Busy weekend brings visitors and revenue to Cedar Valley

Source: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, IowaJuly 19--WATERLOO -- The Cedar Valley is a hot commodity this weekend.自存倉Approximately 25,000 people from across the country will gather Friday, Saturday and Sunday to taste some tangy barbecue, play a few rounds of golf and sing with thousands of men during a ministry gathering, said Aaron Buzza, director of the Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau."There is national notoriety of Promise Keepers, BBQ'Loo and the Waterloo Open," Buzza said. "That's a lot of opportunity for us to welcome guests, and to provide the Cedar Valley hospitality people recognize."With warm weather ahead, tourist attractions are on the rise this weekend, easily bringing $2.5-3.5 million to the area, Buzza said. The plethora of events, including the 60th anniversary Korean War armistice event at the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum and Hudson Hometown Days in Hudson, will keep the 2,200 hotel rooms in the Cedar Valley at full capacity."From a geographic stand point, a lot of people can get to us," Buzza said. "We're no further than seven hours from Indianapolis, and we're closer to Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis. There's millions of potential people that can converge here."Every day, tourists are expected to spend around $83 per person per day o迷你倉新蒲崗 things like gas and food, Buzza said.For BBQ'Loo and Blues Too!, Cindy Wells, contest chair, expects 5,000 attendees to watch the event at Lincoln Park."They're not just coming downtown, they're coming and doing lots of different stuff," Wells said.While there is an obvious revenue impact from people spending money, Buzza said the exposure the Cedar Valley gains during high profile weekends helps the local economy in the long term. Business and homeowners are more likely to permanently reside in an area they've previously visited."We have an opportunity to shine if we have potential neighbors and new business owners," Buzza said. "That's a less tangible figure you can put on that, but it's a long lasting impact any visitor can have."However, if Mother Nature brings in inclement weather, tourist attendance and revenue may drop, especially for outdoor activities."If the weather is nice and less hot on Sunday, you're going to see a lot of people out on the golf course," Buzza said. "You get hundreds, if not thousands of people over the course of the weekend to watch these people."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) Visit Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) at www.wcfcourier.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉出租