In 2006,Illinois Broke Most Previous Records with 91 Million Visitors and Nearly $27 Billion in Economic Impact; West Central Illinois Counties Generate $237 Million

Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced in June that the Illinois tourism industry continues to grow at a record pace, which is generating billions of dollars in economic impact and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs across the state. Visitors to these nine West Central Illinois counties generated $237 million in local economic impact.

"The Illinois Bureau of Tourism and all of our partners are doing a tremendous job promoting Illinois to people across the state, the country and throughout the world. Tourism is thriving today as people have taken notice of all the diverse attractions we have to offer. Our investments in spreading this message are being returned many times over with billions of new dollars coming into Illinois that are creating better jobs for more people," Gov. Blagojevich said.

The economic impact of tourism from each of the counties in West Central Illinois includes: Adams - $73.9 million, 4.4 percent increase from 2005 levels; Brown - $4.9 million, up 8 percent; Hancock - $23.3 million, up 4.3 percent; Henderson - $15.6 million, up 8.2 percent; Knox - $52.8 million, up 4.1 percent; McDonough - $27.1 million, up 7.9 percent; Pike - $20.1 million, up 5.9 percent; Schuyler - $4.4 million, up 3.5 percent; and Warren - $14.9 million, up 5.9 percent, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.

Illinois hosted 91 million domestic visitors in 2006, which is a 6.4 percent increase over 2005, and is the state's highest level ever, according to data from D.K. Shifflet & Associates. The domestic economic impact of tourism increased by more than $2 billion in 2006 to a record setting nearly $27 billion, which was an 8.3 percent increase from 2005, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. Over the last five years, the domestic economic impact has grown by more than $5.8 billion in Illinois, which is a 28 percent increase. Domestic travel also created 1,800 new jobs in 2006.

State and local taxes grew by almost 7 percent, generating almost $1.9 billion from travel spending, which is its highest level ever and $149 million more than last year. Since 2002, state and local taxes have grown by $335 million, which is a 22 percent increase (Travel Industry Association of America).

Illinois' strong growth in leisure volume helped to increase the state's share of U.S. leisure travel in 2006. Leisure visitor volume was the highest level ever in Illinois at 71.8 million, a 9 percent increase from 2005. Leisure overnight paid accommodations volume increased by almost 17 percent statewide to more than 16 million visitors, which is another all-time high (D.K. Shifflet & Associates).

The City of Chicago had more than 44 million visitors last year, which set an all-time record and is a nearly 10 percent increase from 2005. Chicago also saw a 13.5 percent increase in leisure visitors. Leisure overnight paid accommodations volume increased by nearly 16 percent to more than 9 million visitors, which also was a record high (D.K. Shifflet & Associates).

This trend continued across the state. Downstate Illinois (all but City of Chicago) welcomed a record nearly 47 million visitors, which was a 3.3 percent increase over the previous year thanks to the 5.5 percent growth in leisure travel. Leisure overnight paid accommodations volume increased by 18.4 percent to more than 7 million visitors downstate (D.K. Shifflet & Associates).

"Illinois' tourism industry continues to be a significant tool for statewide economic development, and Gov. Blagojevich is helping attract even more visitors, who are pumping billions of dollars into our economy and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. Through the Illinois Bureau of Tourism's continued innovative efforts, we are committed to building upon our incredible successes over the last several years," Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin said.

Representatives from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Tourism (DCEO/IBOT) and its marketing agency partners recently traveled the state during the 2007 Illinois Road Show to present the 2006 visitor and economic impact numbers and future marketing initiatives. Themed "Wonders of Illinois," the Road Show emphasized the Bureau's dedication to using new technologies to drive travel to and throughout the state, such as IBOT's recently updated 3-Day Getaways, including Google mapping technology and the Seven Wonders of Illinois program that invited consumers to vote online for their favorite sites around the state. During the Illinois Road Show, participants visited some of the recently announced Seven Wonders of Illinois, in addition to other key tourism attractions in each market.

In each market, IBOT representatives provided an overview of successful 2006-2007 marketing initiatives and upcoming programs to draw visitors to Illinois. These include:

2006-2007 initiatives: IBOT is highlighting some of the Bureau's milestone marketing programs from the past year, including the first Great Performers of Illinois, a showcase of the state's best performance art held at Chicago's Millennium Park; the Illinois Sports Congress, which promoted the state's sports facilities to sports rights holders across the country; and Seven Wonders of Illinois, Illinois' first online, consumer-driven marketing campaign designed to highlight a wide variety of destinations throughout Illinois.

New and upcoming programs: IBOT is presenting new programs for the year ahead, such as the Illinois Travel Guide, enhanced with new themed feature sections, such as Fun for the Family, Destination Romance and Onscreen Illinois; and a new Fall-O-Ween program to encourage visitors to explore Illinois' distinctive events and scenic drives during the important fall travel season.

