Steve Arrison

The pandemic reshaped the tourism landscape in Arkansas, but as the state began to recover, cities adapted and redefined their approach. read more >

Arkansas law blocks cities from sharing local-option tax data, but Visit Hot Springs reveals its top five restaurants and hotels for 2024—minus the dollars. read more >

Analysis after the fact has taught tourism officials that the market for a solar eclipse is much like the market for state parks and other outdoor recreation. read more >

Work on the project in Saline County has picked up significantly since ARDOT said it was considering holding contractor Johnson Bros. in default of contract. read more >

Leaders of the Broyles Foundation say they will move its annual Frank Broyles Award ceremony to Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs starting w read more >

The jump signals a continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that devastated the state’s tourist industry three years ago. read more >

The sculpture will depict Ruth in his New York Yankees uniform just after he has swung the bat, watching as a home run sails over the outfield. read more >

The tourism and hospitality industries rebounded strongly in 2021, but local tax collections indicate that a few cities haven’t seen visitors return to pre-pandemic levels. read more >

In cities that collect advertising and promotion taxes for tourism on hotel and restaurant receipts, the numbers talk. read more >

Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort of Hot Springs wants to add December live racing dates to its calendar and host a 66-day season, from Dec. 3, 2021-May 8, 2022. read more >

Southern Airways Express adds Friday and Sunday flights connecting the El Dorado, Harrison, and Hot Springs airports to each other and will add Memphis-Hot Springs flights in June. read more >

The COVID-19 pandemic sent hospitality tax collections in Arkansas plummeting last year, and the blow to some tourism bureaus in the state, which rely on the taxes for revenue, was even worse than those figures show. read more >

For Arkansas’ hospitality industry, congressional approval of a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package was a long time coming and much appreciated. read more >

Arkansas’ hospitals and other industries have urgent concerns for the Legislature to address in the regular session that will commence on Jan. 11, but a key piece of the hospitality industry has needs that are more urgent. read more >

Hot Springs continues to move forward with important tourism-related projects and activities despite the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. read more >

The coronavirus pandemic has battered city convention and visitors bureaus in Arkansas and sapped their sources of revenue: lodging and restaurant taxes. An industry built on bringing people together and attracting tourists is uniquely vulnerable to an infectious disease. read more >

Travelers have increased their spending in Hot Springs, the state's tourism mecca, by nearly 30% since 2013, according to data presented Monday to the area's tourism industry. read more >

Many of Arkansas' recreational sites are drowning — not in historic flooding, but in phone calls about flooding, say state tourism representatives who are working overtime to combat the perception that high water has the state closed to business. read more >

Phase One of Hot Springs' new Northwoods Trail System is complete, giving the city 15.7 miles of "world-class" mountain-bike riding. read more >

Jim Shamburger owns the Best Western Winner Circle Inn just across the street from Oaklawn Racing & Gaming in Hot Springs. When Oaklawn announced in mid-November its plans for a $100 million expansion on site to include a 200-room hotel, an 28,000-SF casino and a 14,000-SF events center, Shamburger couldn’t have been happier. read more >