Hot Springs was recently ranked in the top 10 on the U.S. Tourism Quality Index's 2017 list of top small destinations in the United States.
The list measures tourist destinations' supply side performance, which is a location's potential economic performance. Among the quality index's "Small Destinations" category, which includes 69 destinations that attract between 3-5 million visitors per year, Hot Springs came in at No. 10.
"For us to be in the top 10 is a good thing, and a tribute to our service personnel and owners and everybody involved in the tourism industry in Hot Springs," Arrison said.
The list measured the traffic of social media channels from influential travel websites such as TripAdvisor. From there, they assessed the destinations based on criteria of culture, entertainment, sightseeing, sports and adventure, culinary scene and lodging.
Arrison said he is especially pleased to be ranked in the top 10 "in a ranking that is based on the experience of consumers who have visited our community."
"It's a very in-depth report," he said.
The category rankings for Hot Springs were highest in the areas of entertainment and sightseeing. In a ranking system where lower numbers indicate high performance in an area, Hot Springs received a score of five in entertainment, pushing it into the top half of the top 10 small destinations in the list, and a score of seven in sightseeing, which was sixth-best out of the top 10.
However, Hot Springs was last among the top 10 in lodging.
"Some of the publicity we've had lately probably affected that," Arrison said. "Hopefully, we see the Arlington redone. Other properties, new properties, are opening and renovating, so I think it's just a blip on the radar.
"Imagine if we had all of those hotels open and renovated right now, where we would have been on the list."
On the list, Hot Springs came in behind destinations like Tallahassee, Fla., and Mesa, Ariz., but in front of destinations like Albuquerque, N.M., and Corpus Christi, Texas. It was ranked higher than any other Arkansas destination in its respective category, with Fort Smith coming in at No. 15 on the "Small Destination" list and Little Rock ranked at No. 40 on the "Medium Destination" list.
"The main thing is, it's good for Arkansas," Arrison said. "What's good for Arkansas is good for Hot Springs, and vice versa."
Arrison said he hopes that the top 10 listing is "one of many that will come."
"I know that our service and our product continues to improve," he said.
Local on 10/14/2017