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Show Education Week draws record number of students By SARAH HANSEN Brigham Young University hosted the 64th annual Education Week for a projected 2 8 ,000 visitors last week. According to research re-search by a BYU geography professor, pro-fessor, the visitors not only receive knowledge, they also make significant signifi-cant contributions in return. "In terms of an economic impact, im-pact, Education Week may bring up to $3 million in direct expenses as well as another $5 million in indirect in-direct expenditures,' said Lloyd Hudman, who surveyed 300 participants par-ticipants from the 1987 Education Week. His research indicated that $3 million was spent directly on things such as housing, lodging, food, books and materials, entertainment and transportation. He then factored that $3 million into another $5 million in indirect stimulation of the Utah Valley economy as local businesses busi-nesses and workers put those monies back into the system. Education Week attracts visitors from all over the United States, but nearly 75 percent are from Utah. Sixty percent of all the visitors are from Utah and Salt Lake Counties alone. Eight percent are from California, and Idaho and Arizona both contribute several percentages. Travel plans for those outside the commuting area were an area of focus in Hudman's research. "Sixty-four percent of those who traveled to Provo for the week indicated in-dicated it was either their major vacation or part of a larger vacation," vaca-tion," he said. "It appears it's a significant element in their vacation planning." Hudman determined in the prep aration of his research that the concept con-cept of Education Week is quite unique to BYU. "Certainly, universities univer-sities have a lot of space and expertise exper-tise and at times they like to fill their dorms and the cafeterias,' he said. He indicated, however, that most campuses sponsor highly specialized activities such as sports and youth camps. Hudman claimed to find no other program with the wide diversity of subject matter and attendees of Education Week. Hudman believes that the week's popularity and longevity lie in the fact that the week becomes "a sort of religious and educational pilgrimage for its Latter-day Saint participants. Education Week in itself is kind of a religiousspiritual experience for its students,' he said. "The classes are highly motivational, and it becomes a revitalizing process-which is one of the functions of tourism." i Ninety percent of those surveyed responded, many of whom indicated in-dicated that they were repeat attendee. at-tendee. "That really illustrates the interest in Education Week,' Hudman Hud-man said. The benefits for BYU last beyond the one week of activities, according to Hudman. "It makes BYU a sort of 'this is the place for education, and connects the attendees at-tendees with BYU in a very special way," he said. That connection carries over through the year in terms of interest in BYU sports and other BYU-sponsored educational programs. |