Greater St. Charles tourism numbers solid for FY 2013
Governor Pat Quinn announced on Monday, July 8 that Illinois hosted more than 99 million domestic visitors in 2012, a 6.1 percent increase over the record 93.3 million U.S. residents who visited Illinois in 2011. This surge in tourism generated nearly $31 billion for the state's economy in 2012, and the numbers will be even higher when international visitor numbers are available later this summer. Increasing tourism and its resulting economic impact are part of Governor Quinn's agenda to drive Illinois' economy forward.
“Another year of record breaking numbers proves that travel is back and the tourism industry in Illinois is thriving,” Governor Quinn said. “Our world-class cultural attractions and destinations continue to attract more and more visitors to Illinois each year, which in turn directly drives the state's economy growth.”
Locally, the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau recently finalized its numbers for FY 2013 (July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013). The results are as follows:
The SCCVB responded to 27,213 requests for visitor information; serviced 98 groups bringing 23,570 people to Greater St. Charles; generated 71 leads for new group business with potential spending of $5,711,633; booked 41 pieces of new business with potential spending of $717,207; produced the 27th annual Scarecrow Fest with estimated spending (not including Fox Valley attendees) of $4,106,322; and realized a $14.15 return on investment for each dollar of local and state funding. Local hotel/motel taxes collected also increased by 2% in FY 2013 to $1.85 million.
“It is essential that the SCCVB continues to vigorously market the Greater St. Charles tourism product to potential visitors and to provide services to enhance their stay and encourage them to come back,” SCCVB Executive Director Amy Egolf said. “Also important is that we continue to educate constituents throughout our service area about the importance of tourism – not only on a local but state level as well.”
This marks the second year in a row that Illinois' visitor numbers broke records and outpaced the national average of 5.4 percent, highlighting the industry's vital contributions to Illinois' economic growth, job creation and tax revenue.
Bolstered by a surge in leisure travel, the Illinois tourism industry generated nearly $31 billion in 2012 from domestic visitors alone, up five percent from last year's record-breaking domestic travel expenditures of $29.5 billion. Preliminary data indicate that international visitor numbers are also on the rise. International numbers will be released later this summer.
State and local tax revenues from tourism totaled more than $2.3 billion in 2012, an increase of more than $124 million. State tax revenue rose 5.3 percent to $1.6 billion, while local tax revenue rose 6.6 percent to more than $699 million. Initial estimates indicate that the Illinois travel industry workforce grew by 1.9 percent in 2012. Final figures will be released later that summer.
“We are always looking for innovative ways to share Illinois' unique stories with the world and to encourage visitors to discover all that the state offers,” Illinois Office of Tourism Deputy Director Jen Hoelzle said. “Our efforts drive visitors to the people, places and experiences that make a trip to Illinois memorable.”
The Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau is funded by the Illinois Office of Tourism and a portion of the hotel/motel tax collected by St. Charles hotels to promote Greater St. Charles as a destination for leisure tourists and meetings and conventions, sports events, and motorcoach trips. For additional information regarding the bureau's marketing and sales activities, contact the bureau at 630-377-6161, 800-777-4373 or www.visitstcharles.com.