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Council approves three‑year agreement with Explore Elgin Area to boost tourism and tournament sales
Summary
The City Council approved a three‑year purchase of services agreement with Explore Elgin Area (EACVB) to continue tourism marketing, sports tournament sales and grant‑funded advertising. The bureau reported increased website traffic, earned grants and active hotel partnerships.
The Elgin City Council on Wednesday approved a three‑year purchase of services agreement with Explore Elgin Area, the region’s certified convention and visitors bureau, after a presentation that highlighted marketing metrics, grant awards and sports‑event sales.
"Explore Elgin Area is our community's direct conduit to crucial state funding through the Local Tourism and Convention Bureau grant program," said Liz Marsden, board chair and museum director, explaining why a certified CVB is necessary for access to state hotel tax funds.
Chrissie Lee Murphy, president and CEO of Explore Elgin Area (EACVB), told the council the organization had nearly 500,000 website page views in the last year and distributed more than 7,600 visitor guides. The bureau said it has pursued additional grant funding — including a multi‑year data contract — to target advertising and measure visitor origin and ad impact.
Holiday Inn sales manager Lydia Caldani and Explore Elgin sales manager Ryan Cortez summarized how EACVB supports hotel sales: the bureau pre‑qualifies leads at national trade shows, distributes them to hotel partners and often attends events on site to support visitors and visiting teams. Cortez said those efforts helped win events including a collegiate men's volleyball national championship hosted by Judson University and the Deep Dish Classic hockey tournament.
Council members asked about governance, regional membership and data. Murphy said Explore Elgin serves 11 communities but receives its largest funding from Elgin's hotel tax and emphasized that annual recertification to the Illinois Department of Commerce is required for continued access to Local Tourism and Convention Bureau (LTCB) grant funds. On data, the bureau described a contract with Datify to track visitor origin and the results of targeted ad campaigns; staff said some analytics (Datify advertising) are costly and will be used selectively.
The council voted to approve the three‑year agreement by recorded roll call; the motion passed with eight yes votes and one abstention.
Ending: Council members complimented EACVB's transparency and grant success and asked staff and the bureau to continue pursuing data tools to quantify economic impact from tournaments and events. The city asked for follow‑up reporting on measurable hotel room nights and local economic return tied to major events.
