e-Traveler - 2025 Iowa Travel Guide Release + More
January 22, 2025
REGISTER NOW: 2025 Iowa Tourism Conference Details
The Iowa Tourism Office is Proud to Host the Annual Tourism Awards
The Iowa Tourism Awards recognize communities, attractions, tourism businesses and the marketing professionals that promote them for excellence in raising the profile of Iowa as a tourism destination. Winners will have demonstrated creativity, innovation, collaboration and strategy grounded in research and results in their projects.
Award winners will be announced on Thursday, March 13, during the 2025 Iowa Tourism Conference.
The deadline to submit your nomination is Friday, January 31, 2025, at 4 p.m. LEARN MORE
Meet our Keynote Speaker
We are thrilled to announce that Sarah Dandashy, from Ask A Concierge, will be our keynote speaker at the 2025 Iowa Tourism Conference! Sarah is a renowned travel expert, content creator and hospitality consultant, known for her insightful perspectives on the tourism industry. AGENDA
CATCH UP: Watch the Iowa Tourism Office Update Webinar
Thank you to all who were able to join us for the Iowa Tourism Update webinar last week. The webinar included Soul of Iowa 2.0 marketing campaign results, marketing plans for 2025, Tourism Insider Meeting host information and a preview of the Iowa Tourism Conference agenda. If you were unable to join live, you can watch the webinar recording here.
DEADLINE: Register for the Next Tourism Insider Meeting
Registration for the next Tourism Insider Meeting closes at 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 30, 2025. The meeting will be held in Marshalltown on February 4-5, 2025, and discussion topics will include how to collaborate with others in your community, and how Marshalltown prioritizes being a welcoming community. Everything will occur at the Marshalltown Arts & Civic Center, and tours will include the Fisher Art Museum. Please reach out to Stephanie Neppl (stephanie.neppl@iowaeda.com) if your plans have changed.
Hotel rooms are available at Holiday Inn Express and Suites. Please call the hotel to book, or book here. REGISTER.
LAST CALL: First Impressions for Tourism Applications
The First Impressions for Tourism program is a comprehensive community assessment conducted by a trained team of unannounced visitors. This program helps communities with a population of 10,000 or fewer identify their strengths and weaknesses through the lens of a first-time visitor and develop strategies to strengthen their tourism economy. Two communities were chosen in early 2024 to be the pilot communities for this new program: Corning and Maquoketa (click the links to read their community reports).
In 2025, five communities will be selected to participate. Click here for more details and click here to apply. The application deadline is January 31, 2025.
Tourism Insider Meeting Host Application Now Open
Since 2023, nine Tourism Insider Meetings have been held around the state to provide opportunities for industry partners to gather, collaborate, share ideas and network. Communities, businesses and organizations are invited to express interest in hosting one of these meetings. They are a great opportunity to show off visitor assets and success stories to tourism industry partners around the state.
A few changes for this next cycle of meetings: The meetings will now be held on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hosts can choose to coordinate a location for an evening meal but this is not required. Overnights will still be encouraged for all participants, but an activity the next morning will not be offered to the entire group. Instead, the host community can choose to meet with Iowa Tourism Office staff on a topic of their choosing (examples: discuss grant opportunities, review marketing plans, review visitation research, have staff present to community stakeholders).
If you are interested in being a host community for the next cycle, please review the details and apply by 4 p.m. on Friday, February 14. Please reach out to Stephanie Neppl (stephanie.neppl@iowaeda.com) with questions.
Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship Accepting Applications
In partnership with Travel Iowa, Iowa Tourism Industry Partners (iTIP) is excited to announce that the second round of applications for the Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship is now open. This program offers up to $2,000 per individual to attend tourism specific regional or national educational conferences. This program is open to anyone in the industry.
Applications are being accepted through 4:30 p.m. on February 14, 2025.
2025 Iowa Travel Guide to be Released on January 28
The 2025 Iowa Travel Guide will be available starting Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Automatic shipments are processing this week to welcome centers, partner offices and others who have received bulk orders in the past. Features include mountain biking, farm-to-table dining, historic hotels, farm stays, cozy winter getaways, Instagram-worthy murals, public art along bike trails and more. The cover image is from Pine Lake State Park in Eldora and was submitted in response to a request for photos during National Travel and Tourism Week 2024.
