Illinois Tourism Promotes Road Trips Across the State

Lansing, IL – As Illinois moves through the re-opening phases outlined by Governor Pritzker, various tourism organizations around the state look to attract visitors to safely visit their communities by providing weekly inspiration for road trips.

Recognizing the desire for many to travel safely by car, Market Illinois, a group of marketing professionals from local and regional destination marketing organizations (DMOs), are collaborating to promote all that Illinois has to offer through a weekly blog, “Illinois Road Trip Round Up.”

“As we celebrate ‘All in Illinois’ together, we recognize that we’re stronger when we promote opportunities across the state collectively,” explains Kim Kislowski, Director of Marketing for the Visit Chicago Southland. “Tourism will be an economic driver as we begin phases of re-opening and this collaboration is ideal to spread the word on the unique destinations around Illinois.”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism in the United States is significant, with spring and summer traditionally bringing substantial business to areas, with sports, conferences, group tours and leisure travel all impacted. Surveys conducted on a national scale show that leisure travel will be the first sector to return, although travelers will be cautious and will look to trips that are close to home.

“The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau is proud to be partnering with local and regional destination marketing organizations from around the state to promote tourism in Illinois,” says Jim Garrett, President/CEO of the Visit Chicago Southland. “Although the tourism industry has been greatly impacted during this tragic pandemic, I am confident that we will all come out of this stronger than before, and we will do it together.”

To entice leisure travelers to Illinois, every Tuesday following Memorial Day to Labor Day, sixteen participating DMOs will share one trip idea from their region on a timely theme, starting with top biking and hiking trails. Recognizing that areas of the state will be in different stages of re-opening, topics will always feature a destination that is currently accessible and safe for public visitation. Future topics may include outdoor picnic spots, top golf courses, farmer’s markets and more.

“From Rockford to Alton, and the Quad Cities to Chicago Southland, there are numerous activities available to the public for an enjoyable getaway close to home. Whether you’re looking for a new spot for a cool summer treat, or the best place to play golf, all of our communities have something to offer,” Kislowski says.

Travelers looking for inspiration in Illinois can follow along every Tuesday on the participating DMOs websites and social media channels where each weekly blog will be posted. Destinations featured include:

• Chicago’s North Shore | visitchicagonorthshore.com
• Visit Chicago Southland | visitchicagosouthland.com
• Discover DuPage | discoverdupage.com
• Aurora Area CVB | enjoyaurora.com
• Explore Elgin Area | exploreelginarea.com
• Go Rockford | gorockford.com
• Great Rivers & Routes | riversandroutes.com
• Heritage Corridor | heritagecorridorcvb.com
• Illinois South Tourism | illinoisouth.org
• Meet Chicago Northwest | chicagonorthwest.com
• Visit Champaign County | visitchampaigncounty.org
• Visit Effingham | visiteffinghamil.com
• Visit McHenry County | visitmchenrycounty.com
• Visit Quad Cities | visitquadcities.com
• Visit SI | visitsi.com
• Visit Springfield | visitspringfieldillinois.com

The Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official destination management and marketing organization for Chicago’s 63 south and southwest suburbs. The Visit Chicago Southland markets the Chicago Southland region as a destination for meetings and conventions, group tour, sports events and leisure. For more information, go to VisitChicagoSouthland.com.

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