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Aurora‑area tourism bureau outlines Oswego marketing results, proposes $37,000 co‑op for 2026–27
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Summary
At the March 3 Committee of the Whole, the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau presented Oswego‑specific marketing results—millions of impressions, an estimated $2 million economic impact—and proposed a $37,000 municipal co‑op budget for fiscal 2026–27; trustees asked for clarifications on metrics and funding for communities without hotels.
Representatives of the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau presented Oswego‑specific marketing outcomes and a proposed $37,000 municipal co‑op budget at the Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole meeting on March 3, 2026.
Court Carlson, speaking for the bureau, said Oswego is included in AACVB regional marketing and sales initiatives and that the organization’s destination analytics (July 1 to Jan. 13) showed about 320,000 visits to destination web properties, roughly 70% of visits coming from outside Illinois. “Oswego is included in all of our marketing and sales initiatives,” Carlson said.
James Cardes, identified in the meeting as AACVB director of marketing, outlined results from the village’s municipal co‑op campaign. Cardes said the bureau uses a 40/60 split of hotel revenue collected by the village to fund a tailored marketing plan. For the 2024–25 campaign AACVB projected a $26,000 local split but reported spending about $40,000; campaign outputs included 3.8 million impressions across destination properties, 91,000 clicks to those properties, and 2.8 million social impressions reaching roughly 1.2 million people. Cardes also described DataFi analytics used to estimate visitation and reported an estimated 31,300 hotel room nights attributed to campaign activity.
Why it matters: the bureau said expanding visitation supports local hotel stays and increases the pool of grant funding available to the regional CVB. Carlson noted that being a certified CVB increases access to state tourism grant funds and that a larger destination footprint can raise grant allocations.
Metrics and next steps Cardes distinguished between two average length‑of‑stay figures during questions: the 2.7‑day figure covers visitation and hotel stays across the entire AACVB region, while the 1.9‑day figure reflects visitors targeted specifically by the Oswego campaign and DataFi modeling. “The second number is based only on those folks who are exposed to our campaign for the village of Oswego,” Cardes said, adding that Oswego‑targeted trips with a hotel stay averaged about 2.2 nights.
AACVB said it is conducting a hotel feasibility study and has identified three potential vendors; village staff (referred to in the meeting as Kevin) will coordinate with the bureau on next steps. The bureau also highlighted plans for more targeted “down‑funnel” advertising to reach people searching for hotels in outlying counties and proposed continued media production and business‑highlight content that could be repurposed for economic development and relocation outreach.
Funding footprint and community concerns Trustees asked about AACVB’s expanded footprint and funding model. Carlson and another AACVB representative said funding is based on local hotel‑motel tax collections: communities without hotels do not contribute hotel tax revenue, but they can still feed regional hotel demand (the Stewart Sports Complex in Montgomery was cited as an example). “If there isn't a hotel within that community, there isn't a funding source,” Carlson said, adding that regional product can still support partner hotels and justify inclusion in the destination plan.
Budget ask AACVB proposed $37,000 in municipal co‑op funds for fiscal 2026–27, a level the presenters said would maintain the types of campaigns and content produced in 2024–25 while shifting some emphasis away from Venue 1012 except for ticketed events.
Votes at a glance The board approved one administrative motion before the presentation: a motion to allow Trustee Karen Novy to attend electronically at the Committee of the Whole meeting. The motion was moved and seconded in the transcript by a trustee voice (recorded as Trustee (speaker 3)); the roll‑call returned yes votes from Trustee McCarthy Lang, Trustee Hughes, Trustee Cooper, and President Coffman; Trustees Novy, Torres and Konig were recorded absent.
The meeting adjourned the Committee of the Whole and reconvened the regular village board meeting at 7 p.m.