Member Portal

MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MARKET ANALYSIS

• iTIP and the Iowa Tourism Office partnered to conduct a statewide analysis of Iowa’s meetings & conventions market potential. This project builds on iTIP’s ongoing work to position Iowa to attract a variety of visitor markets and explores how to make the state more appealing to meeting planners. Whereabout was hired to conduct this study. This study was conducted December 2024 – July 2025.
• The goals for this project were to:
  • Identify what types of meetings & conventions are a strong fit for Iowa
  • Understand infrastructure and destination development needs
  • Define messages that resonate with meeting planners
  • Recommend education and advocacy efforts to support this sector
• The final report identifies four strategic areas to grow Iowa’s meetings & conventions market. The process included supplier and planner surveys, stakeholder interviews, and industry desk research.
  • Destination Development: Invest in key facilities, improve air access, and recognize the value of location.
  • Marketing & Messaging: Tell a stronger story about Iowa’s meeting assets, highlight competitive advantages, and promote added value for attendees.
  • Collaboration & Relationships: Emphasize Iowa’s relationship-driven approach, increase visibility at trade shows, and foster coordination across agencies.
  • Advocacy & Education: Support policies and incentives that drive growth, and educate stakeholders on the economic value of meetings and conventions.
• Read the full report: Iowa Meetings & Conventions Analysis – Final (July2025)
  • Watch the webinar recording | Download the webinar slides
  • Please note: Since the webinar has aired, the consultants have edited some of the information shared. Please review the full report for the most accurate and final data.

GROUP TOUR MARKET ANALYSIS

• iTIP and the Iowa Tourism Office partnered to conduct a statewide analysis of Iowa’s group tour travel potential. This project builds on iTIP’s ongoing work to position Iowa to attract a variety of visitor markets and explores how to make the state more appealing to group travelers. Whereabout was hired to conduct this study. This study was conducted December 2024 – July 2025.
• The goals for this project were to:
  • Understand Iowa’s competitiveness in the group tour sector
  • Identify the types of group travelers most likely to be drawn to Iowa
  • Determine what messages resonate with group travel planners
  • Recommend investment strategies that support group travel growth
• The final report identifies four strategic areas to grow Iowa’s group travel market. The process included supplier and operator surveys, stakeholder interviews, and industry desk research.
  • Destination Development: Enhance group-ready experiences, tailor to traveler needs, and develop itineraries for future audiences.
  • Marketing & Messaging: Refresh Iowa’s narrative, reach emerging audiences, and strengthen trade show efforts.
  • Collaboration & Relationships: Invest in operator partnerships and foster statewide coordination.
  • Advocacy & Education: Promote group travel’s value and support policies that strengthen Iowa’s competitiveness.
• Read the full report: Iowa Group Travel Analysis – Final (July 2025)
  • Watch the webinar recording | Download the webinar slides

SPORTS MARKET ANALYSIS

• iTIP & Travel Iowa partnered to conduct a statewide analysis of Iowa’s competitive sports market. Huddle Up Group was hired to conduct this study. This study was conducted December 2023 – June 2024.
• The goals for the project were to:
  • Provide statewide data regarding Economic Impact, Facility Inventory, Sports Assets, and the overall Iowa sports market.
  • Conduct a comprehensive needs analysis to review the specific requirements, challenges, and objectives of sports in Iowa.
  • Address the unique needs of sports in Iowa.
• The final report highlights the short and long term goals of:
  • Regional Competition
  • Broaden the Definition of Sport
  • Sports Tourism Driving Facilities are Key
  • Indoor Facility (multi-sport) needed
  • Pickleball Dedicated Facility
  • Enhancing Flat Fields & Diamonds
• Read the full report: Iowa Sports Market Analysis – Final Report (June 2024)
  • Watch the webinar recording

Rental Car Determination

• When traveling, sometimes it is difficult to determine if it is more economical to rent a vehicle or drive a personal vehicle to later submit for mileage reimbursement. Use this form to help you make the determination on the best path forward.
  • Rental Car Determination Form

Program Audit

• It is important to regularly review programming to ensure it still meets the mission and goals of the organization. One way to conduct this review is through a program audit. Use this form to help your organization walk through the steps of a Program Audit.
  • Program Audit Form

Use these toolkits to help you better understand best practices and utilize the resources available to members.

