Statewide News

A memorable performance

Be a tourism star at “Setting the Stage,” the 2005 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism, March 29-31, 2005 at the Hilton Chicago! It is the premier educational experience – complete with networking opportunities and exciting social activities – and also will help attendees to give great tourism performances.

This year’s conference speakers are worthy of a standing ovation. The conference educational program focuses on industry trends, marketing best practices, niche growth areas, and research and evaluation. Featured speakers will include motivational expert Robert Stevenson, who will share his insights about personal and professional improvement; Roger Brooks, author of “The 25 Immutable Rules of Successful Tourism,” who will present tips and tricks to get the most bang for your marketing buck; and Debi Lilly, a planning and entertaining entrepreneur who regularly works with Oprah Winfrey, who will discuss inspiring ideas, budgets and trends in special events.

Register now for discounted early bird rates; watch your mail for more information or call 888/658-0749.

If you are interested in becoming a conference sponsor and participating in the trade show, please contact Patrick Snyder of Visit Illinois at 312/658-0749 or psnyder@visitillinois.net.

To participate in the Governor’s Awards program, please contact Jo Kathmann at 618/998-9397.

If you’d like to donate an item for the silent auction, please contact Marge Heissinger at 217/525-7980 or Roger Carmak at 309/837-7460.

Soaring in Illinois

Starting this month and continuing through February, several regions of the state will provide visitors with the wondrous opportunity to see thousands of bald eagles in their natural habitat. In fact, Illinois is home to more wintering American bald eagles than in any other state outside Alaska.

Bald eagle watching programs and events around the state include: Starved Rock Bald Eagle Days (January 22 and 23), where visitors can attend live raptor programs and nature seminars; Henry Bald Eagle Day (February 19), which takes place along the scenic Illinois River; the 16th Annual Quad Cities Bald Eagle Days (January 8 and 9), where the World Bird Sanctuary presents a seminar, complete with flying demonstrations; Quincy Bald Eagle Watch (January 30), which features outdoor eagle viewing at Quincy City Park; Alton Eagle Meet & Greet (Saturdays in January), where children can see bald eagles up close; and Pere Marquette State Park’s Bald Eagle Days (various dates through February 27), which include informative programs and educational videos.

Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity during the prime viewing season of January and February. The bald eagles will only be in residence until they migrate back north in March.

IBOT offers additional information on bald eagle events, winter festivals and attractions through its travel counselors at 1-800-2CONNECT or at the Bureau’s Web site, www.enjoyillinois.com.

American Bus Association parks conference in Chicago and tours Illinois

From February 4-9, 2005, Chicago will host the American Bus Association Marketplace 2005 conference at McCormick Place. Hundreds of tour operators and travel industry representatives from around the U.S. will convene to showcase the latest and greatest in the group tour market, as well as have the opportunity to experience some of the magnificent Chicago and Illinois attractions.

During the six-day conference, motorcoach and tour operator buyers will gather information and build relationships with travel industry and service supplier sellers through pre-scheduled appointments. In addition, the ABA Marketplace will offer a multitude of networking and social events, including the all-new Networking Floor where delegates can access various communications centers designed to simplify the ABA experience. Social functions include “Dine Around Chicago!” sponsored by the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau (CCTB), the Chicago Office of Tourism (COT) and IBOT; “The Place to Be” held at and sponsored by The Field Museum; “Walking in a Water Wonderland” held at and sponsored by the John G. Shedd Aquarium; and “An Evening of Broadway in Chicago” sponsored by Broadway in Chicago and IBOT, which will be held at the James R. Thompson Center and the Chicago Theater District.

The CCTB also has arranged for ABA attendees to participate in a variety of sightseeing tours throughout Chicago and Chicagoland, and has planned six familiarization trips for tour operators and media that will take participants all over the state, from Galena and the Quad Cities to Rockford, Springfield and Southwestern Illinois.

To volunteer to be a greeter in Chicago during the ABA Marketplace, visit choosechicago.com/travel/aba_volunteer.html to obtain an application form. For more information on the ABA Marketplace 2005, visit buses.org.

Surfing enjoyillinois.com made easier

This past year has seen a dramatic redesign of IBOT’s enjoyillinois.com Internet home page. The result has been a significant increase in Web traffic and a corresponding rise in branding recognition levels.

We are now working in partnership with our advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson, to conform the rest of our Web pages to the same look and feel as the home page, which also will see a slight design adjustment. On the horizon, our niche market sites (meetinillinois.com, sportsillinois.com and tourillinois.org) will be the focus of complete redesigns.

The new and improved enjoyillinois.com will launch in early February. By creating a consistent and unified series of sites, our Web site will be more visually pleasing and user friendly than ever.

International radio media tour

On January 12, IBOT will host an international radio media tour in the UK to promote winter travel in Illinois. The tour consists of a series of UK radio interviews featuring Chicago and Illinois spokespeople, including Jan Kostner, deputy director of IBOT; Dorothy Coyle, director of COT; and Stacy Wallace-Albert, style editor for Chicago Magazine.

Spokespeople also will tout shopping in Chicago and Chicagoland, and its many advantages, particularly considering the favorable exchange rate for international visitors. The goal is to emphasize Illinois as a highly desirable shopping destination for UK visitors, as well as to increase interest in winter travel packages.

Last spring’s radio media tour reached nearly 4 million people. IBOT expects to match or even surpass that total this month.