marcos River, the scenic Hill Country areas of Dripping Springs and Wimberley, and the world-class shopping at Tanger Outlet Malls, San Marcos provides an enriched living experience for its community and local businesses.
San Marcos Premium Outlets, and the Tanger Outlets of San Marcos, are adjacent to one another and located off Interstate 35, providing more than 200 retail stores that attract approximately 14 million visitors/consumers annually.
Tanger Outlets of San Marcos offers a more traditional factory outlet mall experience with low prices for over 100 brand names. The outlet mall complexes are consistently ranked among the top five most popular tourist attractions in the state, and they enjoy close proximity to major visitor destinations in Austin and San Antonio.
San Marcos Premium Outlets touts itself as one of the state’s top shopping destinations and provides consumers access to luxury brands. Among its 140 stores on its 741,000 square foot property are designer brands such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Michael Kors, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Prada, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Tory Burch.
Between the presence of Texas State University - the fifth-largest university in the State of Texas - the natural beauty, downtown districts, historical areas, and activity centers in the Texas Innovation Corridor serve as a major advantage for Destination Attractions sector.
There are nearly 42,000 workers employed in the region's Destination Attractions industry, which includes retail, entertainment, lodging, and food services categories. This represents over 1,900 separate employers, and $2.2B in gross domestic product just in the Texas Innovation Corridor, serving residents, and the over 120,000 daily commuters driving through Hays County, as well as robust visitor traffic from Mexico.
By far, the most significant advantage for Destination Attractions in the Texas Innovation Corridor is its key geographic location along the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. Those markets, in addition to access provided to the two cities’ international airports, means that travel to the region is easy for regional, domestic, and international visitors.
With more than 38,000 students, Texas State University is an advantage for Destination Attractions sector. In addition to the consistent student body base, the incumbent student, faculty, and staff populations also provide a steady source of consumer traffic. Visitors to the institution by way of campus tours, graduations, sporting events, cultural activity and more provide another ongoing supply of consumer traffic.
Nearly each community in the Texas Innovation Corridor is renown for a cultural identification, many of which have received official designated by the Texas Legislature.
Buda is called the “Outdoor Capital of Texas” thanks to the 268 acres of public parks in the city, including the 54-acre Historic Stagecoach Park, many hike and bike trails, a skatepark, an amphitheater, splash pads and more.
Dripping Springs is branded as the “Wedding Capital of Texas,” featuring more than 30 wedding venues and more than 1,500 weddings annually.
Kyle is famously known as "The Pie Capital of Texas," which is celebrated annually during their Pie in the Sky hot air balloon festival.
Lockhart has garnered national and international attention for its world-famous barbecue, resulting in the region being proclaimed as the “Barbecue Capital of Texas” by the Texas Legislature.
Luling, home of the Watermelon Thump Festival, is home to several of Texas' most prominent watermelon crops.
San Marcos is the most recent community to be designated with an official moniker, being named as "The Mermaid Capital of Texas" by the Texas State Legislature in 2021. Mermaids have long been a symbol in San Marcos as a reminder of Central Texas’ water resources.
All city districts in the Texas Innovation Corridor have recently undergone improvements that are key to providing lifestyle amenities, including hotels, diverse housing options, a larger portfolio of restaurants and retail, and other attractions for residents and visitors alike. The aforementioned natural amenities and attractions in the region, most prominently its rivers, can help extend travelers stays and attract tourists to the outlet malls who might not otherwise visit the region.