Iowa Travel Industry Partners and the Iowa Tourism Office have announced the final round of 2026 Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship awards, distributing $14,728 to 10 tourism professionals statewide and bringing the program’s total 2026 investment to $40,000 across 28 recipients.
The scholarship supports Iowa tourism professionals attending regional and national conferences to develop skills and bring new perspectives back to their organizations and communities.
“Elevate Iowa underscores what makes Iowa’s tourism industry strong — its people,” said Amy Zeigler, state tourism manager at the Iowa Tourism Office. “By supporting professional development across a wide range of roles and communities, we’re fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and building a more connected industry statewide.”
Recipients in this round will attend conferences including the Destinations International Business Operations Summit, the Disney Leadership Institute, the International Festivals & Events Association Conference, the Land Trust Alliance Rally, and the Sports ETA Chief Executive Summit. The events cover topics including operational strategy, leadership development, festival and event management, land conservation, and sports tourism.
“The Elevate Iowa program continues to create meaningful opportunities for tourism professionals across the state,” said Chelsea Lerud, executive director of Iowa Travel Industry Partners. “Learning from what is happening outside of Iowa helps our industry stay competitive, and recipients bring those ideas back to strengthen their organizations and communities.”
Iowa Travel Industry Partners, known as iTIP, administers the scholarship in partnership with the Iowa Tourism Office, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. A full list of recipients and selected conferences is available at iowatravelindustry.org.
