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Omaha tourism prepares for the next big event of the year after the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders weekend comes to a close.It’s national tourism week, and Omaha’s News Leader looks at the city’s visitor numbers ahead of the College World Series.In a little over a month, downtown Omaha will be crawling with local and out-of-state sports fans for the College World Series.While local travel officials spot a dip in Berkshire attendance this year, they’re not concerned about the baseball crowd turnout.“You got some people that come into town, and they’re here until their team leaves,” Jasmyn Goodwin with Visit Omaha said. “Or you’ve got people that come in and hunker down and they are out there tailgating, and they are part of the action.”Goodwin said while Berkshire attendance numbers dropped 26 percent this year compared with last year, she doesn’t see the College World Series taking the same hit.“You’re talking about the largest meeting and trade show that Omaha hosts compared to a massive sporting event that’s ten days long,” she said.According to visitor data, Visit Omaha provided, Berkshire attendance was just under 22,000 this year, not including international visitors. 2025 numbers capped off at over 29,000.“I think there are a lot of factors,” she said, adding the sporting event is a different ballgame.“We saw over 149,000 folks come in in 2025 for the College World Series,” she said. “That was a 7.5% increase over 2024’s numbers.”The travel group found city tourism overall is higher—reaching 0.38 percent—than the same time last year with over 14 million visitors.“Those out-of-towners spend $1.6 billion,” Goodwin said. “That visitor spending supports more than 16,000 jobs.”She said these events are an opportunity to let Omaha shine with everything it has to offer.“That’s usually when we hear, you know, Omaha has surprised me. I am in love with the city. They always want to come back,” she said.As far as Berkshire tourism goes, Visit Omaha is still collecting hotel numbers which will be released next week.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
Omaha tourism prepares for the next big event of the year after the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders weekend comes to a close.
It’s national tourism week, and Omaha’s News Leader looks at the city’s visitor numbers ahead of the College World Series.
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In a little over a month, downtown Omaha will be crawling with local and out-of-state sports fans for the College World Series.
While local travel officials spot a dip in Berkshire attendance this year, they’re not concerned about the baseball crowd turnout.
“You got some people that come into town, and they’re here until their team leaves,” Jasmyn Goodwin with Visit Omaha said. “Or you’ve got people that come in and hunker down and they are out there tailgating, and they are part of the action.”
Goodwin said while Berkshire attendance numbers dropped 26 percent this year compared with last year, she doesn’t see the College World Series taking the same hit.
“You’re talking about the largest meeting and trade show that Omaha hosts compared to a massive sporting event that’s ten days long,” she said.
According to visitor data, Visit Omaha provided, Berkshire attendance was just under 22,000 this year, not including international visitors. 2025 numbers capped off at over 29,000.
“I think there are a lot of factors,” she said, adding the sporting event is a different ballgame.
“We saw over 149,000 folks come in in 2025 for the College World Series,” she said. “That was a 7.5% increase over 2024’s numbers.”
The travel group found city tourism overall is higher—reaching 0.38 percent—than the same time last year with over 14 million visitors.
“Those out-of-towners spend $1.6 billion,” Goodwin said. “That visitor spending supports more than 16,000 jobs.”
She said these events are an opportunity to let Omaha shine with everything it has to offer.
“That’s usually when we hear, you know, Omaha has surprised me. I am in love with the city. They always want to come back,” she said.
As far as Berkshire tourism goes, Visit Omaha is still collecting hotel numbers which will be released next week.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
