Arkansas tourism tax revenue falls 5% in early 2025, report says

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Arkansas’ 2% statewide tourism tax revenue fell nearly 5% in the first four months of 2025, according to Talk Business & Politics’ Tourism Ticker report.

Revenue fell to $7.71 million from $8.11 million in the same period of 2024, marking the first significant decline since COVID-19 disruptions in 2020. April 2025 revenue dropped 13.5% to $2.163 million, partly reflecting the boost from last year’s solar eclipse, according to the report.

Hospitality tax collections in 17 cities rose 9.8% to $24.976 million, driven by a 13.6% increase in restaurant sales, while hotel taxes slipped 2.45% to $5.26 million.

Tourism employment grew a small amount, averaging 129,975 jobs from January–April 2025, up 0.83% from 128,900 in 2024 and fully recovered from pandemic lows of 74,200 in April 2020.

Regional Highlights (January–April 2025 vs. 2024):

• Northwest Arkansas: 30,625 jobs (+0.1%)
• Fort Smith: 8,975 jobs (-0.3%)
• Central Arkansas: 34,125 jobs (-2.8%)
• Memphis-West Memphis: 60,875 jobs (-1.5%)
• Texarkana: 6,700 jobs (+4.3%)

Select city hospitality tax collections:

• Bentonville: $1.454M (+14.9%)
• Fayetteville: $3.118M (-4.8%)
• Little Rock: $6.133M (+2.4%)
• Hot Springs: $3.197M (+1.8%)
• Rogers: $436,535 (+8.6%)
• Texarkana: $452,792 (-0.9%)

The Arkansas Tourism Ticker, managed by Talk Business & Politics and sponsored by the Arkansas Hospitality Association and the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, track: hospitality tax collections, tourism employment and the statewide 2% tourism tax.

Click here for the full report.