Okoboji, Iowa — Tourism traffic in the Iowa Great Lakes area appears to have rebounded this spring, compared to the second quarter of 2020.
Hotel/motel taxes for the city of Arnolds Park this April, May and June were 52 percent higher than the same period a year ago. Milford saw a 31 percent increase in hotel/motel tax payments this spring compared to last spring. Rebecca Peters, director of Okoboji Tourism, says she wasn’t surprised by the rebound.
The City of Okoboji’s hotel/motel tax revenue for this April, May and June was up 37 percent from the spring of 2020, however it’s a few thousand dollars short of the amount collected in the pre-pandemic spring of 2019. Spirit Lake was the only city in corridor to collect more in hotel/motel taxes in the pandemic spring of 2020 compared to 2019. Peters says some of the hotel/motel tax revenue collected by cities surrounding the Great Lakes is used to promote tourism in the area.
At least half of the hotel/motel taxes collected in Arnolds Park is to be used on to build, repair or enlarge recreational, convention, cultural or entertainment facilities.
