Hays celebrates booming tourism economy during National Travel and Tourism Week
Overnight guests generated an estimated $66.5 million for the city in 2025
HAYS, Kan. — As the nation marks National Travel and Tourism Week, the city of Hays is celebrating a robust local visitor economy that generated an estimated $66.5 million from overnight guests in 2025.
Melissa Dixon, executive director of the Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau, said travelers stopping along Interstate 70 for youth sports tournaments, concerts and conventions provide crucial sales tax dollars that fund city improvements and sustain local businesses. The local surge mirrors broader national trends, as the U.S. travel industry — which the U.S. Travel Association says currently supports 15 million jobs and contributes $3 trillion in economic output — prepares for an expected influx of international and domestic visitors ahead of the upcoming World Cup and the nation's 250th anniversary.
To recognize frontline workers driving the local economic engine, the CVB has partnered with Fort Hays State University tourism and hospitality management students to deliver treats to local hotel staff this week. The group will also greet arriving passengers at Hays Regional Airport to thank them for choosing to fly into the city. The local travel sector's growth is reflected in the airport's recent performance, which the CVB says recorded its best year on record in 2025 with more than 17,500 passenger enplanements.
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