March 25, 2026

Here are the most important updates this week:

Cameron McCoy, New Iowa Tourism Office Content and Media Strategist

Iowa Tourism Office Welcomes New Content and Media Strategist!

The Iowa Tourism Office is pleased to welcome Cameron McCoy as Content & Media Strategist, a new role on the tourism team.

Cameron brings extensive experience in strategic storytelling and multimedia production, with a career dedicated to highlighting Iowa’s people, places, and possibilities. He joins IEDA after 14 years at Iowa PBS, where he directed and produced original programming, including Road Trip Iowa. The long‑running series showcases destinations and communities across the state and inspires travel throughout Iowa. Cameron’s creative vision, media expertise, and strong relationships with industry stakeholders make him a valuable addition to the tourism team.

Cameron holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwest Missouri State University and a master’s degree in English and secondary education from Rockhurst University. He will begin his new role on March 27. You can reach him at cameron.mccoy@iowaeda.com.

Iowa Destinations Recognized in Midwest Living's Best of the Midwest!

Decorah was named one of the Best Small Towns to Visit and Okoboji one of the Best Midwest Lake Escapes in Midwest Living's Best of the Midwest Awards for 2026. Three  Iowa's restaurants were also recognized.

USA Today recognized Jesse’s Embers restaurant in Des Moines as one of just 21 Best old-school restaurants in America. 

Movie-themed short-term rental in Osage with Kathy Blake from the City of Osage (L) and Rielly James (R). 

Osage Shows Off Short-Term Rentals

Tourism Liaison Lora Friest met with Osage and Mitchell County partners on Saint Patrick's day to talk about branding and marketing trendy short-term rentals and great restaurants. After the meeting, the group toured Osage's historic movie theatre and the nostalgic movie-themed short-term rental above it. Research confirms short-term rentals in Iowa are more popular than ever!

The group also discussed the rising popularity of Mitchell County's remodeled cabins, campgrounds, trails and outdoor recreation. Mitchell County Conservation Board (CCB) partners with Chamber and Economic Development organizations to market to travelers and they were one of several CCBs in Iowa who partnered with the ICCB in 2025 to secure new drone photography and video. The new assets will be used by local and state partners to engage the outdoor recreation travelers who are discussed in a new report released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Five 2026 First Impressions Program Communities Announced!

The five Iowa communities selected to participate in the 2026 First Impressions program were announced at the Iowa Tourism Conference. They include Avoca, Manchester, Sibley, Sioux Center and Waverly. The 2024 and 2025 community reports are now available here.

The First Impressions Program was developed by Iowa State University and Outreach and is offered through a partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority Iowa Tourism Office. It provides communities with an opportunity to gain fresh perspectives on their tourism strategies, resident engagement and overall appeal. 

For more information about the program, visit the First Impressions web page, or contact Ann Vogelbacher at annvoge@iastate.edu.

Round Three of the Elevate Iowa Tourism Scholarship is Open

The Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship has opened a third and final round of funding for 2026. A total of $12,000 is available to support professional development for individuals working in Iowa’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Supported by the Iowa Tourism Office and managed by Iowa Travel Industry Partners, this scholarship helps offset the cost of attending regional and national conferences. Examples of eligible conferences include Destinations International conferences, ESTO, Upper Midwest CVB conference and Sports ETA conferences, among others. Applications are due April 10 at 12 p.m. and must be submitted before attending a conference to be eligible. 

Since its launch in 2025, the program has awarded over $70,000 to 50 tourism professionals, strengthening Iowa’s tourism workforce. Applications are open to all, including ITIP members and non-members.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Accepting Applications

Small businesses are vital to Iowa's tourism industry. Small business owners with at least two employees, $75,000 in annual revenue and two years in operation can apply to be part of the Fall cohort of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses in Iowa. The twelve-week program, which is fully funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation, helps entrepreneurs build skills, access capital, expand their business and unlock new opportunities at no cost. Deadline to apply is June 1, 2026. Apply here.

Save the Date for Iowa Tourism Office April Webinar

The next Iowa Tourism Office Webinar will be held on April 23 at 2 p.m. The focus of the webinar will be cultural and heritage tourism with presentations from the Iowa Museum Association, Choose Iowa and the Iowa Restaurant Association. Upcoming opportunities to partner with the Iowa Tourism Office through the annual Co-op Marketing Program will also be presented. 

