With the 53rd annual National Barrow Show now in its final day, it’s time to reiterate just how important the event is to our local economy.

Wednesday, September 15, 1999

With the 53rd annual National Barrow Show now in its final day, it’s time to reiterate just how important the event is to our local economy.

Though the number of exhibitors is down from last year, it’s safe to say that the National Barrow Show (NBS) will again be one of the top draws to Austin in 1999.

Numbers from last year’s NBS are proof positive of the three-day show’s impact. The 1998 NBS brought an estimated $1.32 million into the local economy, said Jeanne Sheehan, executive director of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau.

That figure was based on 2,200 people per day spending roughly $200 per day. (In the mid-1990s, the National Tourism Association figured that convention visitors spend $200 per day, group tour or sports-related visitors $100 per day, and festival and event visitors $75 per day. Sheehan said those numbers are likely low and need to be updated.)

"Hotels, food, gas, feed, new boots," Sheehan said. "Anything they purchase helps us."

Clearly, the SPAMTMTown USA Festival and SPAMTMJAM are the city’s top tourist events, but the NBS is on the short list of remaining top dollar draws.

In a county with no natural lakes, Austin and Mower County have got to be careful and creative when it comes to tourism.

The county board has already said it doesn’t want to lose a good thing by voting to move forward with plans to build a multi-purpose arena at the fairgrounds.

The arena holds worlds of promise for the NBS.

And it would keep the NBS in Austin for years to come, guaranteeing an annual shot in the arm to our local economy.