Week in Review

State Capitol Week in Review

LITTLE ROCK – Tourism generated $5.6 billion in the sale of goods and services in Arkansas last year, accounting for 5.6 percent of the state's gross domestic product.

Rising gasoline prices and uncertainty in the national economy slowed the growth of the state's tourism industry, but it still managed to grow in comparison to other components of the Arkansas economy.

One measure of Arkansas tourism is revenue from the tourism tax, which is collected at hotels and recreational facilities, as well as on the rental of boats, water skis and marine equipment. Last year the tax generated a little more than $12 million, which was a 3.8 percent increase over the previous year.

However, that increase was largely attributable to higher prices and represents a decrease of 0.4 percent when adjusted for inflation. Another way of measuring the economic effect of tourism is that 59,677 people worked in travel-related jobs last year. That is down slightly from the year before, when 59,797 people had jobs related to travel and tourism.

The total payroll for employees in travel-related jobs was $1.05 billion. Since 1977 the total payroll for the Arkansas tourism industry has grown by 415 percent.

The state Parks and Tourism Department spends some of the tourism tax on marketing and promotion in the major population centers that are near the state: Dallas, St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Shreveport, Houston and Oklahoma City.

Tourism officials have updated advertising campaigns to keep up with changing trends in the media. In the past, an effective ad campaign consisted of television and radio spots, combined with eye-catching ads in magazines and newspapers. Now Arkansas tourism has a much larger presence on the Internet.

The "Welcome to Arkansas" concept, which has been used in print and television campaigns, is now being placed throughout the Internet in banners, videos, mobile messaging and text links. Ads promoting Arkansas tourism can be seen on "checkout TV," that is, large television monitors inside Wal-Mart Supercenters in Houston and Chicago.

Ads are shown in cinemas in Dallas, St. Louis, Tulsa and Memphis. Arkansas tourism spots are shown on the Branson Vacation Channel, which is available at hotels, office, private residences and campsites in Branson. Ads for Hispanic audiences were placed on cable television networks in Little Rock, Fort Smith and Fayetteville.

Arkansas tourism has a reputation for natural beauty and outdoor recreation such as boating, hunting and fishing. Arkansas also has an image problem, according to research firms that analyze surveys filled out by tourists from other states. Out-of-state visitors are surprised by the offerings available in Arkansas, in fact, the mismatch is striking between their expectations and the reality in Arkansas.

That is a reason Arkansas ad campaigns do not focus exclusively on outdoor activities and include "indoor" activities such as fine dining, art galleries, shopping, music and nightlife.

The primary audience of the 2009 spring and summer ad campaign was adults aged 25-49, with an emphasis on women. The secondary target audience was older adults, also with a focus on women. The goal is to expand upon the already established and positive image of Arkansas as a place with natural scenic beauty.