Governor's conference highlights tourism industry in Arkansas
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Leaders from across the state attended the governor's 51st annual conference on tourism.
Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Outdoor Tourism, Shea Lewis, says tourism is one of Arkansas' top industries.
'For Arkansas, tourism is the second leading industry in our state, so it's a huge economic driver for the gross domestic product that keeps our state going.'
This year's governor's conference looked a little different, though, because it joined forces with the Arkansas Outdoor Economy Summit.
The event featured educational sessions on tourism and travel trends, the economics of the outdoors and industry workforce development efforts.
Lewis says the conference is a way to share success stories from all over the state.
'We hear great stories of accomplishments from northeast Arkansas to northwest Arkansas from southwest to southeast to central Arkansas that great things all come together when the tourism of the state work together to promote our state.'
Kalene Griffith is the CEO of Visit Bentonville. She attended today's conference to share insight on how the Bentonville area has grown over the last year.
Griffith says that the COVID-19 pandemic saw many visitors traveling to Arkansas, looking for outdoor activities suited for social distancing.
'We have so many outdoor amenities, such as the trails, the lakes, the rivers,' Griffith said. 'We could be fishing, hunting, riding bikes.'
She says this increase in demand for outdoor activities established Bentonville as not just a place for business opportunities.
'With the growth of the outdoor industry, the trail developments and the arts, we have grown as this initiative for the leisure market. We have always been a business destination, but now we are a leisure market.'
This is also having an impact on local businesses.
Griffith says that Visit Bentonville hosted 310 events in 2024 that added roughly $42 million to the local economy.
In 2024, Visit Bentonville conducted a study that found that 1/4 of patrons at any given restaurant in Bentonville are from out of town.
Its study also found that roughly 50% of businesses' income comes directly from out-of-state visitors.
'It introduces people to our area that have never been here, and hopefully we're going to see them come back and they become a regular visitor for us,' Griffith said.
The Governor's Conference ends with an awards banquet on Tuesday night.
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