Steady business travel predicted for suburbs

The tourism outlook for the Northwest suburbs this year appears steady despite the slowing economy, according to Fran Bolson, president of the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau.

Bolson also told a gathering of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday she is disappointed with Hoffman Estate's decision last month to leave her nonprofit group.

Longtime chamber member Bill Abplanalp of Service Insurance Agency asked if Hoffman Estates was making a mistake by going it alone.

"There's a lot of competition out there, so you need a lot of firepower," Bolson told the group, gathered at Jameson's Charhouse in Mount Prospect.

Separately, Hoffman Estates on Wednesday announced it is hiring hospitality industry veteran Linda Scheck as its full-time tourism and business retention coordinator.

One Hoffman Estates official said the village's defection from the group was necessary because it is "Schaumburg-centric."

The Schaumburg-based tourism bureau is a group of 11 municipalities pooling their resources to promote tourism. Fees are based on the number of hotel rooms in the respective towns.

As for the outlook for tourism in the Northwest suburbs, Bolson is optimistic.

She told the chamber the Northwest suburbs are heavily reliant on business travel, which shows few signs of dropping off.

"Business travel remains strong," she said. "Consumer and leisure travel is a tad off."