The picturesque and rural landscapes of the Raccoon Valley region are an ideal vacation spot for families in nearby metropolitan areas. That’s the finding of recent studies by the Iowa Tourism Office, and local economic development organization Midwest Partnership is working to show business and attraction owners how to capture that tourism. Administrative & Marketing Coordinator Lynsi Pasutti says Guthrie, Adair, Greene and Audubon Counties are good candidates to capture vacationers from Des Moines and Omaha. “What they’re (Iowa Tourism Office) finding in their research is that more and more people are taking shorter and more frequent vacations. People are taking their families out and learning about what’s happening nearby. One of the great things about tourism in Iowa is that we have a lot of those opportunities for people to travel from larger cities to the rural area.”

The topic of local tourism will be discussed further at a workshop presented by Travel Iowa, Midwest Partnership and the Guthrie County Tourism Office next week. It takes place 6 p.m., Monday, August 3rd at Panora Telco.