Arkansas Tourism Ticker: Tourism tax revenue, job numbers set new records

Arkansas’ travel and tourism sector posted healthy revenue and job gains in 2022 compared with 2021, even when factoring in inflation. The state’s 2% tourism tax set a new record in 2022.

Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax revenue in 2022 was $24.049 million, up 17% compared with the $20.544 million in 2021. Revenue set a new monthly record in June of $2.528 million, with collections for each month topping $1 million for the first time.

The state’s 2% tourism tax revenue fell almost 23% in 2020 and fell to levels not seen since 2014. 2019 set several records for the sector in terms of hospitality tax revenue and job gains and marked the fifth consecutive year of growth as measured by the Arkansas Tourism Ticker.

Full-year 2022 hospitality tax collections among the 17 cities surveyed for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker were up 14.7% compared with 2021, and up 36.6% compared with pre-pandemic 2019.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, U.S. lodging prices were up 8.5% between January 2022 and January 2023. Prices in the “food away from home” category was up 8.3% in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Arkansas Tourism Ticker is managed by Talk Business & Politics, and sponsored by the Arkansas Hospitality Association. The ticker uses the following three measurements to review the health of the state’s tourism industry.
• Hospitality tax collections – prepared food tax and lodging tax – of 17 Arkansas cities (cities listed below along with collections for each city);
• Tourism sector employment numbers as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; and
• Collections of Arkansas’ 2% statewide tourism tax.

Results for the  2022 Tourism Ticker report are:
• 14.7% increase
Hospitality tax revenue in 2022 among 17 Arkansas cities reviewed for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker compared with 2021

• 17% increase
Collections of Arkansas’ 2% statewide tourism tax in 2022 compared with the same period in 2021

• 6% increase
Gain in monthly average of Arkansas’ tourism industry jobs in 2022 compared with the same period in 2021

The combined hospitality tax collections in the 17 cities totaled $65.979 million in 2022, up 14.7% compared with the $57.537 million in 2021. Collections were also up 23.3% above the $53.491 million in pre-pandemic 2019.

Monthly average tourism sector jobs in 2022 was 122,800, up 6% compared with 115,800 in 2021. The sector reached record monthly employment of 125,700 in November. The sector began 2023 by setting a new record of 127,800 jobs in January.

Link here for a PDF of the full 2022 Arkansas Tourism Ticker.