The Danish Windmill’s Welcome Center in Elk Horn is just one of eight area attractions that will serve as stops planned for a specially wrapped motorcoach that will travel nearly 2,100 miles promoting more than 60 tourism destinations in 33 counties and 46 communities across the state in an “Epic Iowa Road Trip.”

The effort, a partnership among the Central Iowa Tourism Region, Eastern Iowa Tourism Association, Western Iowa Tourism Region and the Iowa Tourism Office, is meant to showcase and recognize Iowa’s travel destinations. The Epic Iowa Road Trip will take place May 2nd- through the 10th. Iowa Tourism Office Manager Shawna Lode says “Travel is big business in Iowa, as traveler spending here exceeds $7 billion annually. This trip will highlight Iowa’s thousands of tourism destinations and the people who manage them. Along the way, we want to inspire people to choose Iowa as a vacation destination.”

The tourism bus will be in Manning, Hamlin, Elk Horn, Avoca and Council Bluffs on Friday, May 9th, and in Council Bluffs, Beebeetown, Missouri Valley, at the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway, and two locations in Sioux City, on Saturday, May 10th. Stops those two days include, but are not limited to, the German Hausbarn, Darrell’s Place, the Danish Windmill, Farmall-Land in Avoca. (For the list of places and times, go to http://www.traveliowa.com/epiciowaroadtrip.

Shirley Phillips, Western Iowa Tourism Executive Director says the road trip makes for a great venue to showcase the diverse range of tourism options in Iowa, and is a way to say “Thank you,” to members of the tourism industry for their hard work.

The Iowa Tourism Office will share frequent accounts of the Epic Iowa Road Trip on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, its blog, Pinterest, Google+, Flickr. Videos will be posted to the Iowa Tourism Office’s YouTube channel. Iowans are encouraged to share their own Epic Iowa Road Trip pictures by using the hashtag #EpicIowaRoadTrip on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Tourism in Iowa generates more than $7.6 billion in expenditures, employs 64,400 people statewide and generates $328 million in state taxes. The Iowa Tourism Office is part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. For more information about Iowa tourism, visit www.traveliowa.com, call 800.345.IOWA or stop at any Iowa Welcome Center.