eTraveler: November 16, 2022
The E-Traveler is our bi-weekly industry communication email. Sign up to receive them.
Final 2022 Tourism Office webinar tomorrow
We encourage you to join us for the Iowa Tourism Office Update this Thursday, November 17, at 2 p.m. The final session in our 2022 webinar series will include:
- Soul of Iowa Marketing Campaign Results
- Soul of Iowa 2.0
- Strategic Plan Action Steps
- Arrivalist Dashboard Co-op
- Economic Impact Report Update
- New Tourism Office Initiatives
- Localhood
- Travel Iowa Tradeshow Booth
Join from your computer by clicking here
Or call in (audio only) 515-348-6300; Phone Conference ID: 673 183 458#
Five webinars are scheduled for 2023, on Thursdays at 2 p.m.
- January 19
- May 18
- July 20
- September 21
- November 16
You will need to register in advance for each of these webinars. Find them all listed on the events calendar on the industry partners page.
Meet Localhood, a new FREE marketing tool
We’re excited to announce the availabilty of Localhood, a new tool that will allow you to create Instagram Reels/Facebook Stories as well as TikTok videos in an easy, consistent way. The Iowa Tourism Office is covering the cost of the tool and providing access at no charge to you.
Localhood enables you to create, publish and analyze web stories, which are like social media stories for the web. This content will then automatically appear in Google searches as visual stories as well as, in a Localhood galleries or individually on your website and the Travel Iowa website. The platform also allows you to embed individual stories (example) or galleries on your website and share on social media.
If you’d like to learn more, register here for an introduction webinar with Localhood on December 8 at 1 p.m., or learn more here.
Arrivalist visitation dashboard co-op
In 2023, the Iowa Tourism Office will again offer access to the Arrivalist visitation dashboard for partners to purchase. The dashboard provides monthly visitation data for cities and counties, including overall volume, origin states, share of day trips and overnights and length of stay information. This data is provided each month going back to January 2019 and will include data forward to December 2023.
Several partners have used this data to inform their marketing campaigns and help local stakeholders understand the importance of tourism's impact.
Arrivalist dashboard access is priced on a sliding scale, based on your organization's marketing budget:
- Under $500,000 budget - $2,500 investment
- $500,000-$2,000,000 budget - $5,000 investment
- Over $2,000,000 budget - $10,000 investment
Sign ups for the 2023 Arrivalist co-op close on December 1, 2022
Sign UpIowa in the News
Here are some exciting media highlights featuring Iowa.
- Forbes included the new Lost Island Theme Park in its article "These New Theme Parks Will Capture Your Imagination"
- BestLife included the Amana Colonies and Pella in their list of "The 10 Cutest Small Towns in the Midwest"
- Midwest Weekends spotlighted the Manning Hausbarn and the Amana Colonies barn tour in their article "Barn Storming"
- Travel Maven featured Decorah as "This Small Iowa Town was Just Named One of the Coolest in the U.S."
Upcoming Meetings/Events
- November 17, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. - Iowa Tourism Career Pathways Resource (webinar)
- November 17, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.- Iowa Tourism Office Update (webinar)
- November 22, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. - Economic Impact Report Update (webinar)
- January 19, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. - Iowa Tourism Office Update (webinar)
- March 22 & 23, 2023 - Iowa Tourism Conference at Prairie Meadows, Altoona
Check out the calendar of events for more details and upcoming industry meetings.
Calendar of Events
Free online course from WeTravel
Introduction to Inclusive Tourism: LGBTQ+ Travel is a free, online 45-minute course that covers the fundamentals of LGBTQ+ tourism and will give concrete ideas on how to promote inclusivity within your team, for your travelers, and destinations.
Learn More