In 2015, Arkansas hosted more than 28 million visitors who spent a total of $7.2 billion, according to data released by the state Department of Parks and Tourism.
The economic impact of tourism in Arkansas includes $374 million in state taxes and $137 million in local taxes, according to the department’s 2015-2016 annual report. This came from an average trip expenditure of $259.
“These strong numbers provide further evidence of tourism’s importance to the economy of Arkansas,” Kane Webb, the department’s executive director, said in a news release. “It is a vital industry, an economic-development driver, and it is growing.”
The 2 percent tourism development trust fund broke a nine-year record for percentage of growth in fiscal year 2015; one of the highlights was the month of June 2015 when, for the first time ever, the collections exceeded $1.5 million. In the current fiscal year, two additional months have already exceeded $1.5 million in tax collection – July and October.
Fiscal year 2015 tax collections were up 7.7 percent compared to the $13.09 million in 2014.
“Arkansas’s tourism experience continues to improve,” Joe David Rice, Arkansas’ tourism director, said. “Key additions such as the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home in Dyess, the Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville, the renovated lodge at Queen Wilhelmina State Park, and the Frank Lloyd Wright house at Crystal Bridges offer our guests even more exciting options.”
The top five states from which visitors to Arkansas Welcome Centers originated were: Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
According to part two of the report, Pulaski County collected 25 percent of the travel spending in Arkansas counties, followed by Garland County with 10.2 percent.
The average length of total trips increased by 13.1 percent, or 6.9 nights in 2015 compared to 6.1 nights in 2014. Use of the Arkansas website increased dramatically from 19.3 percent in 2014 to 40.5 percent in 2015.
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