A growing number of tourists are making their way to Rock Island County according to a new U.S. Travel Association report that found a 2 percent increase in travel-related expenditures in the Quad Cities area the previous year.
“The ongoing increase of travel-related expenditures in the Quad Cities demonstrates that more travelers are coming to the Quad Cities each year, providing a direct economic benefit for our community,” Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB), said in a press release. “These numbers show that the QCCVB’s strategic efforts to attract visitors and promote travel to the Quad Cities continues to deliver benefits to local municipalities and residents.”
The Quad Cities is not the only area seeing gain in economic growth because of tourism. The press release said domestic travelers in Illinois spent approximately $35.1 billion in 2016, a 1.8 percent increase from 2015.
QCCVB CEO Joe Taylor
The press release also noted that domestic travelers in the state generated $2.6 billion in state and local tax revenue in the year 2016, an increase of $106 million from 2015.
“We expect the growth to continue,” Taylor said. “Hotel occupancy is up, website visitation year to date is 49 percent higher compared to 2016, and social media engagement is up 11 percent. 61 percent of our Facebook fans are from outside the main Quad Cities.”
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