More Cars And Pets In Arkansas Welcome Centers

More vehicles with more people in them are stopping at the Arkansas Welcome Centers, according to internal research presented to the State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission during their monthly meeting.

There are 13 Arkansas Welcome Centers located at strategic points of entry to the state. An additional Welcome Center, housed in the central office in Little Rock, serves the dual purpose of being the reception area for the department as well as a centrally-located center.

Arkansas Welcome Centers serve the vehicles by offering a brief respite to travelers. Travel Consultants promote tourism in Arkansas by sharing their wealth of knowledge about state attractions. Each Welcome Center offers free coffee and WiFi.

The total number of vehicles stopping at Arkansas State Welcome Centers increased 14.15% compared to July 2014. The total number of visitors increased greatly, 46.31% from July 2014. The ratio of travelers to vehicles saw a slight increase with an average of 2.63 visitors per vehicle in July 2015 versus 2.50 visitors per vehicle in July 2014.

Many are bringing their pets with them. The Red River Welcome Center had the highest percentage of pets in vehicles at 22.6%. Helena-West Helena had the fewest at 3.4%.

The overall number of inquiries for vacation planning guides was down 36% in July 2015 as compared to July 2014. But the calendar year to date in 2015 is up 37.71% over last year.