(The Center Square) – Tourism brought in $15.7 billion in combined direct visitor spending and induced economic impact, Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and Director of State Parks Shea Lewis said Monday.
Visitors spent $9.2 billion in Arkansas last year, up more than 15% from 2021, Lewis said.
“We also study the indirect and induced impact that tourism has on our economy. And that number is $6.5 billion,” said Lewis. “That’s money put back into the economy by industry operators when buying goods and services and by industry employees who are investing their wages where they live.”
Additionally, tax receipts from visitor spending generated $752 million, Lewis said.
“For a perspective, without this visitor-generated tax receipts, each Arkansan household would need to be taxed an additional $866 to replace those tax dollars,” Lewis said.
Just over 48 million people visited Arkansas in 2022, a 27% increase over pre-COVID numbers in 2019 and 17.1 % more than the previous year, according to Lewis.
“Since the pandemic we continue to see growth in numbers and visitation,” said Lewis. “In my view, it’s for a couple of different reasons. First of all, we have really leaned into digital marketing, which allows us to target key audiences across the nation and around the world to maximize our reach and help us optimize future campaigns. And secondly, something I know for sure is a lot of visitors found us during the pandemic. What we are known as, ‘The Natural State,’ really came true and relevant during the pandemic that helped many people gain a greater appreciation for the beautiful outdoors that we have, which continues today, and what Arkansas has in abundance.”
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said her administration has been making “sweeping reforms” to improve tourism.
“We cut red tape at state parks to make maintenance and lodging better and seamless. We funded grant programs to support high-impact recreation projects in small towns all across the state,” Sanders said. “And we’re supporting entrepreneurs who are innovating in everything from food to lodging to guide services. And the Sanders family favorite: we’re launching a lifetime hunting and fishing license that Arkansans under 10 can get for half off.”
Sanders appointed Dulaney Thomas as the state’s new tourism director on Monday.
“Dulaney has spent nearly a decade working with Arkansas Tourism from the outside, brainstorming new ideas to get the word out about our state. She spearheaded nationwide marketing campaigns and has the creative chops that we’ll need to compete with other states,” Sanders said. “Dulaney joins an incredible team that’s going to help us take Arkansas to the top.”
Thomas said she was humbled and honored to step into the role.
“I love Arkansans,” Thomas said. “I love the hospitality and tourism industry and I have a deep appreciation for what our destinations do, our outfitters and our frontline workers, what they do every single day to make sure our visitors have the best, most memorable experience possible.”
