Iowa investing in rural tourism
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By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The Ringgold County Development Corporation hosted an event by the Iowa Tourism Office, which is a part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The event was held last Tuesday at the Ringgold County Senior Center.
The Iowa Tourism Office’s mission is to elevate Iowa’s unique visitor experiences and hidden gems to inspire travel, create lasting memories, and strengthen the state’s economy. They work collaboratively to lead, unify and promote Iowa to travelers through brand strategy, media outreach and industry research.
The tourism office dispatched senior tourism liaison Stephani Neppl to make a presentation to a few of the members of the Mount Ayr Chamber of Commerce and a few area business owners, along with Nichole McGinnis, (Ringgold County Development Authority Director).
Neppl gave a power point presentation outlining the data that the tourism office was able to gather on behalf of Ringgold County. Through a sophisticated combination of cell phone tower tracking and SIC tracking (standard industrial classification) the tourism office is able to accurately estimate the amount of dollars being spent in the county and what the expenditures are connected to.
This type of data mining is important when trying to fashion targeted marketing designed to attract out of state travelers and invite them to visit out county.
The combination of centralized information along with an aggressive event planning calendar organized by community businesses and the Ringgold County Business Development leadership, should be able to attract more visitors to the area and subsequently stimulate local spending that is so vital for a community to thrive.
The Iowa Tourism Office publishes a number of guides throughout the year as well as a continually updated website that enables visitors to see what is available before they arrive in and around Ringgold County.
Neppl brought along copies of the Travel Iowa 2026 travel guide outlining the various attractions, parks, restaurants and shopping opportunities located around Ringgold County, as well as a number of other counties in Iowa.
McGinnis will likely spearhead the efforts to expand Ringgold County’s tourism potential through a series of outreach programs via their own web site and social media sites.
The Iowa Tourism Office web address is Traveliowa.com.
