Shorter vacations benefited Iowa tourism spots

It was January of 2008 when Julie Fillenwarth started getting the phone calls.

Some of the longtime customers of Fillenwarth Beach Resort in the Okoboji area - travelers Fillenwarth knew well after their decades of vacationing there - told her that they would not be coming for their annual summer getaway.

Some had lost their jobs. Others, their homes.

"We were crying with them on the other end of the phone," Fillenwarth said.

The recession had struck.

But Fillenwarth, a manager at the family-run lakefront resort on West Lake Okoboji, said many of the room reservations canceled in 2008 were filled by newcomers who decided to stay closer to home.

It was a welcome, albeit bittersweet, opportunity.

"We did OK, but it just wasn't the same," she said.

The recession has in some ways spared locations like Fillenwarth Beach Resort as more travelers look to area destinations for their getaways.

Regional tourists have filled the gaps left by those who could not afford to travel and increased overall statewide tourism expenditures, even as they have whittled down the length of their vacations.

But despite the upward trend, Iowa continues to be significantly outspent in tourism marketing by surrounding states.

It is a pattern, some local tourism officials say, that will leave the state's many small towns with scant resources to generate more tourism.

More tourism dollars, but shorter vacations

Annual travel expenditures in Iowa increased 2.2 percent to $6.4 billion in 2008, according to the Iowa Tourism Office. The 2009 figures will be available in October.

Nancy Landess, manager of the Iowa Tourism Office, said trends during the recession have been favorable to Iowa tourism overall.

"People are staying closer to home, taking shorter trips. People are looking for value," she said.

The Okoboji area experienced about a 4 percent decrease last year, said Stacy Rosemore, tourism director for the Okoboji Tourism Committee.

"Overall, we didn't see the impact like lots of places. We're fortunately in an area where we're a short drive for several major cities," she said.

The region, which includes 34 resorts and lodging facilities, tends to draw from Omaha and Lincoln, Neb., Des Moines, Sioux Falls, S.D., and southwest Minnesota.

Throughout the Okoboji area, Rosemore said the soaring gas prices forced travelers who typically go on trips farther away to stay in the area.

And she said travelers have been watching their dollars carefully, particularly by cutting back the length of their vacations.

Meanwhile, the recession has taken a serious toll at larger, national tourism destinations.

Keith Rahe, director of the Dubuque Convention and Visitors Bureau, said occupancy rates in Orlando, Fla., were off more than 20 percent last year and that many popular destinations around that state experienced considerable declines.

But he said Dubuque and the tri-state area had a strong fourth quarter to end last year, and has benefited from a diverse market.

"For the most part, we're holding our own. Occupancy is down a little bit, but we do have more rooms on the market now," Rahe said, noting the refurbished Hotel Julien Dubuque downtown and the Holiday Inn Express on the city's West End.

At the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Jerry Enzler said numbers have been up two years in a row, which he said is partly attributable to families looking for more activities to do together.

"We do know there is a desire to take shorter trips and do more things as a family," said Enzler, executive director of the museum.

Gene LaDoucer, spokesman for AAA North Dakota, agreed that the Midwest has benefited from tourism trends in recent years while larger destinations have faced losses.

AAA has not released its projections for the upcoming year; however LaDoucer said the economy is stabilizing and customer confidence is on the rise.

"The positives are the pent-up demand we've had over the last couple years when people cut back on travel. We expect to see some increased interest in travel and tourism across the United States," he said.

But even as travelers are more willing to dig into their pockets to spend, LaDoucer said sustained high unemployment rates and gas prices will mean some declines overall.

Outspent in the Midwest

Landess remains confident that the state's tourism figures will not decline as the recession ends, but acknowledged that Iowa's budget is significantly surpassed by surrounding states.

Iowa has $3.9 million in the budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, which includes the 10 percent budget cuts throughout state government.

By comparison, Minnesota's 2009 tourism budget was $10.7 million, Wisconsin was $15.1 million and Illinois was $50.3 million.

"The budget continues to be a challenge," said Landess, who said the state office will keep looking for partnerships with other entities around the state to enhance marketing efforts.

This summer the tourism office is partnering with the Iowa Lottery, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, to offer prizes at various events.

Iowa's out-of-state marketing currently is targeted in the Chicago and Minneapolis markets.

But Rahe noted that other states putting more money into marketing efforts is putting additional pressure on Iowa's smaller communities.

Megan Lickness, assistant director of the Dyersville Area Chamber of Commerce, said Dyersville benefits from high-profile attractions in the area, like The Field of Dreams movie site, and proximity to Dubuque, but the smaller budget does represent problems for small towns.

"We rely heavily on grant programs from the state and government entities to be able to market our communities," she said.

Lickness said local tourism officials are under pressure to come up with creative ways to market their areas, but she has a positive outlook.

"We're expecting better things for 2010 than we saw in 2009. We look forward to this upcoming season," Lickness said.

Rosemore agrees.

She is projecting an increase from last year's dropoff based on the call volume to her office in recent weeks. Some resort owners she has worked with have been "pleasantly surprised" with the number of reservations they have received so far.

And Fillenwarth said more longtime visitors are renewing their plans to come back to the resort this summer.

She looks at the difficulties of the recent years as beneficial in the long run.

"We have to look at this as a blessing any way we can," Fillenwarth said.

"It's fun to be here doing business here. We have a beautiful lake. I love it when the guests appreciate it, too."