Statewide News

20th annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism paved the way for industry’s future

More than 600 state tourism representatives gathered at the 2007 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism Feb. 7-9 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. The conference, themed "20th Anniversary: The Future is Ours," prepared attendees for future opportunities while also celebrating the accomplishments of the past 20 years of Illinois tourism.

Educational programs, a dynamic roster of speakers and the annual State of the State of Tourism address from DCEO Director Jack Lavin and IBOT Deputy Director Jan Kostner made for an exciting two and a half days. In the State of the State address, Lavin and Kostner praised the state’s recent record-breaking tourism achievements:

•	llinois welcomed an unprecedented 92 million visitors in 2005.
•	Leisure travelers accounted for more than 62.28 million visitors to Illinois in 2005. The majority of these travelers came from the Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana and Michigan).
•	Business travel to Illinois has increased by 10.8 percent. Illinois welcomed 28.5 million business travelers in 2005, up from 25.73 million travelers in 2004.

The address also unveiled a new initiative: the Seven Wonders of Illinois campaign. Designed to engage the public in nominating and designating a favorite attraction from each of the seven regions of Illinois, the campaign will continue throughout the summer to encourage travelers to visit each of Illinois’ new “wonders.”

The Governor’s Awards Luncheon capped off the conference on Feb. 9. Emceed by Roe Conn of Chicago’s WLS-AM, 32 awards were presented at the luncheon to honor the organizations, businesses and people who have led the industry through innovative tourism initiatives. Winners included the Chicago’s North Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau, Learn Great Foods, and 40 North/88 West – Champaign County’s Arts, Culture and Entertainment Council.

Seven Wonders of Illinois online voting gets underway

Voting begins today for Seven Wonders of Illinois, the Bureau’s exciting spring/summer public relations initiative that launched at the 2007 Governor’s Conference on Tourism on Feb. 8. IBOT Deputy Director Jan Kostner will appear live with reporter Roz Varon on ABC 7 Chicago this month to update viewers on the voting phase and to encourage the public to vote for their favorite statewide wonders. Throughout February, people nominated their top Illinois spots on the Seven Wonders Web site. After receiving more than 3,000 nominations on www.enjoyillinois.com, the official contenders in each of the state’s seven regions will now face off as people check back weekly to vote on their favorite wonders. Each week in March the field will be narrowed based on votes, until only two contenders remain in each region. Those who vote will also be entered to win a travel package to their choice of one of the official Seven Wonders of Illinois.
 
The winning Seven Wonders will be announced on April 30 along with themed travel packages, downloadable videos for each wonder, and more. For more information on the Seven Wonders of Illinois program, contact Anne Dattulo at Edelman anne.dattulo@edelman.com.

Meet in Illinois invites travel planners to discover their new meeting guide

Business travel in Illinois reached an all-time high in 2005, with over 28.5 million travelers exploring the vast array of meetings and conventions facilities throughout the state. This statistic illustrates Illinois’ commitment to being one of the leading states for business travelers, with online resources providing information and advice on where to hold successful meetings and events.

Meet In Illinois, a statewide association designed to increase overnight stays produced by meetings and conventions in Illinois, recently updated its meeting guide, compiling facilities information from convention and visitors bureaus from across the state (available in hard copy or downloadable at www.meetinillinois.com).

Targeting consumers on the Web

Last month, Dave Serino, founder and e-Strategist of Gammet Interactive, spoke at the 2007 Governor’s Conference on Tourism and provided audience members with strategies for marketing their travel product on the Web. Serino offered a number of key learnings to reach their audiences using the internet including:

•	Make consumer usability a priority when designing your Web site by organizing navigation tools, images, iconography and content in a way that is clean and easy-to-use.
•	Improve your Web site ranking through search engine optimization. Techniques such as pay-per click advertising allow organizations to place their ads on Web sites and search engines where their audiences are most likely to visit.
•	Tailor your email marketing to reach consumers who want to be contacted and send them information pertaining to subjects that interest them. Permission-based email has the highest ROI of any online medium according to eMarketer.
•	Think beyond traditional forms of advertising by testing new mediums such as online video, mobile marketing, blogging or podcasting. According to Shar Van Boskirk, analyst for Forrester Research, the advertising industry is “seeing the budgets shift away from direct mail, magazines and newspapers. But a lot of increase in spending for interactive media is coming from new budgets altogether.”

To learn more best practices for reaching your audience via the Web, view Serino’s complete presentation from the 2007 Governor’s Conference on Tourism at www.iltourismconference.org.

"My Chicago" leads to our Illinois

IBOT's new My Chicago international program was announced at the 2007 Illinois Governor's Conference on Tourism to complement the city's current "Simply Magnificent" logo and positioning.  Designed to drive UK visitors to Illinois, My Chicago is a phased consumer program that brings to life and celebrates five key pillars of Chicago tourism - music, theatre, architecture, food and shopping.
 
In conjunction with a BBC "holiday" segment that profiled the city, My Chicago unveiled its first ambassador on Feb. 28, 2007.  Melissa Turner, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs' director of fashion arts and events, will serve as Chicago's shopping expert for international visitors.  Travelers can visit www.gochicago.com/mychicago to view a photo shoot of Turner's favorite shopping destinations and download a 15-minute podcast profiling the city's retail offerings and hidden gems.
 
Illinois travel partners are encouraged to keep checking gochicago.com as the four remaining ambassadors are announced throughout the next six months in print, broadcast and online outlets.