Is Iowa Stealing the Spotlight as a Top Travel Destination?
Most people think of Iowa as a flyover state. A place that people have to travel through to get to their "real" destination.
While there's no Statue of Liberty or Grand Canyon in the Hawkeye State, there are still plenty of interesting tourist attractions and draws to the state of Iowa.
You can drop by the Amana Colonies or take a bike ride across some of the state's gorgeous bike paths. There's quite a few options for things to get up to!
In 2023, there was a record number of visitors traveling to Iowa.
But just how much money did visitors spend in Iowa last year?
Iowa Tourism Sets Record High
According to a recent report from the Iowa Tourism Office, Iowa tourism hit a record high in 2023.
People traveling to Iowa spent over $7.3 billion across the entire state economy which is a 5.1% increase over 2022. This report revealed that these billions spent in Iowa generated a total economic impact of $10.9 billion in Iowa which helped sustain 70,954 Iowa jobs.
“We’re thrilled by the continued growth in Iowa’s tourism industry,” said Amy Zeigler, manager of the Iowa Tourism Office.
“We look forward to continuing the momentum and seeing more travelers experience all that Iowa offers.”
What Were the Big Draws to Iowa?
While there is nothing specific that reports could point to that brought the tourism dollars in, it's very likely that the Iowa State Fair played a hand in this.
The Iowa State Fair saw a record number of attendees over the past few years. In 2023, attendance was at a record high with 1,133,938 visitors, according to reports.
From the looks of things, the tourism numbers for 2024 are only going to go up.
The State Fair drew an even larger crowd with 1,182,682 attendees this summer AND the 2023-2024 Iowa Women's Basketball season drew quite a few crowd this year.
During the team's regular season 10,779 tickets scanned were scanned on average per game, according to reports.
People were coming in from all across the country to check out Caitlin Clark play!
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Haunting Iowa Roadtrip Map
Gallery Credit: Kerri Mac
Caitlin Clark's Rookie Season in the WNBA Part 1
Gallery Credit: Kerri Mac