The head of Park County’s tourism marketing agency has been chosen to lead the tourism bureau for Fayetteville, Arkansas. Ryan Hauck, executive director of the Park County Travel Council, or Cody/Yellowstone, was selected Monday to be the new CEO of Experience Fayetteville.
Hauck joined PCTC in June 2021 to replace retiring director Claudia Wade. He had previously worked as director of sales for Western Leisure, a Utah company that creates custom tours for tour operators. A Wyoming native from Gillette, he worked previously for Visit Casper, and has lived in Oregon, Colorado and New Mexico.
Hauck said by phone Tuesday that he has received a job offer from Experience Fayetteville “that my family and I are still considering,” but that he has not yet accepted the position. He said he did not know when he would start if he accepted the offer, and did not know what his salary would be.
“I was presented with an opportunity for some professional growth and it’s something I’ve looked into,” he said, adding that he heard from industry friends and a search firm about the position.
“I’m always open to opportunity and when people present something like that, that’s something that I’m at least willing to look at,” Hauck said. He expects to decide in “a week or so, probably” whether to take the job, based on “what would be the best decision for my family.”
Jennifer Walker, interim CEO for Experience Fayetteville, said her group had made an offer to Hauck, but “he has not accepted that yet, so we are still in negotiations and hoping that he will join us.”
Welcoming Community
Hauck attended a community meet-and-greet in Fayetteville on Sunday and sat for a candidate interview Monday, and described the city as “a very welcoming community, a lively SEC college town with world-class outdoor recreation and a highly motivated team.”
“They have world class biking, both gravel and mountain biking, everything. It surpasses anything I’ve ever seen in Utah, in Oregon, and in the front range of Colorado,” he said. Hauck declined to say whether the Fayetteville biking was better than in Park County. “Please don’t make me say stuff like that, come on.”
Cody/Yellowstone has spent tens of thousands of dollars supporting mountain biking in the area, including the annual Fistful of Dirt gravel race.
Experience Fayetteville has been searching for a new head since January with assistance from Winner Partners, an executive search firm, according to public documents posted on the city of Fayetteville’s website. The Ozark Mountains community of approximately 100,000 markets itself as “the entertainment capital of Northwest Arkansas.” The city hosts approximately 870,000 annual visitors.
Tourism not primary industry
Walker said that Fayetteville has a diverse economy and that tourism, while important, is “not the primary industry.” The University of Arkansas is the main economic engine in the town, she said.
Experience Fayetteville focuses on marketing the outdoors, including bicycling, lying 28 miles south of Bentonville, Arkansas, headquarters for Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. An April 13 New York Times story showcased the area as a cycling haven, largely due to financial support from the heirs of Walmart founder Sam Walton, America’s wealthiest family. Fayetteville hosts several annual gravel bike races.
“Ryan presented his love of cycling and he, I think, was able to enjoy some of the trails while he was here and we were very excited about his enthusiasm for outdoor cycling,” Walker said.
Fayetteville is also home to The Clinton House Museum, a historic museum that was the first home of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The museum has received $25,000 this year in financial support from Experience Fayetteville, according to public records.
In a March 24 meeting of the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission, a seven-member body governing Experience Fayetteville, members set a CEO salary range of $165,000—$195,000. The position also includes benefits, including an annual car allowance of $3,500, and requires the CEO to reside in Fayetteville. When asked, Hauck said he did not know what his PCTC salary was.
The City of Fayetteville collects a 2% tax on lodging and dining, with half of those collections funding local parks and recreation and the other half going to Experience Fayetteville. Tax collections in 2024 provided approximately $5.3 million in income for Experience Fayetteville, according to public documents.
PCTC Chair John Parsons said he was not aware Hauck was seeking employment elsewhere and was “blindsided” when he heard about it. The group holds its spring retreat at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Webster Board Room starting at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, April 17, with its monthly board meeting scheduled for 1:30.
This story has been updated at 3:15 p.m. April 15 to include comments from John Parsons and Jennifer Walker.
DISCLOSURE: Ruffin Prevost formerly served on the Park County Travel Council, and stepped down in October 2024.
