Boasting the state's largest airport system and a thriving business community, Houston has long been known as a hub for business travelers. But when it comes to drawing tourists, the city can't compete with places like Chicago, New York or even San Antonio.

Now, local tourism officials hope a spike in their promotional budget and the opening of several new international flights in and out of town will convince leisure travelers that Houston is a place to visit in its own right.

They are set to unveil what they call the city's "boldest bid ever" to increase the number of annual visitors by 35 percent over the next three years.

The project being announced Wednesday is the first major initiative since the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau Houston was folded into Houston First Corp. last summer in an effort to eliminate overlapping functions and more efficiently attract conventions and tourists.

Adding resources from the better-funded Houston First increased the budget to promote Houston to $8.8 million, from $5.1 million.

The plan includes the first major marketing push in Mexico, with television and newspaper ads as well as promotional trips for travel agents.

The city already attracts 1 million Mexican tourists annually, and new international flights could increase that number further.

Local boosters also want to tap the millions of potential visitors from elsewhere in Texas and nearby Louisiana.

The quasi-public Houston First owns the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel and manages several city-owned properties, including the George R. Brown Convention Center, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Wortham Center and Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. Revenue from those projects is helping to pay for the broader promotional efforts.

Houston First hopes to boost the number of visitors to 20 million by 2018, up from 14.8 million people last year, and add 20,000 new hospitality jobs while increasing local and state tax revenues.

Weekends, holidays

Stephanie Haynes, president of Hotel & Lodging Association of Greater Houston, said corporate and convention visitors keep hotels full during the week, but hoteliers want to increase weekend and holiday traffic.

"I think Houston has had some issues with defining the role of tourism and understanding its impact in the city," Haynes said. Houston First, she added, "is trying to shift the image of the city as truly being something that is not just a convention and corporate destination, but somewhere you can bring your family or where you want to visit."

She said Houston's lack of an iconic image "has been a challenge for us."

"Houston is almost a hidden gem when you realize all the things there are to do in the city," she said. "We are trying to get the word out and create a plan."

Past efforts to attract tourists have included advertising campaigns such as "Houston's Hot" and "Houston: Expect the Unexpected" and promotions with celebrity Houston natives like Jim Parsons, Lyle Lovett and ZZ Top.

The newest effort from the expanded visitor bureau also has focused on attracting more conventions to Houston which could, in turn, boost tourism as convention-goers linger a few extra days. Boosters say Houston also benefits from hosting big upcoming events like the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four.

Already, most of the visitors to Houston are classified as leisure travelers. Of the 14.8 million who came to Houston last year, about 9 million were leisure travelers while the others came on business. The majority of visitors come from inside Texas, including Dallas/Forth Worth, Austin and San Antonio.

By comparison, Chicago gets 42 million visitors annually, New York City attracts 54 million and San Antonio 31 million.

Jorge Franz, senior vice president of tourism for Houston First, said that even though Houston doesn't have the Magnificent Mile, it has the Galleria - already a huge draw for Mexican tourists. Instead of the San Antonio River Walk or SeaWorld, it does have the Kemah Boardwalk and the Museum of Natural History.

The city is also seen as a natural draw for visitors from Louisiana, especially New Orleans, Lafayette and Baton Rouge, Franz said.

The leisure crowd

The airport system puts Houston in position to draw more leisure travel, Janice Langlinais, spokeswoman with the Texas Travel Industry Association. In 2013, she said, visitors spent $11.2 billion in Houston and $13.6 billion throughout the metro area. During that time, Austin had $5.4 billion in visitor spending and Dallas $10.5 billion.

Langlinais, a Louisiana native, also called the city a "hidden gem." She remembers coming to the city from her hometown as a child because of the AstroWorld theme park, now long gone.

One of the goals Houston First noted in its announcement was a "renewed effort to draw a major new attraction or identifiable icon to the area."

"Houston is one of those places people come in and out of. It's good they are looking to increase their image," she said. "Houston can show there are interesting things to stay for."

People come from all over the world to Houston, through the Port of Houston for cruises, through its large airport system for connecting flights or for business trips and conventions, said Michelle Weller, a Houston travel agent with Travel Leaders. She said people might tack on a few days in Houston and realize there are a lot of sights to see and places to visit.

But it's not necessarily the type of place, like Orlando, that her clients clamor to visit.

Weller agreed that a defining or iconic venue would help make Houston a more attractive destination.

"They don't see it because we are spread out," she said. "Maybe if they just promoted everything we have a bit more."

In the last two years, the airport has welcomed several airlines from Mexico as well as Turkey, China, South Korea, Japan and Sweden. The latest announcement was an Air New Zealand flight to Auckland.

Southwest Airlines will add several new flights to Latin America once it completes its five-gate international terminal at Hobby Airport in October. Spirit Airlines is bringing new Mexico and South American flights to Bush Intercontinental next month.

More air connections

Airline analysts and city leaders tout the new connections, saying they will increase Houston's visibility as an international city. About half of those who board flights in Houston begin here. A large portion of traffic through Bush Intercontinental and Hobby are connecting flights.

"It's very opportune to start an ad campaign in Mexico, where they already get traffic," said Pete Garcia, an aviation consultant and executive director of The Woodlands-Gulf Coast branch of the U.S. Mexican Chamber of Commerce. "Houston does need to promote themselves to stimulate the market."

Franz will present a study by Partner International, commissioned by Houston First, to the Hotel and Lodging Association on Thursday.

Comparing Houston to San Antonio, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia, it found the total number of visitors is low, transportation and signage are issues, and the hospitality industry is not fully engaged in leisure promotion.

"It's really a perception thing," said Jason Draper, assistant professor with the University of Houston's Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, citing the city's arts and entertainment, sports and restaurants.

"Once you come, you see how much Houston has to offer."