Thank you to all the partners who have purchased advertising to support the travel guide and/or shared events, attractions and new destinations to inform the content. (Note: It’s never too early to send information on what will be new in your area in 2026! ??) We appreciate your support in distributing the guides to travelers.
The State of the American Traveler Update
Recognized as one of the nation's leading travel studies of American leisure travelers, The State of the American Traveler features quarterly research of over 4,000 adult travelers. The most recent surveys were collected December 15-26, 2024, and included the following findings:
Helpful Tools to Organize Grant Opportunities
Know your grantor and know their audience. Iowa currently has an older population and there are grantors who target that demographic. In many cases, projects targeted to help one segment of the population benefit many or even all community members and visitors.
Featured Grant:
AARP Community Challenge is accepting applications across three different grant opportunities that are all due by March 5, 2025. However, don’t make a rookie mistake! Pay attention to the time deadlines – they are on Eastern Time as opposed to our Central Time. They have an optional Q&A webinar for potential applicants on January 29, 2025. Go to their website to learn more about their Flagship Grants, Capacity-Building Microgrants and Demonstration Grants.
Here are the most important updates this week:
- Watch the most recent Iowa Tourism Update Webinar.
- See the 2025 Iowa Travel Guide, set to be released on January 28, 2025.
- Apply to be a First Impressions community by January 31, 2025.
- Apply for the Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship by February 14, 2025
REGISTER NOW: 2025 Iowa Tourism Conference Details
WHEN: March 12-13, 2025
RATE: Full Conference Registration - $275
Wednesday Only Registration - $175
REGISTER
WHERE: Prairie Meadows
1 Prairie Meadows Drive
Altoona, Iowa
DIRECTIONS
STAY: Prairie Meadows
Rooms available for $134 per night plus taxes and fees
BOOK ROOM
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES:
DETAILS
RATE: Full Conference Registration - $275
Wednesday Only Registration - $175
REGISTER
WHERE: Prairie Meadows
1 Prairie Meadows Drive
Altoona, Iowa
DIRECTIONS
STAY: Prairie Meadows
Rooms available for $134 per night plus taxes and fees
BOOK ROOM
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES:
DETAILS
The Iowa Tourism Office is Proud to Host the Annual Tourism Awards
The Iowa Tourism Awards recognize communities, attractions, tourism businesses and the marketing professionals that promote them for excellence in raising the profile of Iowa as a tourism destination. Winners will have demonstrated creativity, innovation, collaboration and strategy grounded in research and results in their projects.
Award winners will be announced on Thursday, March 13, during the 2025 Iowa Tourism Conference.
The deadline to submit your nomination is Friday, January 31, 2025, at 4 p.m. LEARN MORE
Meet our Keynote Speaker
We are thrilled to announce that Sarah Dandashy, from Ask A Concierge, will be our keynote speaker at the 2025 Iowa Tourism Conference! Sarah is a renowned travel expert, content creator and hospitality consultant, known for her insightful perspectives on the tourism industry. AGENDA
CATCH UP: Watch the Iowa Tourism Office Update Webinar
Thank you to all who were able to join us for the Iowa Tourism Update webinar last week. The webinar included Soul of Iowa 2.0 marketing campaign results, marketing plans for 2025, Tourism Insider Meeting host information and a preview of the Iowa Tourism Conference agenda. If you were unable to join live, you can watch the webinar recording here.
DEADLINE: Register for the Next Tourism Insider Meeting
Registration for the next Tourism Insider Meeting closes at 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 30, 2025. The meeting will be held in Marshalltown on February 4-5, 2025, and discussion topics will include how to collaborate with others in your community, and how Marshalltown prioritizes being a welcoming community. Everything will occur at the Marshalltown Arts & Civic Center, and tours will include the Fisher Art Museum. Please reach out to Stephanie Neppl (stephanie.neppl@iowaeda.com) if your plans have changed.
Hotel rooms are available at Holiday Inn Express and Suites. Please call the hotel to book, or book here. REGISTER.
LAST CALL: First Impressions for Tourism Applications
The First Impressions for Tourism program is a comprehensive community assessment conducted by a trained team of unannounced visitors. This program helps communities with a population of 10,000 or fewer identify their strengths and weaknesses through the lens of a first-time visitor and develop strategies to strengthen their tourism economy. Two communities were chosen in early 2024 to be the pilot communities for this new program: Corning and Maquoketa (click the links to read their community reports).