Advertising: Representatives from IBOT's advertising agency are announcing the Bureau's new spring/summer advertising campaign for 2007, including new touch screen interactive bus shelters featuring Illinois road trips - the first advertising effort of its kind in North America. They'll also discuss IBOT's "Year of Shell Gas" promotion, which gives consumers the chance to submit a video from a 3-day Illinois Getaway to win a $2,500 Shell gift card, and new 3-Day Getaways on www.enjoyillinois.com featuring Google mapping technology.

"Illinois is such a tremendously unique and diverse state that has something for absolutely everyone," said Jan Kostner, deputy director, Illinois Bureau of Tourism. "Gov. Blagojevich's strategic vision for promoting Illinois is paying record-breaking economic dividends, and we're very positive that this critical economic engine will continue to grow in 2007."

The Illinois Bureau of Tourism offers additional information on one-of-a-kind attractions, events statewide and suggested 3-Day Getaways on the Bureau's Web site, www.enjoyillinois.com, or through its travel counselors at 1-800-2CONNECT. Travelers can also order the all-new Illinois Travel Guide, the most comprehensive guide to travel in the Land of Lincoln. Guides are available at Tourist Information Centers, local convention and visitors bureaus, regional tourism development offices statewide and can be downloaded on-line.

Soon web users will have the ability to access information about Pike County much more efficiently. New websites for the county are being created, one of which will give you information on the specifics of Pike County and another which offers information about the Pike County Color Drive. In addition, several groups in the county are working to improve their websites to make them much more user friendly such as the PCEDC and the Chamber of Commerce.

With more people turning to the internet today it is essential to have current information available. By having updated websites the county will benefit when it comes to attracting tourism and economic development. People are looking at websites to see what places offer before ever deciding to visit or relocate there. The new websites will link to each other easily and will help to enable the user to know which site to look at depending on what information they are trying to access.

By having up to date information that is cohesive with other sites throughout the county it shows that Pike County is the kind of place that you want to live and work in.

Key Points:

A corporation is a separate legal entity from the individual board members.

Board members are protected from liability so long as they are carrying out their duties. (See State NPO statues to see if NPO needs to indemnify in own minutes or By-Laws)

Board members not exercising the appropriate level of care, "pierce the corporate veil" of protection.

If pierced, can be held responsible for wrongdoing or liabilities of the corporation.

A nonprofit corporation needs resources to operate and must operate just like any other with a plan, budget and accounting procedures.

Be familiar with legal terms describing board member standards of conduct: Reasonably prudent, good faith, common sense, conflict of interest, due diligence, fiduciary duty, indemnification

NPO Organization Board Member Do's

*Do know the organization's mission, purpose, goals and its programs and services

*Do get to know the organization's strengths and weaknesses

*Do pitch in enthusiastically and willingly

*Do make sure you have all the information before expressing an opinion or a judgment

*Do get acquainted with the other board members, the Executive Director and staff

*Do come to meetings --- and come prepared to participate

*Do ask questions

*Do support the majority even if you disagree

*Do support the Exec. director and staff, and understand that they are operating with limited resources

*Do avoid any possible conflict or interest

*Do maintain a sense of fairness, ethics and personal integrity

*Do understand the financial statement and help plan for future revenue and expenses

Board Member Don'ts

*Don't lose your sense of humor

*Don't speak for the board, unless authorized to do so

*Don't ask the Executive Director or staff for special favors

- David L. Hill, Community Development Specialist

The PCEDC is looking to increase their membership. Whether you are a community leader, business owner, or simply a concerned citizen the PCEDC has programs that will pertain to you. Some of the services we offer are assistance for grant writing and research; training programs in several business related areas such as marketing and customer service; community assessment and surveys; leadership training; and business retention and expansion programs. In addition, we have a very large network of regional partners that also offer a variety of services.

As a member of the PCEDC you are entitled to certain discounts for trainings throughout the region. The PCEDC also receives grant monies that can potentially cover the cost of registration fees for economic development related trainings and conferences. So far this year we have been able to obtain funding to send members to a site-selection boot-camp, workshops on planning special events, and the Western Illinois Leadership Academy.

The PCEDC meets every other month on the first Thursday at 7:00 pm at the Farm Bureau building. The next meeting will be on September 6, 2007. If you are interested in joining the PCEDC or if you would just like more information on the services we provide please contact Stephanie at (217) 285-1363. There are a variety of membership levels ranging anywhere from $50 on up.

Check out Pike County's Booth at the Illinois State Fair's Hometown Pride Day on August 17! For more information contact Stephanie at (217) 285-1363

Sign up NOW for the Christmas at the Pike County Lodges Tour!
Tuesday December 4 & Saturday December 8, 2007
For more information contact Illinois Access Outdoors at (217) 285-2464