Members of the Arkansas Hospitality Association and State Parks and Tourism Commission listened for nearly 90 minutes last week as a spring marketing plan aimed at luring visitors to and keeping them in state was debuted.
As Parks and Tourism Director Kane Webb noted in earlier appearances, millennials -- 85 million strong, as he put it -- are a priority. Retirees are an audience the state is after and the campaign will encourage locals to "See Arkansas First," rather than head out of state for spring break.
Bicycles. Craft beer. Music. Motorcycles. Food. Art. Natural beauty. These are the emerging and established starts of tourism in Arkansas, and they'll be among the focal points of the $7.6 million advertising campaign.
Neighboring states continue to generate the bulk of out-of-state visitors. They will be targeted heavily with a campaign that blends mobile phones, social media, newspapers and other print products, radio and TV.
Enticing international visitors to Arkansas was not part of the formal presentation, but is an area worth keeping an eye on in the coming months and years.
In the past, if Arkansas was visited by folks from overseas, great. But they've never been actively pursued.
Webb would like to change that. He believes a trio of attractions built in the last 15 years -- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, the Johnny Cash boyhood home in Dyess and the Clinton Presidential Center -- are true international attractions. Visitors from 41 countries have already logged time in Northeast Arkansas to visit Cash's former home in the Depression-era farming colony.
"We're seeing some organic travelers because of attractions we didn't have 10-15 years ago," Webb said.
Overseas visitors increased in the state by nearly 6 percent from 2007 to 2015, according to data from Travel South USA, an organization that promotes travel with 12 Southern states. (Only Florida isn't included.) Arkansas ranked last in international visits in 2015 behind Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia and Mississippi.
Arkansas' increase during that time did rank third among those states, behind Louisiana and Alabama.
With the state's tourism and economic development agencies working more closely together in the state and United States, Webb sees the possibility for collaboration internationally. Delegations from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission periodically travel to the U.K., Germany and France, and "wherever they go, we'll have a representative go with them," Webb said. "It's time for us to expand and look more broadly."
Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom are the top three countries represented among Arkansas' out-of-country visitors. Japan, China, Brazil, France, Germany, India and South Korea round out the top 10.
Reaching international visitors has become increasingly easier thanks to the internet. Mobile devices are further closing the distance gap and during last week's presentation, attendees were told to expect a 122 percent increase in their use in 2017.
International travelers visiting Arkansas, according to the Travel South USA data, rose 3.61 percent last year. Growth is expected to continue for the next five years.
"Our biggest visitors are still the contiguous states," Webb said "But you can get a message out in a way you haven't before. We have so much to offer."
If you have a tip, call Chris Bahn at (501) 378-3518 or email him at
cbahn@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday Business on 09/18/2016