Arkansas State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission Report
Below is a synopsis of the Arkansas State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission meeting held July 19-20, 2007 at Fayetteville, Arkansas.
State Parks Division:
Land Acquisitions
The commission gave final approval for priority land acquisitions at Historic Washington State Park, Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area, Jacksonport, Lake Poinsett and the Ozark Folk Center State Parks. These projects had been tentatively approved by the commission and had received final approval by the Department of Finance and Administration, Governor Mike Beebe, and the Arkansas Legislative Council. For more information, contact Connie Gardner or Rex Friedman at (501) 682-1633.
Permit with Arkansas Forestry Commission
The staff recommendation to enter into a Use Permit Agreement with the Arkansas Forestry Commission was approved. The agreement will provide a small area for establishment of the Lincoln Country Work Center and will provide numerous benefits to Cane Creek State Park. For more information, contact Greg Butts at (501) 682-7743.
Fees and Rates
The commission received the proposed preliminary recommendations for state park fees and rates for 2008. The proposed recommendations will be reviewed and considered at the August commission meeting. The recommendations will be opened for public review after the August meeting with final public comments at the September meeting. In September, the commission will make final adjustments and approval of the 2008 fees and rates. For more information, contact Greg Butts at (501) 682-7743.
Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area Groundbreaking
A groundbreaking ceremony was held July 20 for the 17,531-square-foot Visitor Center at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area. Dignitaries and speakers were John Sampier, Friends of Hobbs; Mark Clippinger, park superintendent; Morriss Henry, former state senator; David Pryor, former Governor and U.S. Senator; Kaneaster Hodges, former U.S. Senator; Tim Snell, associate state director of The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas; Richard W. Davies, executive director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism; and, Wade Williams, State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commissioner.
The $3.9 million facility is slated to open in the fall of 2008. It will serve a key role in welcoming park visitors and students to this 12,045-acre state park-conservation area. Featuring state-of-the-art exhibits and classroom/meeting space, the building will also house a gift shop and the park’s administrative offices. For more information, contact the park at (479) 789-2380.
Tourism Division:
Regional Tourism Association Sub-Committee Meeting
Commissioner Wade Williams reported that the committee formed to re-evaluate the regional tourism promotional program met for the first time on July 18, and it plans to assess and update the current mission of the program. A questionnaire will be sent to each regional association to seek input on what issues are most important. For more information, contact Donna Perrin at (501) 682-1926.
Embassy Suites Addition
Scott Beal, Director of Sales, reported that on July 16 the Embassy Suites Hotel in Rogers announced the opening of 152-suite hotel tower which adjoins the existing hotel. The expanded property now offers 400 suites and is Arkansas’s largest all-suite property. New additions also include the Spa Botanica.
Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
The commission voted to support $50,000 in advertising for the upcoming LPGA tournament in Rogers. The tournament will be Sept. 3-9, and presented by John Q. Hammons at Pinnacle Country Club. The week-long championship will include a variety of community events, Pro-Am play and three days of LPGA competition.
The commission also voted to support $100,000 in advertising for the Ft. Smith’s Professional Golf Association Nationwide Tournament. The event will take place in spring of 2008.
Marketing Pieces
The Fall/Winter print version of the Calendar of Events was sent to the printer last week. The form for Spring/Summer events has just gone out to industry members interested in having their events included in that booklet. For more information, contact Donna Perrin at (501) 682-1926.
The eighth edition of Living in Arkansas, the state’s relocation and retirement guide, is now available. Arkansas native and Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen graces the cover. For more information, contact Donna Perrin at (501) 682-1926.
Information Requests/Welcome Centers
Requests for information about retirement and relocation are down so far this year as compared to last. Welcome Center visitation is also down slightly as well. The Blytheville Welcome Center site work is expected to begin in two weeks. For more information, contact Joanne Hinson, Research & Information Services manager, at (501) 324-1520.
Geocaching
Communications Manager Jana Greenbaum reported that in a Web site search for geocaching plus tourism plus Arkansas, the state comes up in the top three listings and also at number nine. Greenbaum reported that the state’s geocaching program has seen much success thus far regarding Web presence, media pick-ups and visitation to the cache sites.
"Cache in with The Natural State" is a geocaching program the tourism division began in January. Each month, state caches are placed throughout Arkansas with the GPS coordinates for each made available through www.Arkansas.com and www.geocaching.com. For more information, contact Jana Greenbaum at (501) 682-7606.
Web site Update
The new Arkansas.com Web site redesign was launched on June 27.
Aristotle reported that Arkansas.com ranked within the top 200 "Travel-Destinations and Accommodation" Web sites, reaching rank of 119 for the month of May, 2007. The Web site also experienced a rise of 577 places in "All Sites" during May 2007 to become the 8,125th most visited Web site for U.S. internet users.
Arkansas.com ranked 4th in visits in the "All 50 State Tourism Sites" online industry of the 50 Web sites that were ranked by Hitwise for May 2007. Among contiguous state tourism sites - Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, and Louisiana - Arkansas ranks first.
The Arkansas Web site received an average of 55.11 percent of its upstream traffic from search engines over the past six months. The top referring search engines for the month of May were "Google," "Yahoo! Search" and "MSN Search."
The "Motorcycle Adventure – Let’s Ride" PDF was the top download in May with 4,657.
Advertising/Marketing Report
The "See Arkansas First" and the "Amazed by Arkansas" campaigns are well underway and receiving positive feedback.
The reprint of the Heritage and Civil Rights Pathways in Arkansas brochure is complete. The information has been updated, new photography has been added and a commemorative "wrap" was added to 25,000 of the 75,000 copies printed.
