The single largest gathering of public and private sector tourism officials in the history of the industry was held in Chicago from September 15-17. More than 800 representatives of the hotel, restaurant, attraction, transportation and hospitality industry services sectors joined with Illinois park districts, convention and visitors bureaus, regional tourism councils and state agencies during the Governor's Conference on Tourism.

"America is saying 'yes' to Illinois, waking up to Illinois and wandering Illinois ... we increased our share of the country's leisure travel business by 10.5 percent — more than any other state in the area. Visitor spending increased by 11 percent — more than any other state in the area — and contributed nearly $13 billion to our economy. Our international tourist trade increased more than eight percent from 1991 to 1992."

During the conference, IAPD Executive Director Ted Flickinger was inducted as Chairman of the Illinois Travel and Tourism Council. Flickinger introduced Governor Jim Edgar as keynote speaker. Following are excerpts from Governor Edgar's speech:

"I am delighted to be here today and to congratulate the many people who have done such a tremendous job of promoting the image of Illinois to the rest of this nation and, indeed, to the entire world.

We all have good reason to be proud of the job we have done — together — in urging and convincing people to bring their business to Illinois and in encouraging families to spend their vacation time here.

Despite some tight budget times over the past few years, state government has maintained its investment in tourism. And there is strong proof that our work is paying the dividends of increased tourism dollars being spent in Illinois — more hotel rooms being filled, more Illinoisans deciding to spend their entertainment dollars in Illinois, and more people from the United States and foreign countries deciding they should not miss what Illinois has to offer.

We are reaching out to new audiences, especially among minority communities, with targeted advertising and brochures. We changed our advertising focus from generalized 'feel good' images of Illinois to specific, targeted, award-winning ads that gave specific information about specific locations and attractions.

And the numbers tell us our approach was the right one. America is saying 'yes' to Illinois, waking up to Illinois and wandering Illinois — to borrow from the promotional campaigns of some of our regional competitors. We increased our share of the country's leisure travel business by 10.5 percent — more than any other state in the area. Visitor spending increased by 11 percent — more than any other state in the area— and contributed nearly $13 billion to our economy. Our international tourist trade increased more than eight percent from 1991 to 1992.

We are proving to the world that Illinois has much to offer, from the magnificent skyline of this great city [Chicago] to the magnificent towering forests 400 miles away in Southern Illinois.

But another set of numbers is perhaps even more telling about the success we have had. Leisure travel by Illinoisans

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staying in Illinois increased by 24 percent. At the same time, leisure travel of Illinois residents to other Midwestern states decreased by 12 percent. We stayed home to enjoy our own state last summer, spending our entertainment dollars at home and bolstering our own economy rather than the bank books of businesses in other states.

While the demand for hotel rooms across the country increased only 4 percent last year, the number of hotel rooms booked in the Chicago area increased 7.2 percent. Statewide, the number of hotel rooms actually booked increased 5 percent, again ahead of the national average. And the preliminary figures for 1993 show that Illinois is again outpacing the nation.

And, in growing numbers, we are convincing visitors to Chicago to extend their trips and sample what the rest of Illinois has to offer. Whether those visitors are interested in Galena and Ulysses S. Grant, or Springfield and Abraham Lincoln, or the majestic beauty and solitude of Southern Illinois, we want them to experience all that Illinois has to offer. And the numbers indicate that more of them are doing that.

We have accomplished much, but we cannot rest, even for a moment, on the belief that our job is done. The competition for tourism dollars among cities, among states, among countries, is too great for our job to ever be completed.

Illinois has what people want. Our job is to make sure that message

gets out and that we continue to build on the record of accomplishments we have.

Together we are building a reputation among travel and convention circles that is drawing millions of people to Chicago and Illinois every year. And we are building a partnership that is providing the infrastructure necessary to attract, support and entertain those tourists, conventioneers and business travelers. The spirit of cooperation between the public and private sectors is an excellent example of the work that is necessary for an industry to continue to grow, and for us as a city and state to thrive.

I mentioned earlier that we were reaching out to new audiences, emphasizing in our minority populations that there is much for them to savor and enjoy in Illinois. And we are doing that through a partnership of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism and the private sector. For the first time, we have produced a Spanish language travel guide to Illinois, inviting the one million Hispanics in Illinois to discover the attractions of Illinois.

And we will soon be announcing, with the cooperation of the Chicago Sun-Times and eight other major Illinois companies, a traveler's guide to African American heritage to help the public explore the African American heritage of this great state. Those guides will be distributed in newspapers, available through tourist information centers and passed out to Chicago area school children during the Black History Month next February.

Old reasons to visit attractions and areas new to us; new reasons to visit old and familiar attractions — that is part of the effort we must put forth to encourage Illinoisans and others to take a minute and see what Illinois has to offer.

But we are going to do more. Last month I signed legislation that I proposed that tackles two very important concerns in the tourism industry, both of which, not surprisingly, revolved around money.

"Last month I signed legislation that... means there mil be an additional $850,000 available for tourism promotion throughout this state during the fiscal year. And three years from now there mil be an additional three million dollars a year that can be used to promote Illinois and to work with the private sector in attracting major national and international events and competitions to Chicago and to Illinois."

First, that bill cures a cash flow problem for the 35 convention and tourism bureaus around Illinois, eliminating delays for those important components of the tourism industry in promoting events in their areas. And secondly, it increases the share of the hotel-motel tax going to the Tourism Promotion Fund significantly and permanently.

That legislation means there will be an additional $850, 000 available for tourism promotion throughout this state during the fiscal year. And three years from now there will be an additional three million dollars a year that can be used to promote Illinois and to work with the private sector in attracting major national and international events and competitions to Chicago and to Illinois. [Emphasis added.]

That additional money, which will be matched with local and private funds, will help you do your job, and it will help our state tourism bureau do its job better in attracting people to Illinois.

Tourism is one of Illinois' fastest-growing industries, providing jobs for nearly a quarter million people in our state. To continue generating jobs, to maintain our competitive edge, we must take advantage of new opportunities and step up our promotions of Illinois as a travel destination.

That is especially true next year when the World Cup soccer games will be played in Chicago and televised to more than 160 countries, giving us an unprecedented opportunity to expose the world to the unique attractions of Chicago and Illinois.

We need to build on our recent successes, and we need to continue to sell Illinois enthusiastically. We need to encourage more visitors to spend more time exploring the neighborhoods and beauty of Chicago and the wonders of Illinois. We sell ourselves short if we do not aggressively market our many attractions.

Your work and our additional funding will attract even greater numbers of visitors to Illinois, which in turn will bolster our economy, create additional jobs for Illinoisans and, just as importantly, will allow us to welcome the people of the world to the city and the state we are all proud to call our home."

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