The final Arkansas Tourism Ticker report for 2020 is out, and Baxter remains the state’s top bright spot in terms of 2% tourism tax collections for the year, as one of two counties on the plus side compared to the previous year.

The report indicates Baxter County’s collections are up 11.1% for the highest in the state. This represents collections of $473,705. Carroll County with collections up 6.27% is the only other county on the plus side compared to 2019.

The other eight counties were all in the red from Crittenden’s 4% to Benton’s 47%.

Overall, the Arkansas Tourism Ticker report notes Arkansas’ travel and tourism industry, which was enjoying more than a decade of growth, posted double-digit percentage declines in key categories in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the state in March 2020.

Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax revenue in 2020 was $13.6 million, down 22.7% compared with the $17.6 million in 2019.

January-December hospitality tax collections among 17 cities surveyed for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker fell 18% compared with 2019. The biggest hit was in lost revenue from hotel collections.

The only local city among the 17 is Harrison, which had a drop in collections of 10.8%.

The Arkansas Tourism Ticker is managed by Talk Business & Politics and sponsored by the Arkansas Hospitality Association.

Click here for the Arkansas Tourism Ticker full report and data.

Read the full article on the KTLO website here.