Tourism is the third leading industry in Idaho. Every January, Visit Idaho releases a free travel guide to help people find ideas for places to visit.
"We gauge our key performance indicator on lodging tax collection," said Natalie Jushinski of Visit Idaho. "We finished out the year really strong statewide; we were up almost nine percent from the previous year."
WATCH | What the travel guide entails and places to visit in Idaho—
The travel guide is a labor of love that highlights the outdoors in the Gem State. It showcases activities like fishing, skiing, rock climbing, lift service mountain biking, birding, and the rivers that Visit Idaho highlighted in the 3100 series project.
"It’s a real treat to showcase the 3100 in the travel guide as that project was really designed to elevate Idaho as the premier whitewater destination in the U.S. and beyond," said Andrea Rayburn of Visit Idaho.
The guide spotlights western culture and rodeos from all over the state, including the War Bonnet Rodeo in Idaho Falls. This rodeo has been running for 115 years.
The travel guide features food and drink that can be found at hidden spots throughout the state, highlighting the people who make culinary delights so unique in Idaho.
"There is a feature this year about a food truck in Post Falls," said Rayburn, who said this was her favorite part of the travel guide. "It is an indigenous food truck, and it is incredible. It is entirely unique, and it is something that is so special to highlight."
Visit Idaho also makes it their mission to highlight some of the lesser-known areas in the Gem State. Not only does this help people from out of state explore Idaho, but it also gives people from Boise ideas if they want to visit the panhandle, eastern Idaho, or the Magic Valley.
"I love working on this project, there is a lot of joy that comes from hearing people say 'oh my gosh, I didn’t even know that was here'," said Rayburn
For information on downloading the travel guide or getting one mailed to you, click here.
