Susie has soccer practice three times a week, and the days in between practices are filled with dance lessons. Billy has Boy Scout meetings on Mondays and track practice during the remainder of the week. Their parents are both busy pursuing careers. For such dual-income families, the difficulties of taking off work and scheduling around activities make weeklong vacations nearly impossible.  

Families are now likely to take shorter trips, but travel more frequently, said Shawna Lode, public relations manager for Iowa Department of Economic Development, “It was a trend before [the September 2001 terrorist attacks], but now people are less likely to fly and more likely to travel as a family, to see other friends and family members,” she said.

According to the IDED’s Tourism Office, 36 percent of Iowa’s tourists in 2002 were from Iowa. The office defines a tourist as someone who travels more than 50 miles from home.

The current tourism trends are good for a state that attracts a family-oriented crowd. The interest in taking weekend trips also increases the demand for hot spots in Iowa.

“People want to learn and participate in their vacations,” Lode said.   With the completion of a few projects partially funded by the Vision Iowa program, there are more attractions to keep tourists in Iowa.

New this year is America’s River, Dubuque’s $188 million redevelopment project. The first two phases of a five-phase project will open this summer. First, the national Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium will debut in June. It will feature five aquariums and include interactive exhibits.

The next step of America’s River, the Mississippi Riverwalk area, will be completed later in the summer. River’s Edge Plaza is a 5,000-square-foot pavilion that also has a landing area for large seafaring vessels. Along the strip is a Star Brewery Amphitheatre. The actual riverwalk is part of a 44-mile trail connecting the Mississippi River to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville.

Another Vision Iowa project, The Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, opened in December 2002. Since then, the Omaha Lancers hockey team has shifted its home games to the new arena and changed its name to the River City Lancers. Concerts by popular groups such as the Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam are already on the summer schedule.

When these larger projects begin to come on line, many hotels and restaurants follow in hopes of finding a new high-growth market.

“It’s where people are going to be and one benefits another,” Lode said.     Besides new construction, some of Iowa’s gems have recently been renovated, among them:

o Reiman Gardens in Ames added a 2,500-square-foot indoor butterfly exhibit in late 2002 with butterflies from six continents.

o On May 10, the former Carnegie Library reopened as the Union Pacific Museum in Council Bluffs. The museum showcases the railroad’s $10 million collection that depicts the story of America’s West.

o The Sioux City Orpheum theater was restored in 2001 and has since hosted big names like Bob Dylan and Sheryl Crow. For summer, it has booked acts such as Jerry Seinfeld.

o The Boone *Scenic Valley Railroad recently added a diesel locomotive to the dinner train and will offer new dinner selections of prime rib and stuffed lobster.

o The Lewis and Clark interactive museum in Sioux City now allows visitors to role-play as a character on the excursion, scanning a card as they go to find out what challenges the actual person had to overcome.

o The Salisbury House in Des Moines recently opened parts of the mansion the public has not had access to in the past 40 years.

With the completions of new projects and renovations, even well-traveled Iowans will find something new to try, Lode said.

“People will still want a three-day weekend, but the challenge is having the resources available to tell people about these,” she said.