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 Among those in attendance were members of the
public, faculty and staff from Lincoln College, including Alderman
Ron Keller, who was on hand in a dual role as a member of city
government and college faculty; volunteers at the college’s museum,
and board and staff members from the Logan County Tourism Bureau.
In 1998, the Lincoln Heritage Coalition was established as an
organization that would work to preserve and promote Illinois’ rich
history with Abraham Lincoln. In 2008, 42 Illinois counties,
stretching across the central part of the state from its east to
west boundaries, were established to be part of the Abraham Lincoln
National Heritage Area. Since that time, the Looking for Lincoln
Heritage Coalition has worked to promote the Heritage area, and help
communities within its boundaries to spur on economic growth through
tourism.
On Friday, one interesting tidbit Watson shared about the Heritage
Area is that of all the nationally designated areas across the
United States, the Abraham Lincoln Heritage Area is the only one
that has been designated based on the life of a person.
Mosely added to that saying that of the 49 National Heritage areas
in the country, the ALNHA is the most active in its work to bring
tourism into its area.
Watson spoke about the most recent efforts to connect Abraham
Lincoln and Route 66 tourism. She noted that in Illinois outside of
Chicago, Abraham Lincoln and Route 66 are the top two reasons
tourists come to Illinois. She said that is a big key to tourism for
Logan County because we have an abundant supply of both Lincoln and
Route 66 attractions.
Watson said that bringing in tourists is proven to spur economic
growth and that growth spurs the local economy through sales tax in
particular. She noted that in Logan County, the community of Atlanta
has embraced its Route 66 roots and exploited it as a tourist
attraction. As a result they have seen a 50 percent increase in
sales tax revenues during the tourist season.
Watson said that the key to bringing in tourists is to draw them for
a specific reason, for example to see the LHM, but then give them a
reason to stay by showing them what else is offered nearby. For
example, an itinerary could be developed that could be given to
guests at the museum that simply put says “while you’re here, visit
these other Lincoln attractions.”
Mosely also spoke about creating an itinerary for multiple days stay
using the city of Lincoln as a “hub” for day trips. She said it
could be a good sale because overnight stays in Lincoln are less
expensive, food is less expensive, and many of the attractions
offered here in town are free. She said a multiple day itinerary
could be marketed as stay in Lincoln, visit our sights, stay
overnight and on day two visit Springfield. Come back to Lincoln and
stay the night, then on the third day visit the Bloomington area,
and so on and so forth.
It was also mentioned that while Atlanta has done a wonderful job of
exploiting Route 66, there are multiple Route 66 attractions in the
county, including attractions in Lincoln and Elkhart. Watson said
that was an excellent example of a place where a Route 66 itinerary
could and should be put together. The itineraries could be printed
but could also be posted on the Tourism website.
Watson also spoke about the Signature Events the
LFL helps promote within the area. Currently, the LFL recognizes
signature events held annually in Bloomington, Lake Pittsfield,
Quincy and Springfield. Included in the criteria for a signature
event is that the event focuses on “interpreting the life and times
of Lincoln by creating an education, authentic, and unique visitor
experience that brings the Lincoln story to life,” - from the LFL
brochure.
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The question was posed could the National
Railsplitting Fesitval held in Lincoln each fall qualify? Moseley
said she didn’t think it would because the number of visitors coming
in for the festival is not as high as the LFL would like. She noted
though that the annual Pigs & Swigs Festival could have components
added to reflect Abraham Lincoln and then it would possibly qualify.
It was mentioned that this year there was a sidebar event held at
the Lincoln Depot during Pigs & Swigs. On Saturday at Pigs & Swigs,
the tourism bureau provided a Lincoln interpreter who started his
day handing out watermelon slices outside the depot close to the
Lincoln Christening site. The interpreter also spent time on a
walk-about downtown, visiting with folks and posing for pictures.
Inside the building, 1850’s crafters, those often found at the
Railsplitter Festival, were offering up demonstrations of their
handy work and talking about how their crafts would have had value
in the days of Abraham Lincoln.
Watson said that was a good start for setting the Pigs & Swigs
Festival as a signature event.
Other information shared on Friday was that LFL will pay up to $750
for Lincoln interpreters. She said that the Mount Pulaski Courthouse
utilizes that often for their Lincoln Birthday events. The LFL also
has tents that can be borrowed for tourism events.
Watson talked about a new virtual tour project that is just now
getting off the ground. She said that a friend who is a filmmaker is
working on an idea and once it is perfected, it will be shared with
the entire district so that local communities can use this as a tool
to attract visitors.
She encouraged the tourism bureau to use the local newspapers as
well as social media, and explained that Facebook is no longer the
preferred social media source among younger people. Mosely added
that there is an application called ‘Hootsuite’ that allows the user
to create one “post” that is distributed to multiple social media
sources simultaneously.
Mosely reminded the group that LFL offers a “Gateway Stamp” for
tourists, and that LHM is the stamp location for Lincoln. When
visitors come to an attraction looking for their stamp, they should
be referred to the museum.
In total, the meeting lasted more than an hour with a lot of
information exchanged between Watson and members of the tourism
bureau. At the end of the meeting, Watson encouraged the bureau to
become more active in the LFL Coalition and to take advantage of the
marketing tools that are provided through the LFL.
As the day came to an end, Moseley said that the July Coffee with
the Curator will feature Abraham Lincoln historian and author Guy
Fraker. Fraker has done extensive research and writing on Abraham
Lincoln in his pre-presidential years in Illinois. Among his titles
is his book published in the last year “A Guide to Lincoln’s Eighth
Judicial Circuit.”
[Nila Smith]
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