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City manager says Tulip Time drew about 976,000 visitors; parks staff praised for cleanup
Summary
City Manager Matt Van Dyken told the Holland City Council that preliminary estimates put Tulip Time attendance at roughly 976,000 over 10 days and credited the parks department for festival operations and cleanup.
City Manager Matt Van Dyken told the Holland City Council on May 21 that Tulip Time 2025 attracted an estimated 976,000 visitors over the festival27s 10 days, and he praised the parks department for setup, operations and rapid cleanup.
Van Dyken said the estimate is based on anonymized cell-phone tracking data provided to the festival and noted that the figure likely understates total visitors because some attendees do not carry cell phones. He summarized the operational tempo for park staff, saying crews worked continuously through the festival and into the early hours of the morning on some days. "They have been going, going, going, keeping, the festival going, keeping our community going," Van Dyken told council.
The city manager said the festival27s preliminary attendance numbers and follow-up anonymized spending data will enable a reassessment of Tulip Time27s economic impact; he suggested the long-used $50 million estimate is likely low given the nearly one million visitors for the event.
Mayor Nathan Box added details about how the attendance figure is calculated, saying organizers track unique cell phones and may cross-reference anonymized payment data for economic estimates. He also used his remarks to thank the parks crew for Memorial Day cemetery preparations and for placing hundreds of flags at Pilgrim Home Cemetery.
No council action was required; councilmembers and the mayor publicly thanked parks staff for their work during the busy May events calendar.
