02/25/2006
Gobblin' up Green
From camouflage to the color of money, downtown Nashville is painted green.
That's because the National Wild Turkey Federation is in town. Nashville tourism officials estimate that visitors to the NWTF's Convention and Sport Show — most who are hunters — will have spent $4 million throughout the weekend. That figure includes money for hotel rooms, food and merchandise at local businesses.
At the Gaylord Opryland Resort, where the sport show is taking place, 6,100 room nights have been reserved. On Friday, the most popular day of the weekend, convention attendees occupied more than half of the Opryland's rooms.
Staff of seven hotels within five miles of the convention report turkey hunters filling their vacancies, too. When the sport show wraps up Sunday, NWTF officials estimate that more than 35,000 people will have attended.
The sport show is the largest party of the year for turkey hunters, conservationists and outdoor industry leaders. This is the Federation's fourth visit to Music City in six years. The conservation organization, with more than 500,000 members in the United States, Canada and 15 other foreign countries, first visited Nashville in 1986. Next year's show will be here, as well.
"We're extremely proud to advertise the $4 million figure," said David Spencer of the Nashville Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "It's always great for us when the NWTF is in town."
Outdoor sports are a big business in America. Last year alone, hunting-related equipment had the highest sales increase of all athletic and sports equipment, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. NSGA's report, "The Sporting Goods Market in 2005," estimates sales of hunting-related equipment totaled $2.8 billion in 2004, up 8 percent from the year before. Archery increased 4 percent, camping 3 percent, golf 3 percent and fishing 2 percent.
Hunting itself retains a cultural resonance, calling to mind a time when pioneers depended on perseverance to settle the frontier. Americans like to think of hunting as traditions, and they are major national pastimes: About 19 million Americans hunt annually and 34 million fish. The total number of "sportsmen" — men and women who hunt or fish — is 38 million today, nearly 1 in 8 Americans.
In Tennessee alone, sportsmen support more jobs than the University of Tennessee or the Saturn Corporation — 22,119 jobs versus 17,923, according to the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation. They also spend $1.3 billion a year, and their numbers could fill Adelphia Coliseum, home of the Tennessee Titans, 16 times — 1.1 million versus 67,000. One in every five Tennesseans hunt and fish.
"More than 18 million hunters, including spring turkey hunters, have spent more than $70 billion in pursuit of their sport, to enhance wildlife populations and to improve habitat," said NWTF CEO Keck. "That's important because all hunters are an economic and political force to be recognized, and all citizens and wildlife, including wild turkeys."
For more information about the NWTF's 30th annual National Convention and Sport Show, call (800) THE-NWTF.
