NEW ULM – How many people attended HermannFest last weekend?

It’s a question many in the city would like to know, but in New Ulm there is no reliable way to take attendance for this event or others like it. At least not yet.

During Tuesday’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) meeting, it was announced that the EDA and City of New Ulm were reviewing Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms to help track tourism trend and the economic impact of events.

Economic Development Director Heather Bregel said with access to these AI resources the city and EDA could track where people visiting New Ulm from and where money is being spent.

Using these AI platforms, the city could identify how many cell phones are present as a specific event and where the phone’s user traveled from. The technology could also be used to track debit/credit charges during the event to determine the economic impact of certain events.

“It is a good tool when looking at retention and attraction,” City Manager Chris Dalton said. “In New Ulm, we have a lot of events that close city streets and impact businesses. Do these events actually result in an economic benefit for the city? These AI tools could provide data on the true impact?”

Dalton used the example of Spikin’ in the Street, New Ulm’s sand volleyball tournament. Multiple city blocks are shut down in the event. With these AI aggregate tools, the can determine how many people attended Spikin’ in the Street, how far they traveled to attend and how much money was spent at local businesses during the event.

“The best benefit of these tools is seeing a return on investment,” Dalton said. “What is the actual cost of the event vs the return. People ask us if these events are having an impact on the economy. With these tools, we can definitively say ‘yes, we are or no we’re not.'”

Another use for the AI tool is tracking the use of Park and Recreation facilities. With cell phone data, the city could determine which parks are the most popular and which are underutilized. This could help the city prioritize decisions during the budgeting process.

Dalton acknowledged the data would not be 100% accurate as it only gathers data from cell phones and debit/credit transactions. A person without a cell phone, possibly a young child, would not be counted nor would any cash transactions.

Bregel said the city could not be able to collect personal data using these tools, only collecting aggregate information. She later clarified that user identification information was not collected. There were no names, phone numbers, or emails collected.

Dalton added that regardless of whether the city and EDA purchased an AI tracking tool, companies were already gathering it.

“Whether we have the data or not, someone is still collecting it,” he said.

Bregel said staff have been looking into purchasing an AI platform for the last few years. It was decided to budget for the software in 2026. The cost of the AI tracking tool will be split between the City of New Ulm and the EDA.

Bregel said they are still reviewing which AI platform to purchase, but it is estimated to cost $20,000 a year, with the city and EDA each paying $10,000.

Once New Ulm has access to the AI tool, the data and reports will be automatically generated. Dalton said there would be about a three day delay before the city could get data for a specific event. However, the city would have access to data from previous years and compare data.

Once we get access to the data, we can look back at Spikin’ in the Street 2024 and this year. Maybe we had a bunch of people coming from South Dakota,” Dalton said. “It will allow us to see trends.”

The technology would allow the city to focus on a specific geographical location on a specific date. Bregel said during one demonstration, Harman Park and Hermann Heights Park were singled out during the Saturday of HermannFest.

“It is a tool to expand and make sure our events are fruitful,” Dalton said.