Advocacy

iTIP’s advocacy efforts focus on identifying key issues, creating meaningful public/private coalitions, empowering members, and engaging in advocacy events and programming at the local, state, and federal levels.

Legislative Spotlight 2024: Week 13

04/08/2024

Advocate to Preserve Tourism Funding

04/01/2024

Legislative Spotlight 2024: Week 12

03/29/2024

2025 Legislative Priorities

Promote Tourism through User-Funded Enhancements
- Support initiatives that allow for self-sustaining user fees to invest in and improve tourism destinations across Iowa.
  - A Tourism Improvement District (TID) is a mechanism for funding tourism activities that
    are managed and desired by property owners that can be passed on to the tourist. (Learn more about TIDs)
Maintain Consistent Tourism Funding
- Advocate for preserving current tourism line items in the state budget to ensure continued growth and development in the industry.
- Funding is distributed through projects such as Destination Iowa, Community Attraction & Tourism (CAT), Regional Sports Authority Districts, Meet in Iowa, and Inspire Iowa to name a few. These funding disbursements are tracked via the five tourism areas.
Maintain Iowa’s Summer Tourism Season
- Safeguard the current school start date of August 23 and explore options to enhance summer, benefiting tourism statewide. (Economic impacts of school start date change)
Fund the Major Tourism Attraction Fund
- Secure ongoing support for the Major Tourism Attraction Fund to boost large-scale tourism projects that enhance Iowa’s appeal.

Download the 2025 leave behind for elected officials (Tourism Impact Snapshot).

Printed copies of the brochure can be mailed to you by contacting clerud@iowatravelindustry.org.

The focus of iTIP's Advocacy efforts:

Advocating for the travel and tourism industry and the many sectors connected to Iowa’s visitor economy is a mission critical focus for iTIP. The organization works to strengthen relationships and reinforce tourism’s value with the Governor’s Administration, Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), elected leadership, state agencies, industry stakeholders, and all Iowans. Furthermore, iTIP strategically monitors and advocates for policy and legislative issues that impact the tourism industry both domestically and internationally, as necessary.

Staying in the loop with the work of industry organizations such as the American Bus Association, U.S. Travel Association, and Destinations International, iTIP is the leader in understanding Iowa policy issues that will continue to shape current and future industry policy.