Ingrams August 2023

HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM

Mid-America’s Playground The lake life is a major attraction for people from across the nation, but there’s a lot more beckoning them to Missouri.

F lash poll: Which of these native Missourians should be the poster child for the Show-Me State’s tourism office? Check one: n Mark Twain n George Washington Carver n Kathleen Turner n Harry Truman n Sheryl Crow Trick question. For our money, it’s St. Louis-born Bill Dubuque, who help- ed give the state a new national buzz as creator of the former Netflix series “Ozark.” The show wrapped up after five seasons in 2022, but not until gift ing Missouri new national awareness as a place to get away from it all and enjoy the aquatic life on the Lake of the Ozarks.

Thanks to the influence of this Net- flix series—and a global pandemic during the middle of its run that drove people out of the cities to scratch their recreational itch—Missouri is definit-ely on the map as one of America’s greatest lifestyle and vacation playgrounds. The lake life is a big part of that. Heck, the Lake of the Ozarks by itself has more miles of waterfront than California has beachfront. That has helped turn that lake region into the state’s premier water attraction, with Table Rock Lake near Branson not far behind and various other state waterways pulling some big dollars to the heart of America. How big? State tourism officials say that sector had an almost $18.5 billion

economic impact in the past fiscal year, with direct tourism-related spending accounting for the biggest chunk of that, $10.8 billion. With an estimated 130,732 jobs related to hospitality and tourism, the sector is a major employer, as well, and it throws off $1.5 billion in state and local taxes. That economic activity, though, is not all going to ski boats and floating beer coolers. Not by a long shot. Mis souri is also hauling in tourists to attrac tions like the Gateway Arch in St. Lou is, professional and collegiate sports, camping, hiking, golfing, trail biking, fishing, caving, zoos, botanical gardens, museums, art galleries, concert halls— we’re going to stop there because it’s a very long list.

KC Street Car

COAST WITH THE MOST | California boasts of having more than 800 miles of ocean shoreline, but that figure is dwarfed by the 1,200 miles of waterfront at Lake of the Ozarks alone.

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DestinationMissouri.com

Missouri’s Business Media

2023