FFA Visitors ‘Pony up’ in Southern Indiana

The executive director of the Clark and Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau says the Indiana side of the Ohio River could get a nearly 20 percent “piece of the pie” from this week's National FFA Convention in Louisville. Jim Epperson says the event is expected to have a $40 million impact on the metro area, which includes parts of southeast Indiana. He says visitors are staying in hotels as far out as Seymour and French Lick. The bureau says area attractions such as Schimpff's Confectionary in Jeffersonville are benefiting. 1,200 FFA members scheduled today to tour the shop.

Epperson says being able to host the “kind of kids” associated with the event is a “point of pride.”

He believes this event may even benefit the region more than some other large events held in Louisville because families and FFA members are staying in such a wide area of the state.

Visit Indy estimated last year it drew 55,000 people to central Indiana.

Louisville will also host the convention next year and in 2015.

Sources: Inside INdiana Business, The Clark and Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau, Visit Indy