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1 HARRISBURG, ILLINOIS « 60CWEATHERFORECASTToday and tonlghtf|Vlndy,chance of light snow, low In the toe dcloudy, high In the 30$.Monday through Wednesday, clear and cold, highi in the 40s,lows In the teens.Friday: High #11135,/JttViitii 31.By LEE SMITH Managing EditorThe harvesting of tourists may be starting soon if six Southeastern Illinois counties have anything to say about it.Residents from the six counties, Saline, Gallatin, Pope, Hardin, White and Hamilton have been meeting to discuss common goals and desires in promoting tourism inSoutheastern Illinois.“We have the product,” said Don Phillips, owner of the River Rose Inn in Elizabethtown and chairman of the six-county committee. “The problem,” he added, “is getting the money to promote this region.”The Illinois Bureau of Tourism has a $24 million budget, the largest in the nation, to promote tourism in Illinois, according to Phillips.That money comes from a motel and hotel tax and is poured back into areas where the money is generated like Williamson County with over 1,000-beds.441144We probably don’t have 500 beds in the six counties,” Phillips stated. “So there is very little money coming this way.Jan Kemmerling, with the Bureau of Tourism in Springfield described the effort of promoting tourism as varying, but designed for specific products to bring in huge groups of people.We’re in the business of filling beds,” Kemmerling stated.According to Kemmerling, $10 million of the tourism budget is designated for domestic advertising, $1 million for international advertising, S8 million in grants to promote conventions and the remainder in a 60-40 matching grant program and operating funds.Kemmerling indicated that anyone was able to submit ideas to the tourism bureau for promotion.Those ideas are then evaluated, said.A new ad campaign promoting tourism44lt;11sheSAT.SUN., MARCH 13-14, 1993 © Vol. 78, No. 219HEALTH BEATMonthly health sebtldh inside. jffjSpecial InsertSPORTSstate semi-finals.Page IBAmericanWeekendOvernight StayCitizens see life inside|st|te’^|Jnewest prison.Page 1CWEEKENDFonda LegacyAt 29, Bridget Fonda tells what she’s afraid of.Special InsertSCENIC POINT— Don Phillips looks out on the Ohio River while resting at the gazebo on the river bank in Elizabethtown.The gazebo provides a wonderful view of the river used by early settlers to begin a new life in Southern Illinois. Just up from the gazebo is the historic Rose Hotel, once known as McFarlan’s Tavern named for James McFarlan who settled in Elizabethtown in the early 1800s. The Rose Hotel was once the oldest continuously operating hotel in the state. (Lee Smith photo)said. “It’s an industry taxed service on money to compete against some state fund-motel and hotels. Any other effort or busi- ed projects like the Rend Lake Botel.in Illinois is scheduled to begin on April 25 which will include Southern Illinois, Kemmerling reported, however, she did not have the exact details of the campaign.But will the Bureau of Tourism bring tourists to southeastern Illinois?ness does not qualify.”Those other efforts include many of the antique shops, gift shops and campgrounds that are in southeastern Illinois. And, forceMetropolis will also benefit from the promotion of the Bureau of Tourism. The Players Riverboat Casino is designed to draw large numbers of crowds. Additional-completion and another motel is looking at possible sites.State Senator Jim Rea, after listening to the comments at one of the committee meetings said, “There has to be another look at the funding, somehow equity has tobe worked out.”But, more immediate help may be on the way for the six-county region.With the help of Dr. Dan Fesenmaier of the University of Illinois a plan to improve tourism in terms of jobs, income and tax revenues is being worked on.“Dr. Fesenmaier was involved in the development of Brown Co. in Indiana,” Chuck Hankins, Saline County Development Director, told committee members at a recent meeting.Brown County, with a population of 800 people and 500 businesses was also an inspiration in the development of ProjectBOUNCE in Eldorado.Fesenmaier’s plans calls for and inventory of markets, transportation, attractions,information, service businesses and environment of the six counties. Issues and problems will be identified and then recommendations will be made.It is a general consensus by the committee that this area has a rich history and a strong sense of values that make it appealing as a tourist destination.“It’s not set up to promote,” Phillips owners of private businesses to use their ly, a 62-bed Best Inns Motel is nearing“We all agree we have the product,” Phillips said. “But here are the roadblocks we’re not able to tax people who represent partners in tourism development nor to we have the tools to participate in the Bureau of Tourism’s 60-40 grant program.”Phillips, and everyone working toward promoting southeastern Illinois tourism believe this area is ripe for tourism development.“Other areas of the state can’t compete with what we have here,” Phillips explains. “We have got the product in our history and in the scenic to develop a well-rounded tourist mecca.”
Newspaper Details
Harrisburg Daily Register
Harrisburg, Illinois, US
Sat, Mar 13, 1993
Page 1
Full Page
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