.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Iowa tourism-generated expenditures in 2006 grew 8.4 percent over 2005, outpacing the national average of 7.3 percent, Iowa Tourism Office Manager Nancy Landess announced today during the Iowa Tourism Conference in Dubuque.

Iowa’s tourism economic impact increased by $400 million, from $5.4 billion to $5.8 billion. The state’s tourism industry also increased by several other measures in 2006, according to a Travel Industry Association of America study on tourism’s impact nationwide:

– The number of tourism-related jobs in Iowa increased by 1.7 percent. More than 63,400 people are employed statewide in the industry, generating $1.02 million in payroll.

– Travel spending in the state created $290.8 million in tax receipts, an increase of 3.7 percent.

– The number of visitors increased 1.6 percent to 30.1 million. Nearly 90 percent of travelers came from Iowa and the surrounding states.

“We’re obviously thrilled with the increases,” said Landess. “It’s truly a testament to how hard our industry members work to get the word out about traveling to and around Iowa. It’s rewarding to see their efforts pay off.”

The annual three-day conference, sponsored by the Iowa Tourism Office and the Travel Federation of Iowa, brings together more than 300 industry representatives from across the state to network, attend educational sessions and discuss emerging industry trends.