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DuPage seeks ideas from public on boosting tourism

DuPage County tourism could be facing a makeover after a strategic consultant was hired to hold town meetings on Monday and Tuesday to gather ideas and to present recommendations.

The DuPage County Convention and Visitors Bureau hired Mitch Nichols, founder of Bellingham, Washington-based Nichols Tourism Group, which also has worked with the Chicago Office of Tourism, the Grand Canyon National Park and Sonoma County, California, among others.

"Often these strategies deal with changing visitor interests and needs, such as boomers versus millennials," said Nichols.

The meetings aim to help develop a strategic plan to boost tourism and the hospitality industry. The project is called "DuPage GPS: A Tourism Roadmap," and three meetings will be held at three locations to reach as many people as possible.

The first is at 1 to 4 p.m. Monday at the Northern Illinois University conference center, 1120 E. Diehl Road in Naperville. Another will be 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Wilder Mansion, 211 S. Prospect Ave. in Elmhurst. The third meeting will be 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday at the College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd. in Glen Ellyn.

A report from the meetings will be issued in October or November, officials said.

Local business owners and executives, school and elected officials, along with the public, are being encouraged to attend, said Beth Marchetti, executive director of the DuPage County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"We want to make sure that everybody has a voice in this," said Marchetti. "Everyone is in this business in one shape or form. We want business owners and everyone to be a part of this."

As the tourism industry becomes more competitive, and funding becomes more troublesome from the state, the bureau is aiming to streamline its efforts to promote DuPage in the best possible way.

"We want to know what else is out there that we need to tap into," Marchetti said. "There's so much competition out there and so many other hotels and sites, that we need to make sure we're still in the ballgame."

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The Wilder Mansion will be the site of one of three meetings to discuss local tourism. The DuPage County Convention and Visitors Bureau will host the meeting from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Wilder Mansion in Elmhurst. COURTESY OF CITY OF ELMHURST
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