“Our attendance may have been down more if not for the work we do the other 50 weeks of the year.”

Expo is always a good time for business and the attendance dip also was noticeable.

At Applebee’s restaurant, Jerry Searcy, assistant general manager, estimated that business was down about 10 to 15 percent from last year for the three days of the show.

“It was good; we’ve been busy,” he said. “It’s been off compared to previous years.

“It’s definitely good for business. We’ll take it. We have the Hampton (Inn) behind us, maybe that helped out a little bit. It always helps for business to pick up.”

A study conducted two years ago by the University of Georgia estimated that Expo has a $17 million economic impact in the region.