Here are the most important updates this week:
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Register for the 2026 Iowa Tourism Conference
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Registration is open for the 2026 Iowa Tourism Conference. This is your chance to join industry leaders, network with peers and gain valuable insights into the latest trends and strategies in tourism marketing. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your knowledge and grow your connections.
Sponsorship options start at $1,000 and include two registrations. See more details here.
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Now Accepting Iowa Tourism Award Nominations
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The Iowa Tourism Awards recognize communities, attractions, tourism businesses and the marketing professionals that promote them for excellence in raising the profile of Iowa as a tourism destination. Winners will have demonstrated creativity, innovation, collaboration and strategy grounded in research and results in their projects.
Award winners will be announced on Friday, March 13, during the 2026 Iowa Tourism Conference.
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Mark Your Calendar for the Next Iowa Tourism Update Webinar
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Join us at 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 15, 2026, for the next Iowa Tourism Office Update webinar. We’ll highlight our 2025 marketing successes and share insights on tourism marketing trends and how you can incorporate them into your marketing plans for 2026. New for this year's webinar – there is no need to register, simply join via this link.
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Reminder: Take Advantage of Our Speaker Request Form
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As you plan for 2026, don't forget that the Iowa Tourism Office team is available to speak at industry conferences, meeting and events. To request someone from our team to present at your event, please complete the form here. Once received, you will be contacted to discuss availability of our team.
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Elevate Iowa Tourism Education Scholarship Accepting Applications
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Administered by Iowa Travel Industry Partners (iTIP) with funding support from the Iowa Tourism Office (Iowa Economic Development Authority), the Elevate Iowa Tourism: Education Scholarship aims to empower Iowa’s tourism professionals through financial assistance, facilitating their participation in regional and national educational conferences.
Programs January 1 - December 31, 2026, are eligible for application. Applications are due December 31 at noon.
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First Impressions Program Accepting Applications for 2026
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Offered through a partnership between Iowa State University and Iowa Economic Development Authority/Iowa Tourism Office, First Impressions is a comprehensive community assessment conducted by a team of unannounced visitors to your community. The program helps communities learn about their strengths and weaknesses through the eyes of first-time visitors and provides specific short and long-term action steps for creating places where people want to visit and live.
Five communities with a population of 20,000 or under are eligible to be selected for the program in 2026. Applications are due February 18, 2026.
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The State of the American Traveler Update
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Recognized as one of the nation's leading travel studies of American leisure travelers, The State of the American Traveler features quarterly research of over 4,000 adult travelers. The most recent report included survey information that was collected November 17-30, 2025. Those surveyed had to have taken at least one leisure trip of at least 50 miles away from home in the last 12 months and be age 18+. You can view a summary here or access the full recording and download the presentation here.
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- 2025 year-end wrap up:
- Travelers adjusted to economic concerns in 2025 by sticking to strict budgets (36.5%), driving instead of flying (35.6%), choosing budget-friendly destinations (35.2%) and focusing on free/low-cost experiences (34.8%)
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Consumer sentiments held steady; excitement to travel held at 8.0-8.3 (on a 0-10 scale)
- Financial sentiment was stable
- Travel budgets remained strong and near record highs; and 50% kept travel as a high budget priority
- Americans see tourism positively and its economic benefits are recognized and valued:
- 74% agree that tourism supports local businesses
- 64% agree that visitor spending funds community services
- 59% agree that tourism supports local events residents enjoy
- Travel sentiment:
- 35% are feeling better off financially. 40.5% unchanged. 24.5% feel they are worse off
- Recession fears dipped slightly. 34.9% of American travelers will prioritize travel even in a recession, and plan 3+ trips regardless of the economy. These travelers note an average budget of $8,545 vs $3,900 for other travelers
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Spending confidence inched upward. 35.4% said it was good time to spend on travel. 36.7% were neutral, and 27.9% said it was not a good time
- Appetite for travel is still alive and well, and 87% of travelers have some level of excitement to do so
- The firm majority said leisure travel spending was a priority:
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56.7% said it will be a budget priority in the next 3 months
- Boomers had the highest expected travel budgets with $7,462 anticipated spend on leisure trips in the next 12 months
- Gen X expects to spend $6,222
- Trip planning:
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Using AI in travel planning has increased 225% year over year; Travelers are more comfortable using AI for lifestyle and entertainment content
- Trends suggest growing comfort with AI travel tools. 25% used AI to plan travel in November 2025, up from 11% in April 2024
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Visit traveliowa.com/industry-partners for more information
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Iowa Tourism Office
1963 Bell Avenue, Ste 200 | Des Moines, IA 50315 US
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1963 Bell Avenue, Suite 200 | Des Moines, IA 50315 US
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