5 months ago
ShareMore than 20,000 visitors will swarm central Arkansas this week. The American Taekwondo Association is hosting the World Championships at the Statehouse Convention Center and Alltel Arena.
Visitors from 17 different countries are expected to compete in the area's largest annual convention. It's expected to be a big money maker for the region.
"You have to have a good healthy lifestyle with how you eat. If you don't, you won't have a fit body and then you are not well-prepared for tournaments," says Just Combs, 12, from Bryant.
Combs wants to regain his old title from two years ago as the American Taekwondo Association's World Champion in forms.
"Right now, I eat mainly a whole lot of carbs," says Combs.
That's what restaurant owners in the River Market area want to hear. Big Wiskey's manager Josh Hite says his sales are already up.
"We're normally busy at lunch and dinner and then parents come late at night," says Hite.
THV found Brazilian competitors eating their first meal in the capitol city. Henrique Dalla Nora, 19, estimates he will spend more than $2,000 on food and lodging in the next seven days.
"We have to save more. The real, the money of Brazil is less valuable than the dollar," says Nora.
The ATA World Championship is central Arkansas' largest annual convention. It's expected to bring $4 million in tourism to the state.
The ATA and Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau think attendance will rise this year because families are cutting back.
"This may be a vacation that a family takes instead of doing other things because ATA is important to them as a family," says Dan O'Byrne, CEO, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.
With each ticket selling at $10 to $14, that's money in the bank for central Arkansas.