Register for the May Tourism Insider Meeting

Registration is now open for the May 7 Tourism Insider Meeting, which will be hosted by Storm Lake United in Lakeside at the recently reopened historic Cobblestone Ballroom & Tavern. The agenda includes panel discussion "Leveraging Social Media Influencers to Grow Rural Tourism" and a Roundtable Discussion & Idea Exchange. The Iowa Tourism Office will also provide an update. Please see the full agenda here.  

Email Laura Hanks at Storm Lake United at laura@stormlakeunited.com to register. Hotel rooms are available at King’s Pointe Waterpark Resort at a reduced rate of $107.90 for May 6 and 7. Call 712.213.4500 by May 1 to make your hotel reservation at the discounted rate.

Iowa AirDNA and STR February Data Hits New Highs

Lodging data for February 2026 show the best February occupancy rate since Iowa began tracking statewide data in 2022. The data also shows the highest rural and statewide February ADR and RevPAR since 2022 and the highest urban February ADR and RevPAR since Iowa began tracking those numbers in 2011.

Lodging data provides a great benchmarking/trend data to understand what is happening in your community and compare your community trends to what is happening statewide. Partners can secure lodging reports, including Hotel/Motel Tax Distributions, STR hotel and AirDNA data on the Industry Partners page under the research tab or by contacting IEDA Research and Business Intelligence Manager Matt Kodis (Matt.Kodis@IowaEDA.com).

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Reveals How Byways Can Use Route-Based Tourism for Economic Growth

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City just released "The Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity." The report is "intended to inform and inspire people who want to start or strengthen their towns use of route-based tourism for economic development". It identifies 10 main themes for entities who want to strengthen a byway. 

Some of Travel Iowa's most successful fall social media posts have been about scenic byways. More recently, as consumers look for ways to combat cabin fever, interest in scenic drives is ramping up. On Monday, Feb 16, there was a huge increase in searches for "best scenic drives near me." TravelIowa.com received over 400k impressions from this search spike. Take Time Along Iowa Byways is a free Travel Iowa passport that provides byway itineraries, coupons and discounts for thousands of travelers.

Iowa has 14 state and national byways that collectively traverse over half of Iowa's counties. Each byway has a Byway Coordinator and a local byway board or advisory council who help implement their byway's Corridor Management Plan (CMP). To get involved in byway tourism or route-based tourism in Iowa, start by contacting your Byway Coordinator and reading your byway's CMP.

Outdoor Recreation Economic Statistics from U.S. BEA are Updated

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Outdoor Recreation Economic Statistics for the United States for 2024 and updated previously released data from 2020-2023. The new U.S. data show the value added of the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.4 percent ($696.7 billion) of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) for the nation and 2.2% for Iowa. Check out the data to drill down by state, industry, employment statistics, type of recreation or other factors.

Designations Elevate Your Destination and Your Grant Applications

You can elevate your tourism position and your grant scores by judiciously securing special designations and using them to elevate your branding and marketing campaigns. 

The International Dark Sky Places Program promotes eco-tourism and astro-tourism in designated preserves, parks, communities and more. Guidelines and application can be found here. Insight on related tourism and rural development is available here. Related Travel Iowa content is available here. However, you don't have to be designated to get a grant from the Asterion Foundation to promote astronomy. Applications are due by April 30.

Bird Friendly Iowa (BFI) has a strong showing in the international Bird City Network. Application to the program is available here. The BFI Board has successfully secured statewide grants to secure marketing funding for member partners. A November 2024 report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are 96 million birders in the United States. One in three U.S. adults enjoys birding and birdingwire.com reports birders spend more than 107 billion dollars annually on equipment, travel and other expenditures. Travel Iowa's Beginners Guide to Birding is available here. 

National Park Cities are rich with nature and have high quality public green spaces where everyone benefits from exploring, playing and learning outdoors. Designated cities are places where people, places and nature are better connected. Required actions for how to move forward are available here. Whether or not you seek this designation, city and county parks are important tourism resources. Find out more about Iowa REAP grants, which can help with development and improvement of parks and trails, here. Though they are not due until August, start planning now!

Visit traveliowa.com/industry-partners for more information

Iowa Tourism Office  
1963 Bell Avenue, Ste 200 | Des Moines, IA 50315 US