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Visit Kankakee County presents visitor metrics, plans for 2025
Summary
Nicole Gavin, director of Visit Kankakee County, told the county board that visitors comprised 15.4% of people in the county in 2024 and contributed about 9% of local visitor spending; the bureau previewed event-level data and marketing plans for 2025.
Nicole Gavin, director of Visit Kankakee County, briefed the Kankakee County Board on tourism metrics and marketing plans during the March 11 meeting.
Gavin said 15.4% of people counted in 2024 were visitors (defined for the metric as persons in the area for more than two hours but less than two weeks) and that those visitors accounted for roughly 9% of overall local spending last year.
The announcement included other indicators the bureau uses to measure impact. Gavin told the board that county hotel occupancy rose from about 51% in 2023 to roughly 61% in 2024, and that the Visit Kankakee County website saw a 25% increase in traffic from 2023 to 2024. "For some of our small businesses, 9% could be the difference between keeping their doors open or having to shut down," Gavin said.
Gavin presented event-level snapshots the bureau obtains through a service called Zardeco. She said the Kankakee River Valley Regatta weekend showed a 12% lift in hotel occupancy and a 14% increase in visitor spending versus the preceding four weeks; Nazarene University homecoming produced a 9% lift in hotel occupancy and a 412% increase in attraction spend; and the Wintersong music festival produced large gains in restaurant and nightlife spending even as overall visitor spend for that one-day January event declined.
Gavin described operational changes at the bureau: Visit Kankakee County moved its office to the Kankakee County Depot in October and added data tools that allow event comparisons back to 2021. She said the bureau will publish a new visitor guide in coming weeks, revive a craft-beverage trail and a taco trail, and roll out an outdoor-adventure campaign and a lifestyle/talent-attraction campaign for employers.
During board questions, Mr. Hunter asked whether the bureau could pull data on the economic impact of specific events such as girls softball tournaments and the Pembroke rodeo; Gavin said she would gather and share that data with the board. No formal action was taken.
The bureau listed contact information and encouraged board members to stop by the Depot office for further details.
