Arkansas Tourism has been named the State Tourism Office of the Year by the Southeast Tourism Society. The 2020 Shining Example Award winners were announced during the Southeast Tourism Society’s annual Connections conference in Little Rock, which was attended by representatives of several southeastern states.
The State Tourism Office of the Year award was given in light of team accomplishments throughout the Arkansas Tourism office, including effective tourism marketing, creativity in design and development, and implementation of new projects.
A recent economic impact report indicates that Arkansas hosted more than 32 million visitors in 2018 who spent $7.37 billion in total travel expenditures, $408 million in state taxes and $161 million in local taxes. This data indicates a healthy, thriving tourism industry across Arkansas.
The job of Arkansas Tourism is not just about numbers though. It’s also about finding creative and innovative ways to help tourism partners promote their attractions and destinations, while also enhancing the traveler’s experience.
In 2019, Arkansas Tourism conceptualized and launched several new projects that had not previously been implemented in the tourism field. The most prominent example was the creation of “Ark Tank,” a competition for start-up tourism businesses within the state that debuted during the 2019 Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism. Other highlights of the year included:
- Arkansas Tourism took part in its first international sales missions trips including a Travel South International Sales Mission trip to Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou, China and sales trips to the UK and Ireland.
- Arkansas Tourism began a new partnership with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to produce “ARKANSAS: Love Where You Live,” a print publication targeting potential audiences for relocation to the state.
- Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., served as an ambassador for Arkansas’s participation in the U.S. Civil Rights Trail by participating in a satellite media tour broadcast to local news outlets across the U.S. In his appearances, Mayor Scott promoted not only Central High School National Historic Site and other Arkansas civil rights sites, but also Arkansas’s culinary scene and other tourism attractions.
- Arkansas Tourism collaborated with the University of Arkansas to launch an experiential learning experience for high school students.
- Arkansas Tourism increased its professional development opportunities for the industry by hosting a Crowdriff Webinar and Google Webinar.
In addition to these external-facing projects, Arkansas Tourism also launched several new programs for internal staff. These programs not only increased the team’s professional knowledge, they also fostered a spirit of teamwork and collaboration.
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