Attendance down, but spending up at 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
by Siandhara Bonnet from https://rapidcityjournal.com Leading up to the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the city and attendees expected changes in cleaning, events and sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they didn’t expect to see historically high numbers in first-time attendees, vendors and spending. City Manager Daniel Ainslie said it was also a surprise to see the number of people that came to the city a week or two before the rally began. “Everyone kind of thought the rally was going to be incredibly small because people are coming the week and two weeks before,” he said Friday. “We heard from vendors, too. Vendors haven’t been able to work since March … and were looking for an opportunity to do something.” According to the Department of Transportation, the seven-day total for the rally from Aug. 7 was 365,979 people, which is down just by 7.5% compared to last year at the same time. Ainslie said based on surveys the city has done, the demographic is slightly shifting for the rally, although the data isn’t finalized and won’t be until after the rally is completely over. He said the city is seeing a drop off in the attendance of those in the 60-70 age range, which is understandable especially during the pandemic. He said there’s been an increase in those in their late 20s to early 30s. “They say they’re coming because they’re looking for something to do,” he said. “The rally continues to grow and attracts a wider and wider audience that over the past 10 years, we’ve seen a larger and larger international presence.” With the exception of this year, due to travel restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Ainslie said, though, that it shows the rally is becoming a “slice of Americana” that’s appealing to an international audience. Robin […]
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