Earlier in the year, President and CEO of the Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (RACVB), John Groh, said he expected it would take until probably 2024 for Rockford tourism numbers to get back to where they were before the pandemic.
/ The Illinois Shakespeare Festival returns to the Ewing Cultural Center in Bloomington after a COVID hiatus.
Bloomington-Normal’s tourism chief says she hopes to attract a lot of road trippers this summer, as vaccinated Americans venture back out again after spending last year cooped up.
“It looks much better. It actually looks better than the next 6 months, the rest of the year,” said Crystal Howard, president and CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
There are over 50 events happening in Bloomington-Normal this summer, including many outdoor ones. One notable returning event (after a 2020 cancellation) is the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.
By WMAY Newsroom
Photo: Kevin Hart/WMAY News
With Illinois poised for a wider reopening this week, Governor JB Pritzker is turning his attention to getting people from both inside and outside the state to visit Illinois communities and attractions.
During a news conference at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Pritzker announced a new campaign called “Time For Me To Drive,” loosely based on a song by Illinois band REO Speedwagon.
The campaign seeks to bolster the state’s tourism economy, which was badly battered by the statewide pandemic shutdown that began more than a year ago.