The Band is Together Again, local tourism is benefitting
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- Published on Thursday, 09 May 2013 21:09
- Written by Paul Gordon
During the first four months of 2013 the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has already book 56 events into the region that will bring an estimated $5.2 million to the local economy.
And there are a whole lot more possibilities that could be booked soon.
It's no wonder Don Welch and his staff at the Convention and Visitors Bureau say they have "got the band back together" and in a celebratory mood.
Don Welch, back row center, CEO of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and his staff pose behind the cardboard cutout of a police cruiser similar to the one used in The Blue Brothers film. Using the them "The Band is Back Together," the staff told of growing successes in the past year druing hte bureau's annual meeitng on Thursday. The bureau's 2013 annual meeting was Thursday at the Gateway Building and the hundred or so in attendance may have felt they were walking onto the set of a new Blues Brothers movie. Welch was in a black suit, black hat and sunglasses, trying to look his best Jake Blues; his staff was dressed in similar fashion.
In one corner was a cardboard cutout of a black-and-white police cruiser, purported to be like the one Jake and Elwood drove in the 1980 film that remains a hit today.
Why the movie rip-off? Welch explained that shortly after he took the job as CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, when trying to put his team together, he got a telephone call from a friend asking what he was doing.
Without thinking he replied with one of the movie's most classic lines, "I'm putting the band together and we're on a mission from God."
The staff, Welch said, "took that and ran with it. We've been working very hard to get things moving and we're getting some wins. And I am here to tell you the band is back together," Welch said to the applause of the audience.
Sue Atherton, vice president of the bureau and Welch's first hire as CEO, said the staff has already sent out 110 leads to events and conventioneers in 2013 and if just those came to fruition it would be worth more than 48,000 room nights and $16.1 million in revenues to the area economy.
Of those leads, 56 are now booked, generating 15,166 room nights, 37 days at the Peoria Civic Center and an estimated economic impact of $5.2 million.
"Most people don't realize the economic impact tourism has on the area," Atherton said. She then explained the "circle of tourism" and how travel and meeting promotion bring increased visits, additional visitor spending, new jobs and revenues, and then more money to do more travel and meeting promotions.
"Tourism saves the average Illinois family $1,100 each year in taxes. That's taxes you don't have to pay because of revenues generated by tourism," she said.
Atherton talked about some of the innovative and fun ways the staff approached event planners at various trade shows, including dressing as Dorothy and the two witches from "The Wizard of Oz" to capture their attention.
"These work to break the ice, which is really important when you only get six minutes to make a pitch," she said.
Leloni Luft, director of marketing, talked about the various advertisements that the bureau places in out-of-town and out-of-state publications — advertisements Peorians don't see but that are effective.
Adam Gierhart told of redesigning the Official Visitors Guide to make it more user-friendly. It is working; website visits are up more than 35 percent from this time a year ago, he said.
Other staff made presentations as well to give attendees a look at what has been going on at the bureau.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau presented its annual awards on Thursday, as well.
The Steve Kouri Award, named for the Peoria judge who led the charge to bring March Madness to Peoria nearly 20 years, is presented to a person who makes extraordinary contributions to the area economy as well as assistance to the bureau. The award this year was presented to Jim Wetherington, general manager of the Civic Center.
The Member of the Year Award was presented to Bobbie Rice, marketing manager for the Wheels O' Time Museum in Peoria, "for her tireless dedication to the bureau."
The Friend of Tourism Award was presented to Caterpillar Inc. for its efforts in building the Cat Visitors Center and helping to promote it as well as the entire area.
