Bloomington

Lake enthusiasts from Chicago should be living in paradise. With access to Lake Michigan, boaters and beach-goers have plenty of opportunities for fun. \nBut Jeff Hammond, the Fourwinds Resort and Marina's general manager, said people from the Chicago area come to Lake Monroe all the time, with the busiest season being from April to October.\n"It's a different type of boating experience than Lake Michigan," Hammond said. "It's more relaxed with a different type of scenery. Visitors can feel like they've really gotten away."\nNestled in rolling hills between Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky.,, Bloomington has increasingly become a hot spot for tourism.\nIn 2004, Monroe County earned $258.5 million from tourism and travel, according to a study provided by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau.\nThe report found almost 21 million people visited Monroe County in 2004, and more than a half-million travelers passed through the county.\nAccording to a survey within the report, travelers typically visited 1.5 attractions per visit, including IU, Oliver Winery, Nashville, the Monroe State Forest, downtown Bloomington, Fourwinds Resort and various museums.\nLinda Grimsley is a branch manager at AAA Travel \nAgency in Bloomington and has lived here for five years. She said most people come to Bloomington to visit IU for sporting and cultural events.\n"We get calls during basketball season from other Big Ten cities," she said. "They want city maps and other information."\nShe said Ohio State has a big fan following that typically stays overnight after games. She said most people come to Bloomington using a car or the Bloomington shuttle. \nTosha Daugherty, communications and promotions coordinator at the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, echoed Grimsley's sentiments and added that tourists typically visit Bloomington for specific events.\n"Our business is event-driven," she said. "A lot of times it's usually IU events like graduation, games or festivals."\nAccording to www.43places.com, a Web site devoted to helping travelers keep track of where they'd like to go and places they have been, 12 people around the world have marked Bloomington as a place they want to visit.\nA supportive 92 percent of people who have already made the trip claim it was worth their while.\nBrian Macdonald of Seattle has Bloomington listed as one of his places to visit. He said in an e-mail that he thinks Midwestern college towns typically are hubs for music and artists.\n"I don't have too many ideas other than just see what it's like, find a good place to have a meal and have a drink or perhaps see a rock show," Macdonald said.\nTenzin Namgyal, the office manager at the Tibetan Cultural Center located at 3655 Snoddy Rd., said the center is the only one of its kind in Indiana. He said he's had visitors all the way from Canada who stop by en route to somewhere else. For the most part, he said visitors typically come from Bloomington, Indianapolis, Columbus and Greenwood, Ind.\nOther cultural attractions unique to Bloomington are its gay-friendly businesses and events. According to www.visitgaybloomington.com, Bloomington has the nation's fifth-largest per-capita population of same-sex couples.\nBut Victor Kinzer, the library coordinator at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender student support services office, said his office typically doesn't receive calls requesting tourist information.\n"Every once in awhile, someone will call and ask where the gay bars are in Bloomington," he said. \nHe said he suggests Uncle Elizabeth's, located at 502 N. Morton St.\n"Bloomington is a good tourist destination for gay individuals once you get in the city," Kinzer said, adding that people refer to the city as the "gay Mecca of the Midwest."\nHe said Bloomington offers plenty of cultural opportunities. His favorite includes the PRIDE film festival.\n"There's not a lot of leeway outside of the borders, but there's affordable culture here, not like Indy or Chicago," Kinzer said. "Once things warm up, the arts fair on the square and the restaurants in town provide amazing food at a fraction of the price that you'd find in big cities"