Tourism on the rise in Jefferson County

FAIRFIELD - Tourism generates more than $42 million in Jefferson County.

That was the take-home message delivered by Rustin Lippincott and Terry Baker to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors Monday. Lippincott and Baker are the executive director and assistant director, respectively, of the Fairfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, and they appeared before the supervisors to deliver the bureau's annual report.

One way to measure tourism to the county is by looking at lodging, how many out-of-towners are spending a night at one of Fairfield's three hotels, its bed-and-breakfast, and numerous Air BnBs. Last fiscal year, Fairfield lodging partners collected nearly $180,000 in hotel/motel tax fees, nearly all of which flows from the city coffers to the CVB. That amount was the second highest since the city began collecting a hotel/motel tax in 2006, the highest coming in 2017. The lodging tax revenue has increased 86 percent since its inception.

Lippincott said the increase in visitors is likely a combination of people coming to town for business and pleasure.

'We've got an active business community bringing people here overnight for work,” he said. 'We've also put significant effort into rebranding the last few years, and upped our marketing game. We've increased the dollars we spend on promoting Fairfield.”

The CVB has appeared in seven statewide and regional magazines that touch on tourism and travel guides. It's a member of Eastern Iowa Tourism, an organization that promotes tourism all across the eastern side of the state.

The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors gives $500 to Eastern Iowa Tourism annually. Supervisor Lee Dimmitt said he thought it was money well spent. The county contributes $7,500 annually to CVB. Lippincott told the supervisors the CVB is asking for that same amount this year.

Lippincott and Baker also talked about the guides and brochures the CVB publishes. It has sent out more than 10,000 visitor's guides this past fiscal year, which go to places such as Iowa Welcome Centers, visitor weekends at Maharishi International University and are distributed at local businesses. The bureau prints and distributes a 'Maze of Murals” public art brochure, and a Maasdam Barns brochure.

One of the highlights from 2019 was the installation of a pair of wayfinding kiosks downtown. The kiosks show a map of the downtown on one side, and a map of greater Fairfield on the other. Funding for the kiosks came from the CVB and a grant from the Greater Jefferson County Foundation.

Another new feature in the downtown is a series of banners reflecting the city's new branding. The banners contain words such as 'Play!” 'Create!” and 'Eat!” with a different photo below each one.

The CVB has a grant program which invests funds into improving the community's tourism product. The CVB awards between $13,000-$17,000 in grants each year, to organizations and events such as Fairfield First Fridays, the Southeast Iowa Blues Society, World Fair Field International Festival, the Kenny Norton Southeast Iowa Farm Show, and others.

Additionally, the bureau has a 'Sprucing Up” grant program and a blade signage program. The 'Sprucing Up” grant provides $750 in matching funds to improve the downtown business district's curb appeal, while the bureau allocates matching funds to support blade signage for businesses around the square.