02.06.17

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DAILYWILDCAT.COM Monday, February 6Tuesday, February 7, 2017

GEM SHOW BRINGS ECONOMIC BOOM TO TUCSON

VOLUME 110 ISSUE 55

SCIENCE | PAGE 9

RESEARCHERS CREATE CYBORG DRAGONFLIES CONTROLLED BY PULSES OF LIGHT

ARTS & LIFE | PAGE 10 GEM AND JAM FESTIVAL BRINGS VARIETY OF ART AND MUSICAL PERFORMANCES TO TUCSON

REBECCA NOBLE/THE DAILY WILDCAT

BY STEVEN SPOONER @DailyWildcat

The annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase is once again in full swing, bringing with it the largest financial event in the Tucson area. Buyers, sellers and tourists from all over the world come to Tucson for the show. The gem show is a two

week-long event where vendors display and trade gems, minerals and fossils at dozens of locations in Tucson. Many of the traders are international, flocking to Tucson with the hope of finding new precious minerals for their stock. The City of Tucson expects to bring out 55,000 people. Of these 55,000, there will be tourists from 25 different countries,

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making this event a massive economic impact for Tucson. In 2014, the Gem Show brought $120 million in direct spending, Tucson-based market research firm FMR Associates estimated. That’s a 20 percent increase from the $100 million estimate FMR released in 2007 and a 56 percent increase from the $76 million in 2000. The lodging industry has

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easily seen the greatest effect of the event, with $30 million being pumped into the various hotels and such throughout Tucson, according to the 2014 FMR report. This doesn’t come as a surprise seeing as 50 percent of owners, 54 percent of buyers and 84 percent of exhibitors come from outside of Tucson.

GEM SHOW, 3

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