For an hour or so, it looked as though the Halcyon House Bed & Breakfast might not be booked solid during the Kansas Relays.

That was last week, owner Constance Wolfe said, when a previous reservation was canceled. So she advertised the vacancy on Halcyon’s Web site.

“Not even an hour after I put it back on, (the room) was booked immediately,” Wolfe said Friday afternoon.

Wolfe said the story wasn’t that unusual. The relays drew hundreds of coaches, athletes and spectators for three days of track and field games. All of those people needed places to sleep and eat.

The scenario repeats itself whenever KU is host to a football or basketball game, or even a day for parents to visit campus with their children.

“Those are certain dates in Lawrence you can’t get a hotel room booked,” Wolfe said.

KU’s presence in Lawrence is a major reason a Kansas State University professor suggests, in a new report, that Douglas County has one of the most tourism-dependent economies in the state — more than 12 percent of the labor force here is employed in “accommodation and food service” jobs.

“There’s two things that are obvious to me,” said David Darling, the K-State economist. “One, you have a destination attraction — the university. And second, you’re located on a major highway.”

Lawrence business officials are happy to benefit from those advantages.

Maurice Greene leads the 100-meter dash Saturday at the Kansas Relays in front of hundreds of event-goers. The athletic event is one of the major draws throughout the year that bring tourists to Lawrence.

“We’re very fortunate in this community that we have a lot of cultural amenities, activities that visitors are interested in,” said Susan Henderson, marketing director for the Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s an economic development tool.”

Ranked third

Darling is well-known for his annual “pull factor” reports that measure the relative economic strength of all 105 counties in Kansas. Douglas County usually has fared well in those studies.

In recent months, Darling decided to do a similar examination of each county’s travel-and-tourism industry, drawing on state and federal labor statistics.

“I think this is the first time anybody’s tried to measure travel and tourism,” he said last week.

Darling found that in 2003, 5,685 Douglas County workers were employed at hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses that catered to travelers needing sleep and sustenance. That was 12.1 percent of the county’s work force, the third-highest ratio in the state.

6News video: City a hot spot for tourism (04-24-05) Report: Travel and Tourism Across Kansas (.pdf) Tourism officials hoping for better numbers in 2005 (01-28-05) Visitors Bureau reports uptick in city tourism (06-06-04)

The highest: Thomas County in western Kansas, where 13.21 percent of the county’s 4,216 laborers were employed to provide service to travelers.

It’s not that tourists were flocking to the sights in Colby, the county seat. Instead, the county lies about halfway between Kansas City and Denver on Interstate Highway 70, and it functions as a way station for weary travelers.

“They’re a good location to spend the night,” Darling said.

Jayson Woofter, general manager of the Oasis Travel Center in Colby, agreed. Drivers can fill up on gasoline there — or buy Baskin-Robbins ice cream, Starbucks coffee and a pizza.

“We’re just a one-stop shop basically,” Woofter told the Journal-World. “The biggest thing is, it’s a good stopping point between two major cities. Ninety-five percent of our clientele is from big cities who see these brand names every day.”

Fans turn their attention to the men's 100 meter dash at the Kansas Relays. Kansas University's presence in Lawrence, and its sporting events, is a major reason a Kansas State University professor suggests, in a new report, that Douglas County has one of the most tourism-dependent economies in the state.

Growing appeal

Back in Lawrence, Henderson was unsure Friday how big a boost the Kansas Relays would provide the local economy.

“Relays is a great event,” she said. “Anytime we have a sporting event on campus, we know it brings a lot of people to town.”

The bureau’s own studies, she said, indicate that 406,000 visitors spent $41 million in Lawrence in 2004, on lodging, food, knickknacks and more. A previous study suggested that the city’s artists generated $33.46 million in 2000.

“It stands to reason those two would be tied together,” Henderson said.

And though KU gets a lot of credit for drawing travelers to town, officials said Lawrence’s appeal was growing. A New York Times story in February, for example, highlighted the city’s downtown and music scene.

That story named Halcyon House as a good place to stay, prompting a few new reservations, and not just during KU athletic events.

“Lawrence itself is starting to be a draw,” Wolfe said. “There’s not many towns like us anymore.”