TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Terre Haute hosted numerous large-scale events in 2024. The Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau (THCVB) shares the impact that tourism had on the city this past year.
Travelers took part in various events, such as the ‘Total Eclipse of the Haute’ and the return of the Terre Haute Air Show. THCVB executive director Karen Dyer says athletics also played a key factor.
“The 55th anniversary of the Summer Olympics for Special Olympics Indiana, and then we had a great cross country season,” Dyer said. “15,000 kids ran across the completion line at the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, bringing thousands and thousands of people here.”
Dyer says that hotel stays for events like these are a key boost for the local economy.
“We saw full hotels throughout months and months of this year,” Dyer said. “That has a trickle effect throughout our community for our shops, our businesses, our attractions, our museums, and other things that people do while they are here in town.”
Big things are coming in 2025, which Dyer says is part of the reason that the old Vigo County School Corporation building will be demolished for another downtown hotel.
“We’re finding when we have large tournaments and big things, we don’t have enough hotel inventory in our town to host some of these bigger tournaments,” Dyer said. “We also have some new things happening at some of our parks, including a disc golf course at Prairie Creek and a lot of changes and updates to our city and county parks that are going to be additional attractions for visitors when they come.”
The city also plans to add to their collection of murals and sculptures, which currently sits at around 25.
