Advocacy

IDA serves as a central source for legislative information and issues affecting the travel industry. The organization’s Legislative Committee (see Committees) maintains an eye on the industry so that it can quickly inform the membership about proposed legislation and its potential impact. To help fulfill this role, IDA maintains a partnership with Turing Strategies. and other organizations.

The committee annually plans an industry-wide advocacy event in Springfield to meet with the legislation on the importance and impact of travel and tourism. Additionally, surveys are conducted from time-to-time, and the results are shared with the membership and used by the organization to help shape Illinois legislation that benefits the travel industry. Members will find the following resources to be helpful in their advocacy efforts FY24 Advocacy Priorities.

IDA Success Stories

Tourism Matters

FY23 Tourism Impact

• Illinois welcomed more than 111 million visitors
• Visitor expenditures hit $44 billion – saving each Illinois household $1,263 in taxes
• Total economic impact of tourism in Illinois was $78 billion
• Hotel tax revenue surpassed pre-pandemic records, reachng $308 million in revenue

Illinois-Tourism-Economic-Impact-2022

Illinois-Chicago-2022-Visitor-Profile

Illinois Tourism Funding

IDA provides members and the industry with tools to support tourism funding efforts! Select this link to access Tourism Grows the Illinois Economy.

Illinois General Assembly

For information on your Illinois State Representatives and specific legislation, visit the Illinois General Assembly website.

Tourism Funding: A Must for the State of Illinois

This one-page flyer is an excellent source of information for members who are looking for support on the positive economic impact of tourism in Illinois. It addresses revenue and job generation in a succinct, understandable format. It was originally created to support IDA members participating in the Annual Lobby Day in Springfield. Select this link to download this PDF flyer.