President/CEO Kevin Bourke of the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau {ACVB} was recently the featured speaker at the Ames Golden K Kiwanis 9AM weekly meeting, which continues to be held virtually. Bourke is well-known in Central Iowa as the former Cross Country/Track coach at Iowa State University and for his successful role with the Iowa Sports Foundation as Director of the Iowa Games.

Bourke noted the functional differences between the City of Ames, Chamber of Commerce and ACVB promotional activities. ACVB is funded from a portion of the Ames Hotel/Motel tax.  ACVB’s partnership with ISU for Conference planning and management is like no other in the USA–and is the envy of many similar communities throughout the United States.  ACVB’s mission is to increase economic development thru visitors to Ames, have a passion for Ames and ISU, excellence in service, innovation in all areas, always take the initiative, and teamwork in all aspects. The economic impact of tourism/visitors for ISU and Ames events/conventions totaled $341 Million in 2019.  COVID-19 has had a negative impact on Ames and ISU, as many events were cancelled, or attendance was severely limited. An example is the $18MM revenue loss experienced by Ames hotels/motels since March 2020.  It is estimated that the 2019 revenue levels will not be reached until 2024.  The ACVB’s Ames Community Grants program is continuing but has been somewhat scaled down for 2021.

Bourke concluded his remarks on an optimistic note, noting that ACVB has 136 events already booked for 2021/22 and 170 events that they are actively pursuing.  ACVB will also be focusing on new opportunities in booking youth conferences, ISU prospective student/families’ visits, increased interaction with ISU’s Admissions Department, possibly moving the ACVB office closer to the I-35/US 30 interchange and creating a Welcome Center to attract visitors from the 60,000 vehicles that pass through the area daily.