Tourism

The Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has received a $150,000 state tourism grant to further restore Sprague’s Super Service in Normal ahead of Route 66's 100th anniversary next year.

A growing number of visitors are discovering southern Illinois as a travel destination amid a recent effort to entice more people to visit for the summer season.

Melissa Chrisman succeeds Crystal Howard, who led Bloomington-Normal tourism for two decades. Chrisman will join the agency in February, as preparations ramp up for the Route 66 centennial.

Crystal Howard has resigned after 20-plus years as executive director of the Bloomington-Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The long-anticipated grand opening begins Friday with a new addition to the museum's "giant" collection.

The grant is part of 58 awards totaling $6.6 million through the Route 66 ($3.7 million) and Tourism Marketing Grant Programs ($2.9 million) to boost local tourism efforts and attract visitors to drive along the historic highway.

Bloomington-Normal has joined the lineup of destinations for the annual Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor.

For Bloomington-Normal’s many new residents, this year may be their first time hosting out-of-town visitors for the holidays. And yes, the weather may be frigid, but there’s still plenty of ways to show off your hometown – no matter how long you’ve lived here.

The Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau announced Bloomington Gold’s homecoming on Tuesday during a news conference outside Hancock Stadium.

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.