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e-Traveler - Tourism Insider Meeting Info, Hotel/Motel Tax Update + More

August 21, 2024




Here are the most important updates this week: 




Thank You for Joining Us for Tourism Day at the Iowa State Fair!
Thank you to all the partners who were able to join us for Tourism Day at the Iowa State Fair. The day was filled with networking, delicious food and scenic sights. Your continued support and collaboration within the tourism industry plays a vital role in supporting the state's attractions, businesses and communities. 

Tourism Insider Meeting Registration Opens Next Week
Make plans to join partners from around the state at the next Tourism Insider Meeting to be held in Marquette and McGregor on September 24-25, 2024. Agenda and registration information will be shared next week. 

If you’re ready to book your hotel, rooms are available for both September 23 and 24 at the Cobblestone Marquette. The room rate for attendees is $95 + tax ($106.40). Please call the hotel to book (563.873.8900) and mention you are attending the Iowa Tourism Office meeting. Reach out to Stephanie Neppl (stephanie.neppl@iowaeda.com) with questions. 

Human Trafficking Recertification for Lodging Properties
Effective January 1, 2022, Iowa lodging providers must have completed the Department of Public Safety’s Human Trafficking Prevention Training certification to receive public funds for any state-funded event. This includes state employee lodging, conferences, meetings or banquets.

These certifications must be renewed every three years. Many properties completed their certification in late 2021 and must now complete the certification process again to stay in compliance. Lodging properties can update their certification with the Department of Public Safety at any time to reset the three-year certification. The process remains the same for certification and the steps are described here. 

TAKE ACTION:
  • Lodging Partners: Please visit the www.stophtiowa.org website to complete your recertification before December 31, 2024.
  • All Tourism Partners: Please help communicate this information to lodging partners to ensure they remain in compliance.
Questions about this recertification can be directed to the Department of Public Safety at humantrafficking@dps.state.ia.uss or 515-725-6330.


Hotel/Motel Tax Reporting Update
The Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR) has begun distributing hotel/motel tax on a monthly basis. In light of this change, IDR will also be publishing hotel/motel tax distributions on a monthly basis. The file for July allocation includes data covering May 20 through July 20. Please be aware of this when comparing year-over-year figures. Monthly data can be found here. 

Register for the Iowa Sports Market Analysis Webinar
Join the Iowa Tourism Office and Iowa Travel Industry Partners as Huddle Up Group presents findings from the Iowa Sports Market Analysis, completed in 2024. The webinar will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, 2024. The webinar will cover findings from the report:
  • Evaluation of destinations through the Sports Tourism Index™ benchmarking tool
  • Economic impact, facility inventory and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in regards to the sports tourism market in Iowa
  • Recommendations for how to grow Iowa's sports tourism market
REGISTER

Register 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. Join industry leaders, researchers and enthusiasts and discover opportunities to network, learn from engaging speakers and thought-provoking sessions to gain valuable insights to stay ahead of the curve. This year's agenda is jam packed with ground-breaking sessions that will help elevate your tourism research. Early bird registration rates end August 31, 2024. 
 
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 report included survey information that was collected July 16-27.

Here are some key highlights:
  • Traveler sentiment remains solid - 34% feeling better off financially, 37% unchanged; 29% worse off financially than a year ago
  • 34% think it’s a good time to spend on leisure travel; holding flat over past year, but up over July 2023 (29%)
  • Excitement for travel remains high: on a scale of 0-10, 86% rate above 5; 42% rate at 10
  • More intend to make leisure travel a spending priority in the next three months – 57% high priority
  • Expected travel volume held steady at 3.4 trips
  • Overnight business travel grew last year; Overnight group meetings travel followed a similar pattern

Helpful Tools to Organize Grant Opportunities
The Iowa Tourism Grant opens on August 26. Like all grants, it requires an accurate budget. Some grantors will throw out a proposal that has a math error in the budget. For those of you who hate math, here are some tips:
  • Step #1 Total Campaign or Project Cost: Identify who you will contract and have them provide bids or estimates so you have an accurate total project cost.
  • Step #2 Cash Match: Divide the total cost of the project by 5 to determine 20% of the total. You are required to contribute this 20% in cash to the campaign or project.
  • Step #3 Grant Request: You may request the remaining 80% of the total cost of your campaign or project be paid for with an Iowa Bonus Step: Have someone check your math. From the simple to the complex, every grant budget should be proofed by someone other than the person who developed it.
Featured Grant: Both the Iowa Tourism Grant and the next round of the Iowa Art Project Grant have deadlines in September.

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