Q-C does its share as Illinois sets tourism records

Font Size:

By Jennifer DeWitt QUAD-CITY TIMES | Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:48 PM CDT | () comments

John Schultz/QUAD-CITY TIMES The Blackhawk State Historic Site in Rock Island received recognition earlier this year as one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois.

Still riding the “magnificent” success of its Seven Wonders of Illinois program, state tourism officials said Tuesday that new marketing initiatives and technologies are helping draw record numbers of travelers to the state.

As part of the state’s 2007 Illinois Road Show, representatives of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Tourism, and their marketing partners made a stop at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline to unveil the state’s visitor and economic impact results from 2006 and a sneak peek into 2007’s initiatives.

“The 2006 visitor numbers are the result of the state’s efforts to engage consumers with surprising, innovative and even quirky marketing campaigns,” Jan Kostner, the state tourism bureau’s deputy director, told a group of about 25 local tourism officials and city representatives.

From creative new programs and initiatives to expanded features and tools on the bureau’s Web site, www.enjoyillinois.com, she said all the pieces have come together at the same time and are resonating with visitors.

In fact, Illinois hosted a record 91 million domestic visitors last year — an increase of 6.5 percent over 2005, helping the state break nearly all its previous travel records, said Jan Kemmerling, the local tourism division manager for the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.

The domestic economic impact of tourism also reached a new record, increasing by more than $2 billion, or 8.3 percent from 2005, to nearly $27 billion. “We expect to break $28 billion once the international numbers are added in,” she added.

Tourism across the state also created an additional 1,800 jobs in 2006, now employing 281,400 people. Despite the increase, she said the industry has never rebounded to its record levels of 2000, mostly because of all the airline jobs lost in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In addition, state and local taxes grew by 7 percent to its highest level ever of $1.9 billion — an increase of $149 million over 2005. The state’s growth in leisure volume helped increase the state’s share of U.S. leisure travel in 2006 to its highest level ever. Up 9 percent to 71.8 million visitors, the increase came at a time when U.S. leisure travel was flat, Kemmerling said.

The Quad-City stop marked the second day of a four-day-long annual Road Show. It kicked off Monday in Chicago and Rockford and wraps up Thursday in Southern Illinois at the Rend Lake Recreation Complex in Benton.

Kostner said 2007 will be marked by fresh advertising and public relations programs as well as additional online opportunities that will help the bureau reach even more visitors this year. With an emphasis on Illinois’ 3-Day Getaways, she said one of the new online tools is a Google mapping feature that allows Web visitors to map out their own 3-Day Getaway.

The bureau began the year with a bang with its first-time Seven Wonders of Illinois program. The state’s first online consumer-driven campaign allowed consumers to choose their favorite tourism spots around Illinois, resulting in the Seven Wonders.

Kostner said the campaign generated “unprecedented impact” with media coverage across the state. Had the bureau purchased that kind of publicity, it would have cost $374,000, she said. “It’s not just about the winners, it’s attracting much attention for all the nominated attractions.”

Among the places selected as an Illinois Wonder was Rock Island’s Black Hawk State Historic Site. The winners were announced in April.

The state’s 2007 Illinois Travel Guide offered an interactive, searchable and printable eBook version for the first time. As a result of its ad campaign, she said requests for the Travel Guide are up 171 percent.

The guide’s new features included “Mile after Magnificent Mile,” which details Illinois’ top ten road trips from National Scenic Byways to historic Route 66. Other features outline Fun for the Family, Destination Romance and Looking for Lincoln, which reveals the people and place that transformed Abraham Lincoln into the 16th U.S. president.

ILLINOIS TRAVEL GUIDE

To receive the 2007 Illinois Travel Guide, call the travel hotline at 1-800-2-CONNECT or order online at www.enjoyillinois.com.

Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com.

By the numbers

From July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006

Total number of visitors: 1,127,200

Economic impact of tourism: $126.24 million

Hospitality/tourism employment: 8,000

Hotel/motel tax collected: $3.36 million

Average visitor’s stay: 3.3 days

Average party size: 2.7

Average daily spending per party: $221

Source: Quad-Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau