NAIROBI: The drop in tourism business in August from July in 2014 cost the Kentucky economy $432 million. The tourism industry attributes the major drop in tourism in August to the increasingly earlier opening of Kentucky’s public schools. The study shows that nearly 6,000 tourism jobs ended in August and that over $45 million in local and state tax revenue was lost due to the decline in tourism business.
These are among the key findings of a study carried out for the Kentucky Marina Association (KMA) and the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (KTIA) by Certec, a Versailles research firm. Senator Chris Girdler (R- Somerset) has introduced Senate Bill 50, which proposes to set the opening date for schools as no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26.
The bill includes opportunities for school districts to request waivers based on their history of closing due to inclement weather, and it exempts districts with year-round calendars. Other senate sponsors of the bill include Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown), Robin Webb (D-Grayson) and Paul Hornback (R-Shelbyville).