In 2025, five communities will be selected to participate. Click here for more details and click here to apply. The application deadline is January 31, 2025.
Tourism Insider Meeting Host Application Now Open
Since 2023, nine Tourism Insider Meetings have been held around the state to provide opportunities for industry partners to gather, collaborate, share ideas and network. Communities, businesses and organizations are invited to express interest in hosting one of these meetings. They are a great opportunity to show off visitor assets and success stories to tourism industry partners around the state.
A few changes for this next cycle of meetings: The meetings will now be held on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hosts can choose to coordinate a location for an evening meal but this is not required. Overnights will still be encouraged for all participants, but an activity the next morning will not be offered to the entire group. Instead, the host community can choose to meet with Iowa Tourism Office staff on a topic of their choosing (examples: discuss grant opportunities, review marketing plans, review visitation research, have staff present to community stakeholders).
If you are interested in being a host community for the next cycle, please review the details and apply by 4 p.m. on Friday, February 14. Please reach out to Stephanie Neppl (stephanie.neppl@iowaeda.com) with questions.
Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship Accepting Applications
In partnership with Travel Iowa, Iowa Tourism Industry Partners (iTIP) is excited to announce that the second round of applications for the Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship is now open. This program offers up to $2,000 per individual to attend tourism specific regional or national educational conferences. This program is open to anyone in the industry.
Applications are being accepted through 4:30 p.m. on February 14, 2025.
2025 Iowa Travel Guide to be Released on January 28
The 2025 Iowa Travel Guide will be available starting Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Automatic shipments are processing this week to welcome centers, partner offices and others who have received bulk orders in the past. Features include mountain biking, farm-to-table dining, historic hotels, farm stays, cozy winter getaways, Instagram-worthy murals, public art along bike trails and more. The cover image is from Pine Lake State Park in Eldora and was submitted in response to a request for photos during National Travel and Tourism Week 2024.
Thank you to all the partners who have purchased advertising to support the travel guide and/or shared events, attractions and new destinations to inform the content. (Note: It’s never too early to send information on what will be new in your area in 2026! ??) We appreciate your support in distributing the guides to travelers.
The State of the American Traveler Update
Recognized as one of the nation's leading travel studies of American leisure travelers, The State of the American Traveler features quarterly research of over 4,000 adult travelers. The most recent surveys were collected December 15-26, 2024, and included the following findings:
- Crowdsourcing 2025 predictions
- Cost will remain an extremely significant concern of travelers moving into the new year; over 70% of travelers expect significant travel cost increases in 2025
- Will budget friendly destinations become more popular? 68% see budget friendly travel growing
- Will undiscovered/off-the-beaten path travel grow? 66% say yes
- Sustainability
- 43% will be more proactive in reducing the impact of their travels on the environment
- 45% predicted increasingly warmer climates will drive travelers to see cooler destinations for their trips
- Technology
- 62% think use of AI tools to plan travel will be more popular in 2025
- 43% think traditional media sources will wane in relativity
- More than half see workplace flexibility as a catalyst for travel
- Optimism
- More than one third (37%) feel now is a good time to spend on travel; highest since February 2022
- Travel budgets continue to trend upwards - 58% say travel will be a high budget priority for them
Helpful Tools to Organize Grant Opportunities
Know your grantor and know their audience. Iowa currently has an older population and there are grantors who target that demographic. In many cases, projects targeted to help one segment of the population benefit many or even all community members and visitors.
Featured Grant:
AARP Community Challenge is accepting applications across three different grant opportunities that are all due by March 5, 2025. However, don’t make a rookie mistake! Pay attention to the time deadlines – they are on Eastern Time as opposed to our Central Time. They have an optional Q&A webinar for potential applicants on January 29, 2025. Go to their website to learn more about their Flagship Grants, Capacity-Building Microgrants and Demonstration Grants.
- February 4-5, 2025 – Tourism Insider Meeting, Marshalltown
- March 12-13, 2025 – Iowa Tourism Conference, Altoona
- April 17- 2025 – Iowa Tourism Office Update Webinar, virtual