Tourism is booming in the Natural State. Arkansas tourism set a record for visitors to the state and the amount of tax collections generated from the state's 2% tourism tax in 2025.
Arkansas saw 54.3 million visitors to Arkansas in 2025, and those travelers spent $10.2 billion resulting in a record $26.9 million in tax collections from the state's 2% tourism tax. The calculated economic impact of this activity was $17.4 billion, according to state tourism officials who released a report from Tourism Economics.
The economic report also stated that the tourism economy in the Natural State supported nearly 72,000 direct jobs.
Shea Lewis, secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, and Dalaney Thomas, state tourism director with the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, sat down with Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Editor-in-Chief Roby Brock for a conversation.
Brock: Last year, we got a record number of visitors in the state of Arkansas, and they spent a record amount of money in Arkansas. I suspect you're feeling good about things.
Lewis: We're very excited to report the findings that were released last week and just celebrate the fact that the...
Source: https://talkbusiness.net/2026/08/executive-qa-outdoor-recreation-driving-tourism-in-arkansas/
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