From the halls of the Clinton Presidential Center to the vast array of lakes and resorts across the state, industry officials say the tourism trade across the state is flourishing.
“I think we are being discovered by more and more people,” Montine McNulty, executive director of the Arkansas Hospitality Association, said of the steady stream of out-of-state and international travelers coming to Arkansas. “Arkansas is not the secret that it use to be.”
McNulty said there may be no better evidence of an economic breakout for the state’s second-largest industry than in the hospitality trade. Every where you go - from Eureka Springs to Hot Springs and Mountain Home to Lake Village - hotels, lodges and restaurants are full, she said.
“Hopefully, we are going to see this for a long time,” McNulty said.
Joe David Rice, director of the state Department of Parks and Tourism, said jokingly that his best indicator of improved tourism activity is the decline in the number of complaints to the state tourism department.
“I am no longer getting calls this season from people telling me about the lousy season that they are having,” Rice said, adding that state’s multimillion dollar tourism marketing and advertising campaign is also part of the current success.
Beyond that anecdotal evidence, both Rice and McNulty pointed to better collections of the 2 percent “tourism tax,” which was passed by the Legislature in 1989 to raise funds for the state to market the state’s tourism industry.
More: arkansasnews.com
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