Illinois launches $6M tourism campaign to boost post-pandemic travel | National News
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a new $6 million tourism advertising campaign Wednesday aimed at attracting visitors to the state and sparking economic activity following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The multimedia campaign, featured around the theme “Time for Me to Drive,” showcases various destinations in all parts of the state and aims to reflect Illinois as a top destination for road trips.
According to a news release, the campaign reflects increasing consumer trends to take shorter trips by car to destinations closer to home following the pandemic. The campaign is the first to be released by the state since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
“More and more travelers are ready to get back out there. Recent surveys show that half of Americans plan to travel this summer, and half of them intend to drive,” Pritzker said Wednesday at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. “So, whether you want to ease your way back into travel or are raring to go, taking the great American road trip is a great way to enjoy yourself and to stay safe.”
Pritzker said the new campaign introduces tourists to “an Illinois they may not have seen before,” including destinations such as state parks, the Shawnee National Forest and the Garden of the Gods.
The campaign also promotes the cities of Chicago, Springfield and Galena as potential road trip destinations.
Sylvia Garcia, acting director of the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said before the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois saw over 120 million visitors annually who collectively spent more than $40 billion in the state.
Garcia said those numbers were “cut in half” as a result of the pandemic last year.
“(The) Time for Me to Drive campaign is not only a milestone in bringing tourism back for this summer, it’s also part of our ongoing work towards a strong recovery for the tourism industry over the long term,” Garcia said.
The advertising campaign includes television, radio, digital and print spots. Garcia said the campaign would primarily be shown in the seven states surrounding Illinois and 18 total markets.
Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, said promoting tourism in the state “puts people back to work” and will be important to the state’s economic recovery following the pandemic.
“What people rarely realize is that an investment in tourism promotion is an investment in economic development,” Jacobson said.
Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that would make sure every student in the state learns the history of Asian Americans in the U.S.
“Promoting tourism helps our economy by getting visitors to stay in our hotels, to eat in our restaurants, shop in our retail stores, buy fuel in our gas stations, and enjoy our amazing attractions,” he added.
Jacobson said 20,000 hotel workers are still out of work following pandemic-related closures and shutdowns, and that promoting tourism would be key to increasing tax revenue in the state.
Jayne DeLuce, president and CEO of the Illinois Council of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, said the return on investment for destination promotion drives $11 in tax revenue for every promotional dollar spent.
“Beyond creating priceless memories, these road trip experiences create an immediate infusion of cash in the tourism economy, which has been so decimated by the pandemic,” DeLuce said.
7 things to know as Illinois prepares to enter the bridge phase
‘Light is getting brighter’
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday that thanks to stabilizations and reductions in key COVID-19-related metrics such as hospitalizations, cases and deaths, the state will move into the intermediate reopening phase between Phases 4 and 5 on May 14.
If all goes well, the state could move into Phase 5, a reopening of the state with no restrictions, as early as June 11.
“The light that we can see at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter,” Pritzker said. “For restaurants and bars and retail and weddings and public gatherings, this means higher capacity limits and a very hopeful move toward full reopening.”
Business restrictions
The bridge phase will expand capacity limits in places such as retail stores, offices, theaters, ticketed spectator events, amusement parks and zoos up to 60%.
Restaurants and bars could expand capacity in standing areas to 30% indoors and 50% outdoors.
Outdoor farmers markets and other outdoor spectator events would be allowed to welcome 30 people per 1,000 square feet, up from 15, with indoor markets being unchanged.
Social event limits
Limits will also be expanded for social events, with outdoor events having a limit of 500 people and indoor events being able to invite up to 250 people, up from the previous limits of 100 and 50 people respectively.
Masks still required
Even with the loosening of restrictions, the state will continue to follow CDC guidelines on masks and will continue to monitor caseloads in order to prevent another surge of the virus. Pritzker also urged caution, noting that there had been too many times where the state had been lulled into a false sense of security over the past year.
“This virus and its variants have been unpredictable,” Pritzker said. “Metrics that look strong today are far from a guarantee of how things will look a week, two weeks (or) a month from now. We saw that last August and again last March.
“But what we do know is that we have tools in our arsenal, like vaccinations and wearing masks, that, if we all use them, have proven extremely effective.”
Vaccine progress
The state’s vaccination efforts have helped stabilize and reduce cases following the surge in March, even though current daily vaccinations are lagging behind those of a month ago. IDPH reported 99,599 new vaccinations Thursday, bringing the seven-day average to 70,063 per day, the lowest since February 26.
Statewide, 85% of people 65 and older have had their first shot of a vaccine and 4,282,681 people statewide have been fully vaccinated, representing 33.61% of the adult population.
Expanding vaccine access
With demand beginning to wane, Pritzker also announced Thursday that the state would begin to allow doctor’s offices to provide COVID-19 vaccines to patients. Over 1,000 offices have already signed up with IDPH to provide the vaccines, with more likely to join in the days and weeks to come.
“We have the vaccine, all we need are the doctors,” Pritzker said. “This is about making it as easy as possible for those who have not yet gotten vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19. For some, that’s a matter of comfort. They’d rather get a vaccine from a doctor that they know and trust.”
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of IDPH, said that the department is now focusing on how to get shots into the arms of those who haven’t yet received their first dose, as daily vaccination numbers start to wane.
“We know that when it comes to our health, the person that we tend to trust most is our own personal physician,” Ezike said.
Ezike noted that logistical challenges may impact how many offices provide the vaccine early on. For instance, the process for signing up through Illinois’ I-CARE (Illinois Comprehensive Automated Immunization Registry Exchange) system takes a week or two before the first shots can be given. In addition, both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require cold storage that may not be readily available in many doctor’s offices.
“We’re working with that,” Ezike said. “We’re going to work with hospitals and health care organizations to identify ways in which smaller doctor’s offices can work with one another and share the doses so that even a provider that only administers a dozen or two-dozen doses a week can still have access to this valuable resource.”
