The Illinois Office of Tourism announced that Macon County’s economy collected a total of $158 million from tourism activity within the past year.
The office went into detail describing how $155 million generated from travel expenditures and $2.89 million derived from local tax revenue. The state of Illinois as a whole collected $41.7 billion from both international and domestic travel.
According to Executive Director for the Decatur Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Teri Hammel, some of Macon County’s largest events that attracted the most tourists included the Farm Progress Show, Decatur Celebration, Midstate Soccer Midstate Cup, Decatur/Forsyth LPGA Classic and the National USA/ASA softball championship.
Acting Director of the Illinois Office of Tourism Jan Kemmerling outlined how much of an impact the tourism industry creates on the state’s finances.
“Tourism is a critical part of our economy, helping to boost local and state tax revenue and create jobs,” Kemmerling said to Herald & Review.
Tourism in Illinois employs 5,200 workers across the state, with about 3.4 percent of that number stationed in Macon County.
Domestic visitor volume estimates are calculated by DK Shifflet, and international visitor numbers are provided by Tourism Economics. The U.S. Travel Association analyzes visitor expenditures, tax revenue and job estimates.
Alerts Sign-up