HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Thousands of tourists flock to Hot Springs every year to enjoy all the attractions the city has to offer.
Trail City E-Bikes is a new electric bike rental business near downtown and it is an idea that the city has never seen before.
Lee Campbell is the co-owner and he said he is taking advantage of the new traffic the business is seeing.
"Definitely giving people an opportunity to see Hot Springs in a new way," Campbell said.
He has lived in Hot Springs for over 20 years and he recently opened the shop during the Independence Day holiday weekend.
"Hot springs is pretty big and pretty terrainy, so you have all these mountains and all these hills and a lot of people can't hike it and they can't bike it. But with an E-bike, it's bringing about 85% of people who can't bike back into biking," Campbell said.
He said he decided to open the bike shop, because he wanted to offer more than just a walking tour.
"We wanted to offer hot springs and the tourist a new way to see hot springs and a new way to learn the history of hot springs, so we're telling people the history of hot springs," Campbell said.
Campbell is not alone.
Bill Solleder, Director of Marketing for Visit Hot Springs, said nearly every business in downtown is seeing more people who are coming to the area.
"We've seen a tremendous increase in visitors over the past four months especially. We've had record-breaking tourism over the past four months," Solleder said.
The Hot Springs Visitors Center is seeing an increase in visitors and, Solleder said, it is all because more families are leaving their homes.
"It's a combination of things. People are really keen on being outdoors right now, so hot springs has over 50 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails," Solleder said.
That is good news for new owners like Campbell who hope the number of visitors to his bike shop continues to rise.
"A lot of people when they take a tour, they rent and they come back to buy a bike because now they can keep up with their friends," Campbell said.