State Parks Division:
Land Acquisitions
The commission gave final approval for priority land acquisitions at Historic Washington State Park, Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area, Jacksonport, Lake Poinsett and the Ozark Folk Center State Parks. These projects had been tentatively approved by the commission and had received final approval by the Department of Finance and Administration, Governor Mike Beebe, and the Arkansas Legislative Council. For more information, contact Connie Gardner or Rex Friedman at (501) 682-1633.
Permit with Arkansas Forestry Commission
The staff recommendation to enter into a Use Permit Agreement with the Arkansas Forestry Commission was approved. The agreement will provide a small area for establishment of the Lincoln Country Work Center and will provide numerous benefits to Cane Creek State Park. For more information, contact Greg Butts at (501) 682-7743.
Fees and Rates
The commission received the proposed preliminary recommendations for state park fees and rates for 2008. The proposed recommendations will be reviewed and considered at the August commission meeting. The recommendations will be opened for public review after the August meeting with final public comments at the September meeting. In September, the commission will make final adjustments and approval of the 2008 fees and rates. For more information, contact Greg Butts at (501) 682-7743.
Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area Groundbreaking
A groundbreaking ceremony was held July 20 for the 17,531-square-foot Visitor Center at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area. Dignitaries and speakers were John Sampier, Friends of Hobbs; Mark Clippinger, park superintendent; Morriss Henry, former state senator; David Pryor, former Governor and U.S. Senator; Kaneaster Hodges, former U.S. Senator; Tim Snell, associate state director of The Nature Conservancy of Arkansas; Richard W. Davies, executive director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism; and, Wade Williams, State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commissioner.
The $3.9 million facility is slated to open in the fall of 2008. It will serve a key role in welcoming park visitors and students to this 12,045-acre state park-conservation area. Featuring state-of-the-art exhibits and classroom/meeting space, the building will also house a gift shop and the park’s administrative offices. For more information, contact the park at (479) 789-2380.
Tourism Division:
Regional Tourism Association Sub-Committee Meeting
Commissioner Wade Williams reported that the committee formed to re-evaluate the regional tourism promotional program met for the first time on July 18, and it plans to assess and update the current mission of the program. A questionnaire will be sent to each regional association to seek input on what issues are most important. For more information, contact Donna Perrin at (501) 682-1926.
Embassy Suites Addition
Scott Beal, Director of Sales, reported that on July 16 the Embassy Suites Hotel in Rogers announced the opening of 152-suite hotel tower which adjoins the existing hotel. The expanded property now offers 400 suites and is Arkansas’s largest all-suite property. New additions also include the Spa Botanica.
Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
The commission voted to support $50,000 in advertising for the upcoming LPGA tournament in Rogers. The tournament will be Sept. 3-9, and presented by John Q. Hammons at Pinnacle Country Club. The week-long championship will include a variety of community events, Pro-Am play and three days of LPGA competition.
The commission also voted to support $100,000 in advertising for the Ft. Smith’s Professional Golf Association Nationwide Tournament. The event will take place in spring of 2008.
Marketing Pieces
The Fall/Winter print version of the Calendar of Events was sent to the printer last week. The form for Spring/Summer events has just gone out to industry members interested in having their events included in that booklet. For more information, contact Donna Perrin at (501) 682-1926.
The eighth edition of Living in Arkansas, the state’s relocation and retirement guide, is now available. Arkansas native and Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen graces the cover. For more information, contact Donna Perrin at (501) 682-1926.
Information Requests/Welcome Centers
Requests for information about retirement and relocation are down so far this year as compared to last. Welcome Center visitation is also down slightly as well. The Blytheville Welcome Center site work is expected to begin in two weeks. For more information, contact Joanne Hinson, Research & Information Services manager, at (501) 324-1520.
Geocaching
Communications Manager Jana Greenbaum reported that in a Web site search for geocaching plus tourism plus Arkansas, the state comes up in the top three listings and also at number nine. Greenbaum reported that the state’s geocaching program has seen much success thus far regarding Web presence, media pick-ups and visitation to the cache sites.
"Cache in with The Natural State" is a geocaching program the tourism division began in January. Each month, state caches are placed throughout Arkansas with the GPS coordinates for each made available through www.Arkansas.com and www.geocaching.com. For more information, contact Jana Greenbaum at (501) 682-7606.
Web site Update
The new Arkansas.com Web site redesign was launched on June 27.
Aristotle reported that Arkansas.com ranked within the top 200 "Travel-Destinations and Accommodation" Web sites, reaching rank of 119 for the month of May, 2007. The Web site also experienced a rise of 577 places in "All Sites" during May 2007 to become the 8,125th most visited Web site for U.S. internet users.
Arkansas.com ranked 4th in visits in the "All 50 State Tourism Sites" online industry of the 50 Web sites that were ranked by Hitwise for May 2007. Among contiguous state tourism sites - Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, and Louisiana - Arkansas ranks first.
The Arkansas Web site received an average of 55.11 percent of its upstream traffic from search engines over the past six months. The top referring search engines for the month of May were "Google," "Yahoo! Search" and "MSN Search."
The "Motorcycle Adventure – Let’s Ride" PDF was the top download in May with 4,657.
Advertising/Marketing Report
The "See Arkansas First" and the "Amazed by Arkansas" campaigns are well underway and receiving positive feedback.
The reprint of the Heritage and Civil Rights Pathways in Arkansas brochure is complete. The information has been updated, new photography has been added and a commemorative "wrap" was added to 25,000 of the 75,000 copies printed.
Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-682-7606
E-mail: info@arkansas.com
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"