Chamber members get 'gist' of state tourism objectives

PONCA — The Newton County Chamber of Commerce held its annual meeting, presented by J3 at The Gap, Thursday, Nov. 14, at Buffalo Outdoor Center's RiverWind Lodge near Ponca. Delaney Thomas, director of Arkansas Tourism, was the keynote speaker.
Thomas said Newton County is near and dear to her heart as the county and Buffalo National River was a family destination when she was a child, and it continues to be so for her family, today.
She said Newton County and this area of the state has an abundance of beautiful natural settings for people to create memories that last a lifetime.
The mission of Arkansas Tourism is to find ways to connect people and provide the local area with the resources to expand their businesses.
"Tourism is economic development," Thomas said. She proceeded to present information to give the audience the gist of what that means.
Tourism is the second largest industry in the state after agriculture. Tourism's impact in the state's economy in 2023 was $9.9 billion. In Newton County, alone, visitors spent $46.1 million that year. Three million dollars of that was generated in state taxes and $1.3 million was generated in local taxes. With over 400 tourism jobs in the area, $11.7 million in labor impact is generated by the tourism industry, here.
When we talk about tourism it is important to remember that the money doesn't stay just in tourism. Other areas of the economy benefit such as retail businesses, and other trickle down affects, Thomas said.
A state-wide 2% re-investment tax applied to such things as lodging and canoe rentals, allow the tourism department to market and promote the state. This money is also used to extend matching grants in the state's various regions in an amount of $170,000 a year.
Some initiatives highlight food, music and the arts, hunting and fishing, and collaborating between government and the public sector to increase the access to outdoor recreation. For example: The governor created by executive order the Natural State Initiative to bring the Department of Commerce, Arkansas Game & Fish and Tourism together with private business owners to identify barriers that prevent businesses from having better access to outdoor resources. The Office of Outdoor Recreation falls under Tourism. It offers grants, also.

Tourism wants to promote Arkansas as a year-round destination. It is expanding its reach nation-wide, but primarily to state's that have a colder winter climate.
Digital advertising and social media campaigns are important tools to educate people year round about Arkansas.
Before closing, Thomas was asked to give a wrap up of the effect the Great American Solar Eclipse of last April had on the state.
She said it reminded tourism officials a lot of the time of the COVID-19 pandemic as it brought a different kind of traveler to the state. People within the state stayed at home to experience that wonder from their backyards. But many people who had never been to Arkansas came here just to experience the eclipse and they left thinking they would plan more trips to Arkansas in the future.
In hindsight, we were comparing it to 2017's eclipse, Thomas said. In Texas, alone, this year, she noted, there were more hotel rooms along the path of totality than there were in the entire path of totality in 2017. "So it was an extremely competitive market."
She said she was impressed by the communities that held special events to help entertain their visitors. They got a lot of great national coverage. She pointed to Russellville in particular as it attracted "Good Morning America" to broadcast from there.
We wanted to be more prepared than not, and we were, she said.
It was a different kind of traveler and most of them wanted to camp.