COUNCIL BLUFFS Word that Council Bluffs was named the No. 2 Iowa Tourism Community of the Year for 2011 sparked a party Friday afternoon.
Not just to celebrate the designation from the Tourism Office of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. But to salute the Council Bluffs city employees who worked to keep Council Bluffs “open for business” during a summer of Missouri River flooding.
The announcement at the Council Bluffs Convention and Visitors Bureau Friday turned into a surprise party for city workers.
“Council Bluffs was saved from a disastrous tourism season thanks to the efforts of our city personnel. Our peak tourism season was even better than last year,” said Kathy Fiscus, director of special projects for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The bureau imports taxpayers, they pay sales tax and hotel/motel taxes. Those funds support our area in many ways.”
Some of what earned Council Bluffs the No. 2 distinction:
Hotel/motel tax collections topped $2.3 million, an increase of $220,000 over last fiscal year. Lodging is a $43 million industry in Council Bluffs, one of the largest in the community, Fiscus added.
Hotel occupancy was 65.4 percent in fiscal year 2011, topping fiscal year 2010 by 2.7 percent.
The number of requests for the Council Bluffs Visitor Guide broke all previous records.
In addition, Council Bluffs has been selected to receive a Regional Sports Authority Designation from the State of Iowa. This will be the fifth year that Council Bluffs has been awarded the designation, which is designed to promote youth sports in the area.
“We wouldn’t have got these designations without the city pulling together,” Fiscus added. “And the people who did it need to hear our thanks.”
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