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Agency reports strong midyear tourism metrics: Expedia bookings, SEO gains and PR placements
Summary
Madden KHM presented midyear performance: $1.55M Expedia-attributed bookings, 18M paid impressions, a 63% engagement rate on the website and organic search gains. The agency highlighted PR successes including Travel + Leisure and a Southern Living feature slated for fall 2027.
Taylor Gessman of Madden KHM opened the midyear briefing with a trends overview and noted that Eureka Springs outpaced the state in length of stay, averaging about 2.7 nights. She and other agency staff highlighted that travelers are staying closer to home and that longer stays and higher engagement support local lodging and restaurants.
Amy Kaczynski presented performance figures and summarized channel results: “For every dollar we spend on advertising, we get $36.90 back in Expedia-attributable revenue,” she said, citing $1.55 million in Expedia bookings tracked to the campaign. The agency also reported 18,000,000 paid impressions, 296,000 engaged website sessions (63% engagement rate) and AirDNA figures showing roughly $9.5 million in STR revenue January–June and a 43% occupancy rate. Commissioners asked for property-level lists for Expedia bookings and clarification that some bookings represent future stays.
The agency also highlighted organic search gains (site impressions +10% year over year; organic views +38%) and recent and upcoming PR wins, including Travel + Leisure placement and a Southern Living feature scheduled for fall 2027 (digital coverage expected earlier). Staff said they will deliver additional property-level data and provide asset/performance examples requested by commissioners.
