West Pennyroyal News

BOWLING GREEN, Ky., - The inaugural Duncan Hines Days event was hosted June 5-11, 2023 in southern Kentucky, with a focus on 20 events held throughout Bowling Green and Warren County. Thanks to all our hard work together, we estimate: 

• at least 16,000 people attended a Duncan Hines Days event throughout the week
• representing at least 28 states based on zip codes tracked
• with an extremely conservative economic impact of $2.28 million dollars spent in the BG/WC area

This travel data was compiled with help of private venues that hosted Duncan Hines Days themed events based on ticket sales, entry tracking, and zip code monitoring. The economic impact in dollars was estimated with a travel data-driven formula based on a 2012 destination research study conducted in Bowling Green by travel marketing and research agency, ChandlerThinks - with an inflation percentage to bring the data up to 2023 comparable spending. 

Marketing insights indicated:   

• over 200,000 organic social media impressions between Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the week
• over 5,200 Duncan Hines Days website visitors for the week 
• with 15 social media Reels and 16 image carousels showcasing events and Restaurant Week participants 

During the busiest peak night of activities in Downtown BGKY for Duncan Hines Days - with a BG Hot Rods game and Eats & Beats Music Fest happening within 2 blocks of one another - an estimated 9,000+ people were in the downtown area. Thanks to WKU Parking & Transportation leadership, Emergency Management Services, and BG/WC law enforcement agencies, an emergency operations center unit was able to track parking data in real-time - and the group prepared for parking for upwards of 15-20,000+ people. The Stadium Park Plaza parking structure downtown was full by 7pm, but the BGMU, Warren County Justice Center, Paxton House Lot, WKU Parking Structure 1, Kentucky and Adams Street lots were not. It took less than 20 minutes for the parking structure to clear after the baseball game and concert ended. This data and parking lot monitoring prove that our Downtown BGKY parking infrastructure is capable of holding crowds larger than what our Downtown is typically used to, safely, and effectively - still providing an excellent Downtown BGKY experience.

All of the information with specific event attendance, economic impact formulas, tourism and visitor profiles, parking data, and more can be found on the full Duncan Hines Days 2023 Recap here.

This is a major win for all of us and has inspired new conversations with over 50 community partners, creating a new layer of BG experiences. Thanks again to all who participated. Mark your calendars for the return of this event: June 3-9, 2024!

Original source can be found here.