Iowa tourism: Economic impact, quality of life and fun

It’s spring at last, and who doesn’t feel the urge to get out and enjoy Iowa’s lakes, trails, historic sites, scenic views and community events? The feel-good activity of tourism, said Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) President Mike Ralston, contributes significantly to the state’s economy, and is crucial to local economies in visitor […]

It’s spring at last, and who doesn’t feel the urge to get out and enjoy Iowa’s lakes, trails, historic sites, scenic views and community events? The feel-good activity of tourism, said Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) President Mike Ralston, contributes significantly to the state’s economy, and is crucial to local economies in visitor meccas like Dyersville, Pella and the Iowa Lakes Corridor. Tourism attractions and activities are also a quality-of-life feature that helps all Iowa’s businesses. “Every ABI company is trying to recruit employees,” said Mr. Ralston. “Their families need things to do. We don’t have mountains or beaches, but we have a lot of fun things for families.” Though not known nationally as a tourism magnet, Iowa is dotted with fascinating gems. Iowa’s striking geologic features, historic sites, art museums, music venues and quirky roadside attractions generate fodder for visitors’ social media and stories to tell the folks back home. And it’s a  rare community that doesn’t have at least one notable thing for visitors to see, be it Iowa’s largest frying pan at Brandon or the World War II Prisoner of War Camp Museum at Algona. The state tourism office’s website, traveliowa.com, offers a comprehensive list of things to do and places to go, from the Loess Hills to the Driftless Area, and every place in between. “Fly through, not over,” the site urges, a pointed reminder of all there is to miss if you only experience Iowa from 30,000 feet in the clouds.

Iowa tourism’s impact

Direct visitor spending in Iowa on things like food and beverages, lodging, recreation and transportation, amounted to $6.9 billion in 2022, up from $6.1 billion in 2021, on according to the Iowa Tourism Office. The state’s GDP for the year was $197.285 billion. Tourism’s total economic impact was pegged at $10.4 billion for 2022, up 10.6% from $9.4 billion the year before, accounting for 68,607 jobs up from 65,000 in 2021. Tourism-generated state and local tax revenue was $1.1 billion, including $494 million in local tax revenues, $353 million in state sales tax revenue and $397 million in state and local sales tax revenue.

Tourism key in destination locations

Tourism’s impact is felt most keenly in destination locations like northeast Iowa’s Dubuque County and the Iowa Lakes Corridor in the northwest.

Food and beverage, lodging, recreation, retail and transportation totaled $312 million in the Iowa Lakes Corridor last year, accounting for nearly 70% of spending at businesses in Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties, said Curt Strouth, president and CEO of the economic development organization serving the four-county region. Tourism spending produced labor income of $73.2 million supporting more than 2,100 jobs in the region. More than 20 lakes, including Iowa’s largest natural reservoir, Spirit Lake, and spring-fed West Lake Okoboji, provide summer visitors opportunity to boat, swim, fish and play on more than 22,000 acres of water. Other recreation, dining and entertainment venues abound, including some 200 restaurants, 16 golf courses, two summer theatres, four community theatres and amusements at landmark Arnold’s Park and King’s Pointe Water Park in Storm Lakw. The Okoboji Winter Games, 57 miles of groomed snowmobile trails, 273 miles of bike trails and more than 4,300 acres of park and public land add year-round appeal. The plethora of attractions, said Mr. Strouth, “really make this place an outstanding place to come. Approximately 68 percent of every dollar spent at locally owned businesses.”stays local. That’s huge.” Each community in the region is able to collect a 1% local option sales tax as well as up to a 7% hotel/motel tax and those dollars are reinvested back into communities for things like infrastructure and tourism related projects. That’s a winning proposition, said Mr. Strouth. “You support local, there’s some huge economic impact.” Visitor dollars are no less vital in Dubuque County, where “travel and tourism are a huge part of our economy,” said Julie Kronlage, vice president of sales for Travel Dubuque. Since the early 2000s, which saw downtown Dubuque transformed by the addition of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Grand River Convention Center and Port of Dubuque Marina, “it’s tourism that’s made us what we are,” she said.  The county’s overall tourism spending in 2022 totaled $439.1 million, supporting more than 2,500 jobs. With more riverboat cruise stops, an $80 million expansion underway at Dyersville’s Field of Dreams movie site and the $70 million development of Schmitt Island, plus continued popularity of old favorites like Breitbart’s Country Dining — Iowa’s oldest continuously operated restaurant — and the Fenelon Place Elevator — billed as the “world’s steepest, shortest scenic railway” — “It’s an exciting time for a lot of growth and change in our city,” said Ms. Kronlage.

Season kicks off strongly

The summer tourism season in Iowa looks to be strong.  The season in the Iowa Lakes Corridor “is shaping up to be a really good one,” said Mr. Strouth. Instead of snow that sometimes lingers this time of year, he’s seen “outstanding spring weather” kick things off a quick start. People are“out and about, visiting restaurants, getting docks in earlier than usual.”  In Dubuque County, the rebound in leisure travel since Covid and special events including a Studebaker International meet, an open-air classic car club gathering and motorcycle groups coming in this summer set the plate for a busy season, said Ms. Kronlage.  ABI President Ralston notes that community festivals like Coca-Cola Days, sponsored by Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co., are ways ABI member businesses and employees support tourism across the state. Mr. Strouth and Ms. Kronlage say partnerships with the Iowa Tourism Office are helping the industry grow. “I’m not a tourism expert, but there sems to be more happening all the time,” said Mr. Ralston.  “The downtown farmers market in Des Moines has become a huge economic engine” and spawned other weekend markets, he said. If someone would have told me the bicycle paths and trails would be as big as they are, I wouldn’t have believed them.”  “There’s always something new in tourism and that’s a good thing,” said Mr. Ralston. Women’s basketball, for example, emerged as a significant tourism driver this year. “Like every other Iowan,” he said, “it sure has been fun to watch Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes. Their economic impact has been huge, but they’ve all made us feel good, too.” Could it be that the economic impact of tourism is just a side benefit? Maybe going out and enjoying Iowa is what it’s really all about.

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This article was originally published in the Iowa Association of Business and Industry's (ABI) Business Monthly newsletter, which is distributed in print in the Corridor Business Journal and the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal. ABI has served as Iowa’s unified voice for business since 1903. Their mission is to nurture a favorable business, economic, governmental and social climate within the state of Iowa so citizens can have the opportunity to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.