Meeting Public Comments

Dave Herrell [Visit Quad Cities ]

Visit Quad Cities, a proud member of the Iowa Travel Industry Partners (iTIP) is supportive of this enabling legislation. Iowa must remain relevant and compete for increased visitation. Tourism is economic development and drives more than $11.2 billion in economic impact. Visitors in Iowa generate more than $7.5 billion in visitor spending. And 71,954 jobs are supported by tourism. Tourism Improvement Districts (TIDs) are a proven private sector solution and supplemental opportunity to increase hotel overnight stays. And every community that has just one hotel can develop a TID. TIDs will benefit both rural and larger communities and are a must for Iowa. There are 221 active TIDs in the U.S. and more states are working with their hospitality industry and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) to create them because they work. Our hospitality industry and those working every day to drive tourism need every tool in the toolbox to be competitive. Thank you for your consideration.