O'Brien County Leads State in Largest Increase in Tourism-Related Expenditures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Kiana L. Johnson
O’Brien County Economic Development Corporation
Ph.: 712.957.1313
Fax: 712.957.3015
ocedc@tcaexpress.net
www.obriencounty.com

O’Brien County Leads the State in Visitor Spending Increase

 Primghar, Iowa, October 28, 2024 – The Iowa Tourism Office released new data showing travel-generated expenditures in O’Brien County totaled $19 million last year. This was an increase of 18.7% in visitor spending over 2022 and an increase of 7.6% in total state and local taxes. This data places O’Brien as the county in Iowa with the highest growth in tourism-related spending in 2023 as compared to 2022.

The largest portion of travel-generated spending in O’Brien County was in the category of transportation at $6.0 million, an increase of $1.2 million over the previous year. Following transportation was Food & Beverage at $4.3 million and Lodging at $3.6 million, which were up from $3.5 million and $3.0 million respectively. Retail increased from $2.5 million to $2.9 million in 2023 while recreation was at $2.2 million, up from $1.9 million in 2022.

Statewide, tourism-related expenditures reached $7.3 billion in 2023, a 5.1% increase over 2022 and the first time in Iowa’s history that tourism dollars topped $7 billion. Additional data from the Tourism Economics study shows travel-generated state and local tax receipts at $1.1 billion. Tourism in Iowa also supported 70,954 jobs.

Kiana Johnson, OCEDC Executive Director and facilitator of O’Brien County Tourism stated, “O’Brien County Tourism has been working hard since 1998 to promote the unique sites and activities we have in our county. It is exciting to see the committee’s hard work pay off in such concrete numbers.”

The entire report is available at traveliowa.com.

 O’Brien County Economic Development Corporation (OCEDC) was formed to create an atmosphere conducive to growth and development in O’Brien County. O’Brien County Tourism falls under the umbrella of OCEDC and is devoted to promoting tourism and improving quality of life within O’Brien County. For additional information, contact Kiana Johnson, O’Brien County Economic Development at 712.957.1313 or e-mail ocedc@tcaexpress.net .

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