DES MOINES, Iowa — For the week of July 25 through August 1, Travel Iowa is encouraging people to get out and travel the state.
That week is being called "family week" because different high school associations canceled their activities so families could explore.
The associations that canceled their activities are Iowa High School Athletic Association, the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, the Iowa High School Music Association and the Iowa High School Speech Association.
"So our tourism industry is rebounding," Jessica O'Riley, the tourism communications manager for Travel Iowa, said. "We're up over 2020, but not yet to 2019 numbers. So, in addition to creating lifelong memories with their children, this is a great opportunity for people to support those tourist attractions and destinations, that are the lifeblood of our economy."
O'Riley noted Travel Iowa does not know how much travel has increased this year over last year.
But, according to a travel survey by AAA, "67% of Iowans have already or plan to take at least one vacation this year," Meredith Mitts, a public affairs specialist with AAA Minnesota-Iowa, said. "That’s up 19 percentage points from the 48% who said they traveled last year.
For the ones planning to hit Iowa's roadways, O'Riley said they can use the itineraries found on their website for things to do.
Some places the website has listed are Woodland Cemetery and Easter Lake. When someone visits these locations, Travel Iowa said people should take a picture of their location and post it on social media with a certain hashtag.
"Our key hashtag is this is Iowa, "O'Riley said. "It's a great way for people who maybe aren't familiar with the state to see what other people are out and about doing."
She also said using that hashtag could potentially come with a nice prize.
"The #ThisIsIowa, there is a nice opportunity to be featured on our social channels," O'Riley said. "If they use hashtag year of the road trip they might score a gift card."
O'Riley also said Travel Iowa has other activities on their website for people to check out.
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