Open Search

e-Traveler - Register for the Next Tourism Insider Meeting + More

June 19, 2024




Here are the most important updates this week: 


Last Call: Register for Tomorrow's Iowa Tourism Office Update Webinar
Sign up now for the next Iowa Tourism Office Update Webinar, held tomorrow, Thursday, June 20, at 2 p.m. Topics will include Soul of Iowa 2.0 campaign updates, the availability of new visitation reports, Iowa State Fair information and a discussion on how to find tourism content trends.
 
Registration Now Open for the Next Tourism Insider Meeting
Join industry partners from all over the state at the next Tourism Insider Meeting in Corning on July 30-31! Discussion topics will include the role of volunteers in your community and farm to table attractions through sharing the story of Primrose. We’ll tour the Corning Opera House (the meeting venue) and the new Fire & Salt meat market, which aims to be a destination for Corning.

To those of you staying the night, rooms are available at the Corning Hotel. Please call to book and mention you are with the Travel Iowa meeting for a 5% discount (total room rate with tax is $122.36).

Please reach out to Stephanie Neppl (stephanie.neppl@iowaeda.com) with questions.

REGISTER

Sign Up Now for Tourism Day at the Iowa State Fair



Join us on Thursday, August 15, for the second annual Tourism Day at the Iowa State Fair! Network with tourism partners from across the state, get behind-the-scenes tours of the Fair and enjoy the food, fun and entertainment of the Fair with free admission.
The day will kick off at 9:30 a.m. with an Iowa Tourism Welcome with Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons and State Tourism Manager Amy Zeigler. Attendees will be able to choose from one of four special afternoon tours:
  • Grandstand Tour: Behind-the-scenes tour and discussion on booking entertainment at the Fair
  • Have you “Herd?”: Hands-on animal experience
  • History Tour: Tour the Fair’s two historic museums
  • Fair Food Fun: Behind-the-scenes tour and discussion about concessions at the Fair
Register here to receive up to TWO free admission tickets to the Fair. Tickets are limited and are first-come, first-served. Parking is not included. Tickets will be mailed to the address submitted after June 30. 


Volunteer at the Travel Iowa Booth at the Iowa State Fair
The Travel Iowa booth will again be present in the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fair. We are looking for destinations and attractions to work shifts at the booth and highlight your destination, hand out your travel materials and chat with Fairgoers about traveling Iowa.

Shifts are 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. each day of the Fair. Volunteers receive free admission and free parking for the whole day. If you are interested in volunteering, complete this form. You will receive a phone call from Ann Vogelbacher with more information and to confirm your volunteer shift time/day.

Iowa Tourism Office Attends Midwest Travel Journalists Association's Conference
Jessica O’Riley attended the Midwest Travel Journalists Association’s conference in Bismarck-Mandan, North Dakota last week. While there, she networked with more than a dozen writers and pitched Iowa-focused stories during the Media Marketplace event. O’Riley has been a member of the organization since 2007.

Congratulations to Midwest Travel Network 2024 Awards Winners
The Midwest Travel Network 2024 Awards were announced at the organization's conference last week. Congratulations to the Iowa communities who were recognized:
  • 2024 FAM Trip of the Year: Visit Fairfield
  • 2024 Partner of the Year: Visit Fort Dodge
  • 2024 Best Social Media Campaign (Destination): Clear Lake, Iowa






Visitation Data Now Available by Travel Area
Visitation data powered by Arrivalist is now available to all partners at no cost by travel area. Data includes visitation by month/season for the calendar year, percentage of overnight vs day trip travelers and top markets – all by travel area. The state is divided into five travel areas – Lakes & Land, Loess Hills & Beyond, Capital Country, Driftless Area and Storied & Scenic. 

These reports are available by request only. Please reach out to Matt Kodis (matthew.kodis@iowaeda.com), Lora Friest (lora.friest@iowaeda.com) or Stephanie Neppl (stephanie.neppl@iowaeda.com) to receive these reports. On-demand city and county data is only available if you have purchased a sub-license to Arrivalist. 

Registration Open for the 2024 CenStates TTRA Chapter Conference
Attend the 2024 CenStates TTRA Chapter Conference in Sioux City on October 9-11, 2024, to explore the future of travel. This year's conference is set to be an exciting gathering of industry leaders, researchers and enthusiasts and will offer opportunities to network, learn from engaging speakers and thought-provoking sessions and gain valuable insights to help you stay ahead of the curve.

REGISTER


Hot Social Media Trends
Crowdriff released its 2024 Trends Report, and it's full of tips and tricks for promoting your destination. Here are our top 3 favorite pieces of advice: 
  • Storytelling: With the demand for authenticity still driving big changes in digital mediums and methods of influence, create content that carries a positive message to diverse audiences through authentic, relatable and original storytelling.
     
  • Share Your Niche: Partner with micro-content creators that align with your niche and work with them on pitch-perfect messaging to expose your destination to a whole new world of traveler interest.
     
  • Search on Social: Audience behavior suggests more people are using social media as a “discovery engine”. Use the social platform’s categorization tools, develop a smart keyword strategy for your captions and text overlays and start thinking about interlinking related content.
Read the full report here.

Return To All E-Travelers

;