"Nebraska: Honestly, It's not for Everyone" Campaign Helps Break Tourism Revenue Records

Since the “Nebraska: Honestly, It’s not for Everyone” tourism advertising campaign launched in 2019, Nebraska’s tourism industry in the state has broken records.

The self-deprecating humor in the slogan helped Nebraska pull in a record $3.5 billion of tourism revenue in 2019. John Ricks is executive director of the Nebraska Tourism Commission and said the dispersed nature of Nebraska’s population makes it more attractive as a tourism destination during the pandemic.

“The immediate effects were devastating,” Ricks said. “I would say that coming out of the pandemic, having the kind of product we do, is in fact helping us along, [with] probably [a] faster recovery than some other areas.”

The state’s tourism revenue dropped by nearly $1.5 billion in 2020, but Ricks said the state is set to break its previous record in 2021, with some numbers yet to be reported.