TWINSBURG, Ohio – In addition to bringing together thousands of sets of twins and multiples each year, the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, is responsible for bringing more than $5.4 million to the local economy last year.
According to an economic impact study on the 2018 event conducted by Kent State University College of Business Administration Associate Professor of Economics Shawn Rohlin, Ph.D., the annual Twins Days Festival, which has an estimated attendance of between 20,000 and 30,000, provides a substantive positive economic impact to the city of Twinsburg and surrounding areas.
“The economic impact of the Twins Days Festival is quite considerable due to its ability to attract out-of-town visitors,” Rohlin said. “Although the Twins Days Festival is a wonderful event for locals, its appeal to so many non-local visitors helps bring new money to the local economy.”
The annual Twins Days, an international event, is recorded as the “Largest Annual Gathering of Twins in the World” by the Guinness Book of World Records. Located 25 miles southeast of Cleveland, Twinsburg plays host to thousands of twins from all over the world. Non-twins are also welcome.
“The goal of the Twins Days Festival is to provide a vehicle for celebrating the uniqueness of twins and others of multiple birth, and to provide a celebration of the heritage of Twinsburg,” said Andrew Miller, executive director of Twins Days Inc. “We provide fundraising opportunities for local community groups, and give back to the community by underwriting several scholarships to both twins and residents. The Twins Days Festival provides a centralized location for a multitude of twin-related information, including researchers, researchers’ studies and photo documentation of twins.”
Through the study, which used data obtained through a survey of attendees, Rohlin estimated that non-local twin attendees spent more than $1.5 million at the 2018 event, and other non-local visitors contributed more than $3.8 million to the local economy. According to Rohlin, 76% of non-local visitors said they spent an average of $150 at restaurants over their visit, an average of $429 at hotels, $106 on entertainment, $135 on other retail and $48 at grocery/drug stores.
“Having organized this event for 43 years, the festival committee always felt strongly that the festival has had an economic impact on the local economy and surrounding areas, but to see actual numbers is very reassuring and gratifying for us,” Miller said. “We are thrilled that the festival brings a financial benefit to the local community in addition to providing fundraising dollars to local school and non-profit groups.”
Kent State College of Business Administration
Kent State University’s College of Business Administration is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting. The college boasts 10 undergraduate majors, 14 minors and a Professional Sales Certificate program; master's degrees in accounting, business administration (MBA and EMBA), business analytics and economics; as well as a Ph.D. program with concentrations in accounting, finance, information systems, management and marketing.
The Kent State College of Business Administration ranks as a top business college in Ohio and the number one public university in Northeast Ohio by U.S. News and World Report and is ranked as one of the nation’s Best Business Schools by Princeton Review. The college is committed to sustainability as an advanced Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory and is recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a top university for professional sales education.
# # #
Media Contact:
Joni Bowen, jbowen1@kent.edu, 330-672-1279