e-Traveler - Sign up for Tourism Day at the Iowa State Fair + More
June 26, 2024
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 updates about the Soul of Iowa 2.0 campaign, the availability of new visitation reports, Iowa State Fair information and a discussion on how to find tourism content trends.
If you were unable to join live, you can watch the webinar recording here.
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
Sign up by Monday, July 1, to join us 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.
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:
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.
Just a handful of shifts remain! Complete the form as soon as possible to sign up. 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.
Recent Media Interviews Highlight Iowa's Summer Trips & Events
Jessica O'Riley completed three segments on Quad Cities Live (June 20) to promote summer trip ideas for family vacations in Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Marion County and Okoboji; adult getaways in Des Moines, Decorah and Council Bluffs; and top-tier celebrations and events throughout the state, including the Iowa State Fair, RAGBRAI, county fairs and the 80/35 Music Festival.
The Everyday Iowa segment (June 21) highlighted exciting summer events such as the the Iowa Indie Bookshop Tour, the Field of Dreams' Ghost Saturdays, Walcott Truckers Jamboree and the National Balloon Classic.
Want to be featured in media interviews? Make sure your events and listings are updated on TravelIowa.com.
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:
Here are the most important updates this week:
- Registration is now open for the next Tourism Insider Meeting in Corning on July 30-31.
- Watch the most recent Iowa Tourism Office Update Webinar.
- Request tickets for Tourism Day at the Iowa State Fair by July 1.
- Read CrowdRiff's 2024 Trends Report.
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 updates about the Soul of Iowa 2.0 campaign, the availability of new visitation reports, Iowa State Fair information and a discussion on how to find tourism content trends.
If you were unable to join live, you can watch the webinar recording here.
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
Sign up by Monday, July 1, to join us 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.
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
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.
Just a handful of shifts remain! Complete the form as soon as possible to sign up. 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.
Recent Media Interviews Highlight Iowa's Summer Trips & Events
Jessica O'Riley completed three segments on Quad Cities Live (June 20) to promote summer trip ideas for family vacations in Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Marion County and Okoboji; adult getaways in Des Moines, Decorah and Council Bluffs; and top-tier celebrations and events throughout the state, including the Iowa State Fair, RAGBRAI, county fairs and the 80/35 Music Festival.
The Everyday Iowa segment (June 21) highlighted exciting summer events such as the the Iowa Indie Bookshop Tour, the Field of Dreams' Ghost Saturdays, Walcott Truckers Jamboree and the National Balloon Classic.
Want to be featured in media interviews? Make sure your events and listings are updated on TravelIowa.com.
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.
- July 30-31, 2024 – Tourism Insider Meeting, Corning
- August 15, 2024 – Iowa Tourism Day at the Iowa State Fair, Des Moines