DES MOINES — With so much happening in central Iowa over the summer, Local 5 is taking a look at some of the attendance and tourist totals compiled by city leaders.
While the Iowa State Fair announced that 2019 set an attendance record with over 1.1 million people, the Blank Park Zoo also says they saw an increase in attendance.
“We had a really good summer,” said Blank Park Zoo CEO Mark Vukovich. “Babies in our world are always better than advertising.”
Summer attraction numbers (from Memorial Day to Labor Day)
| Blank Park Zoo | Science Center of Iowa | |
| 2014 | 225,461 | N/A |
| 2015 | 261,427 | N/A |
| 2016 | 250,468 | 55,832 |
| 2017 | 256,473 | 56,703 |
| 2018 | 257,242 | 63,766 |
| 2019 | 269,473 | 59,404 |
“20 years ago, if you looked at downtown, it was not as vibrant as it is today,” said Catch Des Moines CEO Greg Edwards.
Edwards also noted that hotels in the downtown Des Moines area are running in the mid-to-high 70 percent range for occupancy.