I live in my state's capital, so while there are some touristy things to see here (the capital building itself, pretty overlooks of the lake) and the kinds of things/events most cities have (farmers markets, occasional art fairs), I wouldn't consider my city itself to be a tourist destination. I might suggest some of the more interesting attractions within an hour or two's drive of my city (I live in the US midwest, so distance is relative), but generally if someone is visiting me it isn't for tourism reasons.

I used to live in a tiny town (population 2,000 at the time) about 30 minutes from my current city, and we had a famous brewery and a bunch of painted cow statues around town that the tourism board turned into a scavenger hunt challenge.