The economic impact of Unbound locally can’t be understated.
Visit Emporia Director LeLan Dains says a 2018 study was done by a Penn State researcher — after the race that brought in around 3,000 riders.
Dains says the service industry sees the most benefit through hotel or Airbnb stays, vehicle rentals, restaurant trips or convenience store purchases. In many cases, Unbound gives local retailers a bigger impact than Christmas — so those business owners don’t have to make seasonal layoffs or make other belt-tightening moves.
Visit Emporia also benefits because hotels typically raise their rates slightly for large-scale events, meaning a larger transient guest tax for Visit Emporia’s marketing efforts.
