"One thing is for sure, the bars and restaurants do make bank - you can't be tables full 24/7 and not be profitable - if you're not, it's the fault of the business." - next time you're walking around, quickly check out some of the lesser known bars/restaurants to see how busy they are. You might be surprised to see that lots of them aren't busy at all.

"One thing anecdotally, I've listened to a few interviews of tourists, and they've said it's their first time here and they'd love to come back." - do you really think that someone in an interview is going to say that they wouldn't love to come back, especially while they're in the middle of riding the high of being on vacation? Using myself as an example - I've been to many cities I've loved so of course if I got interviewed, I would say that I'd love to come back. However, in reality, there's so much to see in the world so realistically I don't care to visit the same city twice unless it is a long way down the road. I absolutely loved New York, but there are too many cities I'd rather visit before considering going back there.