The National Barrow Show means big bucks for Austin.

It attracts hundreds, even thousands of people from all over the nation who flock to the community to show and purchase hogs, as well as sleep, eat, shop and visit the tourist attractions of Austin and the surrounding communities.

"It has a very important economic impact on the city of Austin," Jeanne Sheehan, executive director of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) says. "The 1998 figures from the Travel Industry of America have some very conservative estimates that say if you take 2,500 people and multiply it by the $125 a day that they're anticipated to spend times three days -- and some are here for five -- you end up with $937,500 being spent in the community. With those estimates, I'm low. I'm very low. And those are old figures."

However, the large amount of money being spread throughout the community isn't always noticed by its residents. "Traditionally, the general citizenry of Austin probably, unfortunately, for the most part, is not very well aware of what's happening other than the restaurants, hotels and lounges are fuller than usual. The people who operate those businesses are the ones who see the direct benefits of the Barrow Show," Sheehan says. "The people who see the economic impact indirectly are the people within a 40-mile radius because those dollars turn over seven times."

For example, she says, if a restaurant doubles its number of clients for three or four days in September, then maybe its employees work more hours and get bigger tips so they can go and spend more money at the retail stores in the area.

At the same time it helps businesses, an event as large as the National Barrow Show also brings money to the city thanks to a 3 percent lodging tax. "That's tax money being paid to the city from people who don't live here," Sheehan points out.

The CVB receives some of that money and when an event as large as the Barrow Show is absent from the community, it shows.

Sheehan says the CVB was given $10,338 from their share of the lodging tax for September 2000. In 2001, when the Barrow Show was canceled, the amount for September was only $8,261. "It's tough to really measure exactly how much of an impact the Barrow Show's absence had on the community because that was the same month 9/11 happened," she says. "Our share of the lodging tax was down 20 percent from the year before though, so it had a tad bit of impact."

"How much was 9/11 and how much was the Barrow Show, it's hard to tell. But, we had taken big jumps up in the past couple of years, so was some of it because of the Barrow Show? Definitely. But how much is really hard to tell."

Hopefully this year will be an improvement over last year. "Because it's a national show, it brings people to Austin who wouldn't normally come because it is an old tradition and very well-respected tradition. A lot of people have come to a show that is not geographically convenient because of the hospitality, the tradition and because Hormel Foods is here in Austin," she says. "Those visitors mean new dollars and that applies to however many thousands of people come here."

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com