EDGEFIELD, S.C. — Nashville bills itself as "Music City USA," but beyond cutting-edge country tunes, some of the sweetest sounds coming from Tennessee during February were those replicating the yelps and gobbles of wild turkeys.

The National Wild Turkey Federation's (NWTF) recently-concluded annual Convention and Sport Show, staged out of the massive Gaylord Opryland Resort, contributes to the economic vitality of Nashville and beyond.

Preliminary numbers are in for this year's gathering; total daily attendance tracked across five eventful days is estimated at 48,632, just slightly ahead of last year's total of 48,500.

Last year's NWTF gathering was rated, by attendance, as the largest of 537 conventions or trade shows that came to Nashville, according to the Nashville Business Journal. The NWTF event and the second place Southern Women's Show, at 44,659 attendees, easily outdistance by more than double the next closest rivals.

The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation uses a "direct visitor spending" model based on room nights, or one hotel room stayed in for one night. Each room night is calculated to represent $280 in spending. Secondary impacts related to transportation, jobs supported and more are not calculated under this model.

Based on the direct visitor spending model, direct impacts range from $2.24 to $2.38 million.

Attendees traveled to Nashville from every state except Hawaii. Some turkey aficionados flew in from as far away as Canada and Mexico.

The exhibit floor was packed with 452 companies occupying 700 booth spaces. Nearly 4,000 attendees registered as exhibitors. Exhibitors covered the gamut from large companies to 'mom & pop' entrepreneurs and artisans.

Business on the exhibit floor was brisk, with many companies sharing that they were seeing unprecedented enthusiasm among consumers for everything from custom calls to outfitted hunts to clothing and accessories.

Manuel Enriquez of El Halcon Outfitters, who offers "ultimate Gould's turkey hunts" in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, said, "This year's show was extremely good. I haven't had one like this in a while, maybe seven to eight years," adding he heard similar reports from other exhibitors.

NWTF Convention Coordinator Shannon Tollison said all but 57 booth spaces for next year's convention were presold even before the show concluded Feb. 15.

About Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.
The NWTF Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative is a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to give the NWTF more energy and purpose than ever. Through this national initiative, NWTF has committed to raising $1.2 billion to conserve or enhance more than 4 million acres of essential upland wildlife habitat, create 1.5 million hunters and open access to 500,000 acres for hunting, shooting and outdoor enjoyment. Without hunters, there will be no wildlife or habitat. The NWTF is determined to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.

To learn more about the NWTF Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative, visit www.nwtf.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Pete Muller (803) 637-7698