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.
Thousands of people will also descend on Bloomington-Normal in July for a youth softball tournament at Champion Fields in Normal, said Howard.
“We’ve been told by some of our major events that next school year a lot of events are going to take place as usual,” Howard said. “We’re very happy about that.”
Howard said 2020 was “devastating” for the local leisure and hospitality industry.
One reason for hope: More than 7 in 10 American travelers are planning a summer vacation or getaway this summer – up from 37% in 2020. That’s according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Illinois’ Office of Tourism is embracing road trippers through a campaign called “Time For Me To Drive.” Howard’s office has provided an itinerary for that campaign called “Fun in Bloomington-Normal,” featuring local breweries, Miller Park Zoo, and the nearby Sugar Grove Nature Center.
There are still challenges. Hotel occupancy in Bloomington-Normal is still not good, Howard said. The market for meetings and groups still has not picked up. But it’s not all bad.
“Rivian and the companies that have come into town have brought a lot of business. That’s really helped our hotels because they’ve been doing extended stays. That’s helped at a time when we desperately needed it,” Howard said.
Sports complex
Meanwhile, Howard’s Convention and Visitors Bureau still supports the development of a tournament-grade sports complex, building on the success of Champion Fields.
The Illinois Fire Juniors soccer organization announced last year it was moving ahead with that complex in north Normal.
That’s still in motion, but “the land, to our knowledge, has not been confirmed,” Howard said.
“The organizations we’ve been working with are still looking for that confirmation on where they’re gonna host events. So it’s paused right now. This pandemic really didn’t help because everything was on pause. We’re just hearing they haven’t confirmed the land yet,” she said.
“They need to get sponsorships as well, and they just haven’t been able to do in the past year. We’re looking forward to something happening and hopefully an announcement. But at this point, we’re on pause.”
