Topeka Tulip Tour Gets National Honor

The American Bus Association (ABA) has rated Tulip Time at Binkley Gardens as one of the Top 100 Events in North America for group travel in 2007.  For 20 years, Jerold and Joan Binkley have shared their 3 ½-acre yard with thousands of local and out-of-town visitors, who stroll through winding paths of some 50,000 blooming tulips and daffodils, with backdrops of dozens of flowering trees, vast varieties of shrubs, and hundreds of perennials.

“The honor gives Topeka an important boost in visibility among professional tour planners,” says ABA’s President and CEO Peter J. Pantuso. “There is no better way to jump-start tourism than to attract motorcoach groups to a great event and convince them to stay.”

According to studies recently completed by researchers at George Washington University and Dunham and Associates, one overnight visit by a motor coach group can contribute from $5,000 to $13,000 in a local destination’s economy. Jerold Binkley says that some years the event brings in more than 30 bus tours, including tours from Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, and other areas of Kansas.

Besides the local economy, Tulip Time at Binkley Gardens benefits the Topeka Beautification Association. Admission fees of $5 at the gate and $4.50 in advance (kids under 12 free) can bring as much as $20,000 to the association in good years attracting 4,000 visitors or more. Binkley estimates that more than $200,000 has been raised for the association since the tours started.

Tulip Time at Binkley Gardens and the other winners were selected from hundreds of celebrations, festivals, fairs, commemorative events, and more in the U.S. and Canada. Winners are listed in the ABA’s Top 100 Events publication, internationally recognized for 25 years as an event directory for bus and tour operators, the travel industry, and the general public. Top 100 Events is a supplement to the September/October issue of Destinations magazine. In addition, the entire Top 100 list is on the ABA’s website at www.buses.org.

Mark your calendars. The 2007 Tulip Time at Binkley Gardens will be April 7-18.