Tourism is generating millions of dollars for the Vermilion County economy. And a new report from the Illinois Office of Tourism says tourism numbers in the county are up significantly!
The Danville/Vermilion County travel expenditures last year totaled $81.72 million dollars (a .6 percent increase). The local tourism industry generated $1.89 million dollars in local tax revenues (a 5.2 percent increase.)
Jeanie Cooke, Executive Director of the Danville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, says she is excited about the numbers because they have continued to go up each year. ”It’s great numbers, and we’re very excited. The people in this community have worked very hard to improve our tourism venues and our entertainment – and it’s paying off,” says Cooke. And she adds the figures clearly illustrate tourism’s enormous return on investment.
Cooke also noted new events are being added all the time which help improve the numbers. ”Last year, for example – Balloons Over Vermilion. Soon we’ll be adding Kickapoo Rail Trail. We have added events downtown with music every single weekend. So those all added together just keep everything growing,” says Cooke. ”Out in the county we’ve got the winery which brings a lot of people to this area. So, we’re very fortunate to live here. Twelve-thousand acres of park land – how can you beat that?”
The Illinois Office of Tourism says every dollar invested in Illinois tourism generates $9-dollars in economic impact. Illinois welcomed 110 million domestic visitors last year – which was one million more than in 2015. In the past 10 years, domestic travel to Illinois has increased by 19-million visitors, according to the report.