• The Ultimate Visitor Guide Playbook
  • The Ultimate Visitor Guide Playbook Toolkit empowers DMOs and tourism partners with fresh strategies, practical tools, and creative ideas to craft guides that captivate travelers and showcase the best of your community.

• AI for the Tourism Professional
  • Check out this short presentation from Terry Baker of Visit Fairfield to see how she’s using AI tools to streamline content creation and boost efficiency as a one-person tourism office.

• Group Tour Preparation
  • The Group Tour Hosting Toolkit provides tourism partners with essential best practices, logistical guidance, and interactive strategies to create seamless and memorable tour experiences. The toolkit is designed for attractions, museums, restaurants, visitor centers, and other tourism-related businesses that host motorcoach groups, helping them enhance guest experiences and streamline logistics.

• Working with a DMO
  • The Working with a DMO Toolkit provides businesses with practical strategies to collaborate with their local Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) to enhance visibility and attract visitors. This resource is especially valuable for tourism-related businesses such as attractions, hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and event organizers looking to maximize their marketing reach.

• Resources for Museums
  • The Resources for Museums Toolkit offers valuable guidance on funding opportunities, marketing strategies, and operational best practices to help museums thrive. This resource is ideal for museums, historical societies, cultural institutions, and heritage sites seeking to enhance their visitor experience and sustainability.

• Low Cost Promotional Ideas For Businesses
  • The Low-Cost Promotion Ideas for Businesses Toolkit provides creative and budget-friendly marketing strategies to help businesses increase visibility and attract customers. This resource is perfect for small businesses, tourism-related organizations, retail shops, restaurants, and attractions looking to enhance their outreach without a large advertising budget.

We know we can’t all attend every tourism event. This resource is designed to share presentations from some of the conferences that colleagues have found valuable in the past. These presentations offer actionable takeaways to help you strengthen your organizations’ work.

• Accessible Tourism
  • The team at Visit Fort Dodge wanted a better way to connect with visitors, so they created an audio version of their community guide and translated it into Spanish. Learn about the relationships they built to accomplish these goals and how they made their destination more accessible. 

• Working with Content Creators
  • This presentation provides a roadmap for successful collaborations between destinations and content creators. It covers key topics such as how to initiate partnerships, best practices for hosting creators, and ways to maximize the impact of their content.

Ready-to-Use Iowa Tourism Impact Slides

• Partners are frequently invited to present on the impact of tourism, both statewide and within specific destinations. Use these slides on Iowa’s statewide tourism impact to enhance your presentations—no need to reinvent the wheel!
• Download the slides from Google Drive to the format you use.

Grant Resources from Iowa Arts Council

• Listing of programs & explanations
• Grant Writing Tips

Welcoming New Employees Resource from Groups Today

• In these ever-changing times, many people are changing industries, in addition to welcoming less-experienced folks to their teams. With all these revolving doors, it’s important to remember all the considerations that should go into bringing a new employee onboard. Groups Today put together a toolkit to assist with on-boarding of a new employee (the document says “group tours” but it is generic for the entire hospitality industry).
• Download the resource

Iowa Department of Education – Career Pathways

• There are lots of career opportunities in Iowa in fields such as information technology, advanced manufacturing and the building trades. But lack of information about these careers has led to shortages in a skilled workforce. The Iowa Department of Education has taken on the task of developing a series of Career Pathways. In 2022, members of industry associations (including iTIP) and hospitality leaders partnered with the Iowa Department of Education to develop the Opportunities in Hospitality & Tourism: Iowa Career Pathways resource. Use this document to share with students to highlight the different career pathways available within the hospitality industry as a whole.
• Download the Opportunities in Hospitality & Tourism: Iowa Career Pathways.
• Download the presentation to understand why a Career Pathway.