Iowa’s tourism industry is showing signs of sustained momentum in 2026, with strong lodging performance and steady demand for events and leisure travel across the state, according to state and local tourism leaders.

That momentum is reflected not only in recent lodging data, but also in the broader scale of the industry. According to the 2024 Economic Impact Report, the most recent available data, Iowa welcomed 46.1 million visitors in 2024 who spent $7.5 billion across the state, generating a total economic impact of $11.2 billion and supporting nearly 72,000 jobs.

“I think since 2020 and kind of that pandemic recovery period, I think we’re in a period of more sustained momentum now,” said Amy Zeigler, tourism manager for Travel Iowa.

Recent lodging data is one of the indicators pointing to that trend.

“This past February, Iowa actually had its strongest February performance of some of our key lodging data since the pandemic,” Zeigler said. “So for example, the statewide occupancy rate in hotels this past February was the highest since 2020, which was our last normal month before the pandemic, and we have the highest February average daily rate and revenue tracking since we began tracking all of this statewide data in 2011.

“… I think we are really starting to see some increased tourism, and we’re really sustaining that momentum going forward.”

That growth is tied in part to broader shifts in how people are traveling.

“Nationally, some of the tourism trends that we’re seeing revolve around slow travel, road trips and wellness trips, and nostalgia-driven trips, which is awesome because all of those play to Iowa’s strength,” Zeigler said. 

Those trends are influencing not just where people go, but how they experience destinations.

“A lot of leisure travelers are kind of going away from the itinerary, jam-packed kind of travel and are being much more flexible and traveling based on vibes rather than having a strict itinerary,” Zeigler said.

Those preferences align with many of Iowa’s existing tourism assets, particularly in outdoor recreation and rural experiences.

“I think specifically outdoor recreation and trails is a really big driver for Iowa and for just leisure travelers in general,” she said. “We like to say that Iowa is the world capital of trails.”

Communities across the state have continued to invest in those assets, expanding beyond traditional biking infrastructure into mountain biking, paddling and whitewater recreation.

“Places like Mason City, [which] just opened a mountain bike park last fall. Mountain biking at Whiterock Conservancy. Places like Decorah, really strong in mountain biking,” Zeigler said. “Paddling and whitewater trails are also something that is really growing in Iowa.”

In addition to outdoor recreation, Zeigler said agritourism is a growing area of focus.

“I think agritourism is a huge one,” she said. “It is so authentically Iowa, and it’s also what those leisure travelers are looking for, connecting with nature and the land, kind of getting off the beaten path. I think there’s a lot of people who are looking to give their kids the experience that maybe they had growing up that isn’t necessarily part of day-to-day-life anymore.”

One new initiative allows people to visit a farmers market or working farm with a chef, collect ingredients and enjoy a multicourse meal prepared by the chef.

While Iowa’s core visitor base has historically come from nearby states, there are indications that interest is expanding, Zeigler said.

“We are seeing a lot more interest from travelers from the coast and some further-away places for the agritourism aspect of things,” she said.

At the state level, tourism is also viewed as part of a broader economic development strategy.

“Tourism marketing strategy at its core is to attract visitors from outside of your area,” Zeigler said. “We want people outside of the state to come and spend money here, and that revenue generation and the influx of money from people outside of our residents is why tourism is such a key part of a successful economic development strategy.”

Tourism can also support long-term population goals. 

“Specifically at IEDA, we’re also carrying up our tourism marketing with our talent attraction marketing because we know you’re much more likely to consider moving somewhere after you have visited,” Zeigler said. 

In Greater Des Moines, those statewide trends are reflected in local performance and planning.

“So far in 2026, things are strong,” said Trina Flack, president and CEO of Catch Des Moines. “We have solid occupancy. Our average daily rate is up. We’re consistent with the number of events and looking into our spring/summer season, which is always really strong, so the outlook is good.”

Flack emphasized that maintaining that good performance requires ongoing effort.

“It takes work to create tourism,” she said. “It’s a constant cycle of needing to attract new visitors, new events.”

Flack also emphasized the economic impact of visitors and tourism. While Catch Des Moines is measured or funded with a hotel/motel tax, Flack said that is just one piece of the economic impact. 

“You look at the restaurant scene in Greater Des Moines and what traffic is and what margins are and what costs are, and that small-business owner that’s in Valley Junction or the East Village or the District of Ankeny, and those visitors make up such a significant portion of that traffic. And if that doesn’t exist, we’re hurting our businesses, we’re hurting our employees, we’re hurting kind of that overall local economy.”

Catch Des Moines focuses heavily on attracting the next visitor, Flack added, and has a team dedicated to always trying to find the next event. 

That includes pursuing conventions, meetings and sporting events, as well as marketing to leisure travelers in regional markets.

Youth and amateur sports continue to be one of the strongest growth areas.

“That market is one of our strongest markets, and it continues to have significant demand,” she said.

Investments in facilities have helped the region compete for larger events.

“We’re able to compete on a level that five years ago, 10 years ago, we weren’t able to,” Flack said.

Those investments support large-scale events that bring visitors to the region.

“As we look forward to July and August of this year, when we host the AAU Junior Olympics, that event doesn’t work unless we’ve got multiple facilities and the capacity to host thousands and thousands,” Flack said, estimating that 13,000 to 15,000 athletes will compete. 

Flack also emphasized the connection between tourism and long-term community growth.

“Somebody who’s going to move here or have a business here, they have to be a visitor first,” she said. “So this is our gateway into kind of everything else that’s important to our community, and things that attract our visitors also attract our residents. There’s a ton of overlap.”

Both Zeigler and Flack said the industry continues to operate in a highly competitive environment.

“Travel is a really crowded marketplace,” Zeigler said. “Travelers have just an infinite number of choices.”

Flack said the structure of demand has also shifted in recent years, particularly in business travel.

“The way that business travel impacts our community is different than what it was pre-COVID,” she said. “… Whereas we used to see this pretty solid base of corporate weekday travel into our hotel occupancy, that no longer exists. That just puts added pressure on the importance of events, the importance of that leisure traveler.” 

Looking ahead, both leaders pointed to continued investment and collaboration as important factors in sustaining growth.

“I think that success as we look ahead, one is that our community continues to work together,” Flack said. “The reason that we’ve been able to secure the NCAA Tournament, National Senior Games, National Speech and Debate, AAU, any number of events, is because we have so many entities and communities that are willing to find a way to say yes and figure out how to make that happen.”

Zeigler noted Iowa’s positioning in key travel trends as an opportunity moving forward.

“I think as Iowans, we tend to think, ‘Oh, we’re not a tourism destination,’ and we’re very humble in what we have,” she said. “But I think we have a real opportunity right now because we have the product that people are looking for from a leisure travel perspective.”