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Visit Lee County reports growth in overnight trips and adds staff to expand tourism marketing
Summary
Visit Lee County presented first-quarter metrics showing increases in overnight trips and visit nights compared with the prior year period and told the county board it hired a seasonal staffer to expand marketing, itineraries and community partnership work.
Lucas Pauley, representing Visit Lee County, told the board the county’s tourism office saw growth in key indicators in the latest available data and outlined plans to expand marketing support for local events.
Pauley reported that interactions on Facebook were up 71.2% year-to-date compared with the final three months of 2024, and watch time on Visit Lee County content increased about 45 percent. He said views and reach declined (declines Pauley attributed to not running paid advertisements in the quarter) — a 28.1% decrease in views and a 66.2% decrease in reach compared with the prior period when ads ran. On Instagram, interactions rose 50% and the office increased posting volume.
On visitor metrics, Pauley said available data for October 2024 through January 2025 showed an 18.6% increase in overnight trips and a 24.3% increase in visit nights compared with the same period the prior year. He reported 33,000 overnight trips and 83,000 visit nights recorded in that window, and cited popular origin markets including Chicago, Naperville, Elgin and other regional metros.
To expand capacity, Visit Lee County has added a seasonal staff member to produce story-driven content, update itineraries and represent the county at tourism events. Pauley said Visit Lee County will partner with Visit Northwest Illinois on advertising for the Pawpaw Festival and continue to develop travel packages and itineraries to promote county attractions.
Board members thanked Pauley for the data-driven update and noted the value of partnerships and targeted advertising. No board action was required.
