The Arkansas tourism industry continues to flourish and is soon to surpass $10 billion in economic impact, according to the most recent report from the state Parks, Heritage and Tourism Department.
The department closely monitors the effectiveness of promotion campaigns paid for with revenue from the state 2 percent tourism tax, which last year generated $25.8 million. That was a 5 percent increase over the previous year.
Advertising campaigns funded by the tax were expanded into 15 new media markets, mainly in western states and Illinois and North Carolina, according to the department director.
Traditional markets include Texas and other adjacent states. Now, California is one of our top ten markets. So is Iowa.
The marketing campaigns emphasize that the Arkansas outdoors can be enjoyed all year, regardless of the season.
Marketing efforts target three major categories. One is directed at people who like to hunt and fish. The second category is closely related. It focuses on people who like outdoor activities such as hiking, riding bicycles, bird watching, camping, floating rivers and boating in waterways.
The third category is known as the “travel-lifestyle” market. In contrast to emphasizing outdoor activities, it advertises the availability of art galleries, food, dining, historical and cultural events.
The “lifestyle” market includes people who plan trips around motorcycle rallies, blues music and barbecue. Those people are interested in historical locations such as Civil War battlefields and the sites of famous events in the civil rights movement.
The Arkansas tourism industry slumped during the pandemic, but has recovered strongly. The 2 percent tourism tax is an accurate gauge of the strength of the tourism sector. From 2019 to 2020 revenue dropped from $17.9 million to $14.2 million. However, since then it has increased steadily to more than $25 million. It is levied on hotels and tourist attractions.
Visitor spending in 2023 was about $9.9 billion, an increase of 7.5 percent over spending in 2022. Spending categories include transportation, retail, lodging, food and beverages and entertainment. Arkansas tourism supported more than 70,000 jobs last year, an increase of 2.8 percent over 2022.
In addition to revenue from the 2 percent tourism tax, visitor spending generated $574 million in state taxes and $232 million in local taxes. Those figures represent increases of about 7 percent over the previous year.
State parks had 8.4 million visitors and national parks registered 4.3 million visitors last year. The state operates Welcome Centers on the major highways near the state’s borders. Those centers had almost 1.2 million visitors last year, a 5.6 percent increase over 2022.
The state spent $20.7 million on marketing campaigns last year. Digital advertising continues to grow in importance, and last year helped prompt 4.6 million online searches for information about Arkansas hotels. Those searches led to 311,000 actual bookings.
Arkansas tourism officials say that they want to expand marketing campaigns nationally and internationally, so that people consider visiting the state in every season.
