Fairfield visitors’ bureau reflects on productive year of attracting tourists

FAIRFIELD — Terry Baker of Visit Fairfield Iowa delivered her annual report to the Fairfield City Council Monday, Aug. 28, and went through the highlights in tourism during the past year.

Among the most significant changes this past year was the visitors’ bureau moving into a new office space at 107 N. Main Street in May. That was followed by the bureau launching a new community events calendar at fairfield365.com just a few months later. Baker said that the calendar’s events will eventually be incorporated into the bureau’s website at visitfairfieldiowa.com so that the two sites will “cross pollinate each other.”

Baker talked about one of the ways of promoting tourism in Fairfield and Jefferson County is to host travel writers. In May, the bureau hosted six writers, some of whom write for blogs and others who write for travel magazines. She organized a tour for them so they could enjoy the city’s top restaurants and take in all its sights and sounds.

“We gave them a FAM tour, which is short for familiarization tour,” Baker said. “We tried to give them the full Fairfield experience.”

Baker said each writer covers a different niche, with some specializing in food and others in outdoor experiences. They went birding with Diane and Michael Porter, stopped at Carnegie Historical Museum and explored Maasdam Barns.

A couple of the writers were from Iowa, while others were from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota. Baker said they were all blown away by Fairfield’s food scene.

“One of the bloggers was from Des Moines, and when we were eating dinner at The Broth Lab, she was raving about it. She said, ‘We don’t have anything like this in Des Moines.’ That was kind of neat,” Baker said. “You hear from locals who say they wish we had an Applebee’s or Chick Fil-A, and sometimes we forget the value of the things we have that are very attractive to visitors. When I hear people from out of town commenting on what we have in Fairfield, it’s a good reminder for us to appreciate what we have.”

Baker said it takes a while to compile official data on the impact of tourism on the county, but the most recent figures she had indicated it was a nice chunk of change.

“Direct visitor spending in 2021 was $19.75 million,” she said. “That number was 33 percent higher than 2020, when COVID hit. It’s nice to see that much direct visitor spending.”

Baker said one of the things she focuses on is promoting Fairfield and Jefferson County through digital outreach, including short-form videos that have been featured on the Travel Iowa website. The videos cover subjects such as the best places to have breakfast in Fairfield and the best trails in Fairfield. Baker also attends a number of trade shows during the year to promote the area with tour groups.

“This year, we attended trade shows like the Bike Iowa Expo to promote biking in the county and on the loop trail,” she said. “We also attended the American Bus Tour Association to generate interest in group travel to the area.”

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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