Iowa’s welcoming travelers from neighboring states in what may be the best possible way — with some free gas. State tourism spokeswoman Tonja Richards says the idea of giving out fifty-dollar gasoline gift cards actually came up nearly a year before the current surge in prices.
May is tourism month, and she says they couldn’t think of a better way to promote it than to give out gas cards. One will be given away at each of the state’s 20 Welcome Centers, and three more on-line to people who register at “Travel-Iowa-dot-com.” Another project is partnering with the Iowa Department of Transportation.
To celebrate the fiftieth year of the interstate transportation system, Richards says they’ll be giving away car air fresheners in the shape of Iowa. She says after a very short deliberation, they decided to have them scented with…citrus. She says there’s a lot of information on the tourism website, “Travel Iowa-dot-com,” and she says they like to give people a little reminder to thank them for traveling Iowa.
People are still going to travel, she says, because they value their vacations. Richards says they’re probably going to take shorter but more frequent trips and usually come from the five-state area surrounding us. Richards says it’s not yet clear how gas prices will hit Iowa tourism attractions, but says so far the Iowa Tourism Bureau is still seeing strong travel to tourist stops in this state.
Related web sites:
Iowa Tourism website