Arkansas Tourism Ticker: 2% tourism tax revenue again sets a record in 2024

Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax revenue between January and December 2024 was a record $26.661 million, up 4.77% compared with the $25.446 million in the same period of 2023. The December revenue of $1.616 million set a new record for the month.

A record for monthly 2% collections was set in June with $2.839 million.

The 2% tourism tax revenue in 2023 was $25.446 million, up 5.8% compared with the $24.049 million in 2022. Revenue in each month of 2023 set a new record, with those gains compared to record numbers in 2023.

January-December hospitality tax collections among 17 cities surveyed for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker were up 4.4% compared with the same period in 2023. All 17 cities posted year-over-year gains.

The Arkansas Tourism Ticker is managed by Talk Business & Politics, and sponsored by the Arkansas Hospitality Association and the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. 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 January-December 2024 Tourism Ticker report are:
• 4.4% increase
Hospitality tax revenue in January-December 2024 among 17 Arkansas cities reviewed for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker compared with the same period in 2023

• 4.77% increase
Collections of Arkansas’ 2% statewide tourism tax in January-December 2024 compared with the same period in 2023

• 1.65%
Gain in the monthly average of Arkansas’ tourism industry jobs in January-December 2024 compared with the same period in 2023

Link here for the PDF of the Arkansas Tourism Ticker January-December 2024.