HS tourism study to be presented to the public
A research report documenting the status of Hot Springs’ tourism industry from 2016 through 2018 will be presented at 3 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
This free presentation, led by Michael Erdman, senior vice president of research for Longwoods International, is open to the public.
The presentation will be held in Room 209 of the convention center.
Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, told The Sentinel-Record on Wednesday that the study is conducted every 5 years and provides an in-depth look at tourism in Hot Springs.
“We’re putting the word out early so people can get it on their schedule,” he said. “We’re also having it on a Monday because a lot of our local businesses are closed on Mondays so, by having it on a Monday afternoon, we hope a lot of our businesses will be able to make it.”
In a news release, Arrison said Longwoods International’s research project is the “largest ongoing study of American travelers. The results pertaining to Hot Springs tourism are especially vital for members of our tourism industry and should be of interest to all Hot Springs residents.”
The research will show domestic tourism numbers in Hot Springs for the years 2016-18, estimates of visitor volumes to Hot Springs, profiles of Hot Springs’ performance within its
visitor market, visitor expenditures, and profiles of day-travel visits to Hot Springs.
“I think it should be interesting to see things like VRBO and Airbnb, which we didn’t have much of five years ago,” Arrison told The Sentinel-Record. “Tourism in Hot Springs is not what it was five years ago. We have a casino now, which we didn’t have before. People are using their phones more in planning their trips.”
Erdman is chief methodologist at Longwoods International and, according to the release, has personally directed projects in 12 countries for numerous clients, including Canada, Bermuda, Hawaii, Colorado, Nova Scotia, and Denver. He has conducted hundreds of group discussions across North America.