Press release:
Visitor Welcome Centers Planned for Logan County

 

[March 30, 2019] 

Visitors and tourists entering Logan County will be greeted and provided information regarding tourist attractions and sites as a result of a new partnership between Atlanta, Elkhart, Mt. Pulaski, the Logan County Tourism Bureau, and the Logan County Economic Development Partnership [LCEDP]. Nearly two years ago, the LCEDP began discussions with municipal representatives in the Logan County gateway communities of Atlanta, Elkhart, and Mt. Pulaski designed to establish a Visitor Welcome Center in each city.

A plan for doing so was presented to the Tourism Bureau Board at its 3/28/19 Board meeting. Representatives from each of the gateway communities were on hand to answer questions and request funding from the Bureau Board. Total project costs are estimated to be $7,500, with each community contributing $1,000 and the Tourism Bureau funding the balance of $4,500.

The goal of the project is to increase tourist revenue in Logan County by establishing Visitor Welcome Centers at the entry points to the County that are designed to motivate tourists to visit sites, attractions, and businesses throughout Logan County – and spend money in the process.

A place to welcome visitors to Logan County already exists in Lincoln, at the site of the Tourism Bureau Office at the Amtrak Station.

To complement this site and to strategically enhance the ability of the Tourism Bureau to bring new and additional revenue into Logan County, the project proposed that Visitor Welcome Centers also be established in Elkhart, Mt. Pulaski, and Atlanta as they are the main entry points into Logan County for tourists traveling Interstate 55, Rt. 121, Rt. 54, and Rt. 66.

The community representatives attending the Tourism Bureau Board meeting noted the importance of welcoming tourists and motivating them to visit sites, attractions, and business throughout Logan County at the actual entry points to the County, as well as at the centrally located Tourism Bureau site in Lincoln. The work of all the Visitor Welcome Centers will be coordinated to achieve the strategic goal of increasing the amount of money tourists spend throughout Logan County by increasing the number of places they visit in the County.

Each Visitor Welcome Center will act as a marketing tool for the entire County. Establishing a Visitor Welcome Center at each of the entry points into the County will convey the perception that Logan County is visitor-friendly, encourages community ownership of tourism, and is working to improve the Tourism Bureau’s ability to strategically leverage tourism for economic development purposes.

The Visitor Welcome Centers will work to make visitors feel genuinely welcomed in Logan County, as well as motivating them to visit the sites, attractions, and businesses Logan County offers.
 

The Visitor Welcome Centers will result in a number of benefits for Logan County, including: Increasing the probability tourists choose to stop in Logan County; Increasing the probability of new and additional revenue from tourists stopping in Logan County; Providing the Tourism Bureau with data it can use to more accurately create and target its marketing efforts; Providing data that will help communities across the County recognize the benefits of leveraging tourism for economic development purposes; and Enhancing the Tourism Bureau’s ability to work with communities across the County towards achieving tourism goals.

Coordinated signage will be installed at each Visitor Welcome Center site, along with “way-finding” signs to direct travelers to the centers in each community. Each community will staff its Visitor Welcome Center, and when not open, large monitors will present video of Logan County attractions and sites. In addition, outdoor weatherproof brochure racks will help make sure visitors receive information even when a center is not open. Data will be collected from tourists at each site in order to help improve and enhance the marketing efforts of the Tourism Bureau. It is hoped the Visitor Welcome Centers can be up and running in time for the 2019 tourist season.

The Elkhart Visitor Welcome Center will be located in the Country Bumpkin shop on Govenor Oglesby Street.

It will be housed on the square in the Mt. Pulaski Township Historical Society’s Museum building.

In Atlanta, it will be located in the Union Hall Building on Historic Route 66, owned by the Atlanta Public Library.

The mission of the Logan County Economic Development Partnership is to cultivate a business environment that enhances Logan County by expanding our local and regional economy through programs that sustain and grow existing businesses, attract and establish new businesses, and increase quality employment opportunities.

[Bill Thomas]