WATERLOO - The economy may be cutting into travel nationwide, but it doesn't seem to be holding back tourism in the Cedar Valley.

The tourism bureaus in both Cedar Falls and Waterloo report tourism is "way up" this quarter for a number of reasons.

They say the trend has been headed upward for at least the last eight fiscal quarters.

"Within this fiscal year, our numbers have been up quite a bit," said Aaron Buzza, executive director of the Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Between October and December, which is the tourism district's third quarter, numbers approached record levels established in the eight preceding quarters, Buzza said.

"A lot of it is due to events in the community and a lot of people who are interested in things going on in the community, from attractions to cultural events, sporting events and the like," Buzza said. "We've definitely been beneficiaries of people in those businesses and attractions being here and having a product that's good to promote."

Agriculture-related events were among the draws in the last year, Buzza said, mentioning the Two-Cylinder Expo at the National Cattle Congress grounds last July and the International Harvester Collectors' annual National Winter Convention in early March at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. Both events drew thousands of visitors, Buzza said. John Deere's Waterloo operation also held its 90th anniversary celebration at the end of September in and around the new Riverloop Exposition Plaza in downtown Waterloo.

"Both drew big numbers from all over the country," he said.

The Isle Casino and Hotel, which opened two years ago, also has contributed to the influx of tourists, Buzza noted.

"That has helped quite a bit, because we do see quite a few business groups who stay there, and we see people interested in an outing or vacation who don't necessarily don't want to drive as far," he said. "The golf course is right there, and there's Lost Island (water park) nearby, and there's something for a family outing all within a quarter-mile of one another."

Sporting activities also have played a role in the increase in tourist traffic, said Kim Burger, manager of the Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitors Bureau.

"We just hosted a national wresting tournament at the (UNI-Dome) last weekend, which brought a lot of people in," Burger said, noting that the all-age amateur tournament was the second large-scale wrestling event the Dome hosted in the last two months.

The events helped to continue a profitable year for tourism in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Burger said.

"Our hotel-motel tax collections check in the quarter between October and December was up 10 percent," she said. "I guess the significance of that is everybody has been so down in the dumps with the economy. I know larger destinations are suffering big-time."

Not so in the Cedar Valley.

"Our area is holding its own very well," Burger said. "For a number of years, we've had several groups working hard to bring in new events to even out the year."

Sporting events are central to the growth of tourism in the area, Buzza said.

"Sporting events are fantastic events," he said. "The pool and darts tournaments are always big draws. We've had USA wrestling, kids events, national wrestling duals at the UNI-Dome and an AAU event at Young Arena in February. Those are very big draws for us."

Expect more of the same this year, he said.

"It's so hard to say," he said. "I was pleasantly surprised to see our increase. My motel managers are telling me they're still busy. I'm thinking the next quarter might still be good. You hear the media talking about the dire circumstances, but I guess we're refusing to participate."

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.