A flat yea for tourism in the cities.

Why?

And what will be done to make it more attractive to see the sights in the cities?

[lively music] [music ends] This year marks the 35th anniversary of the creation of Visit Quad Cities, the convention and tourism agency that promotes the region.

And this past year has not been easy.

The latest annual reports sho the number of tourists fell 10% in the last year, from 6.7 million visitors to 6.1, but spending stayed about the same.

So what's behind the numbers?

And could the addition of the long awaited passenger rail system funding from the Illinois legislature be part of the picture of a new energize tourism destination marketing effort?

We're joined by Visit Quad Citie President and CEO Dave Harrell.

So welcome.

We appreciate you being here.

Thanks, Jim.

Appreciate the invitation.

Good to see you as always.

Can I start with, um, the Illinois legislature and the passenger rail issue?

Um, this has been chugging alon for more than ten years.

Right.

Do you really feel that this is the chance that passenger rail is going to come to the Quad Cities?

And do you think it's goin to have that big of an impact?

Well, a couple things.

I think first, from Visit Quad Cities perspective, you know, we're thrilled to see some progress and some momentum.

Um.

You know, I've been now in the market seven years.

And when I got here, you know, we started, you know, talking about, you know, thi and I was learning all about it so, to actually see the state move in this direction.

I think it's a positive thing.

Um, I'm fully confident that it's gonna happen.

And I think just the absolute advocacy and relationship building but also just trying to stress the importance of why this connectivity is critical not only for the Quad Cities, but also, you know, Chicago, um, and other you know, downstate communities.

I think there's a lot of value there.

I do think it's going to have a positive impac in a lot of areas.

Definitely, you know, tourism, when we know that is going to happen, you know, secondly, I think economic development, speaking, it's goinna be a good thing.

It's going to create jobs.

It's going to create, you know, hopefully this new kind of connection point and access and accessibility into the Quad Cities.

And the Chicago is our number one source market for, you know, tourism.

And so now we get another tool in the tool belt to get people here, which I think adds just a lot of value not only to economic development but quality of life.

And, and, you know, increased visitation and that nonresident revenue and certainly coming from Chicago is a big benefit.

So definitely excited about passenger rail.

There's still work to be done, but uh, definitely excited about the progress that's being made and a win here a couple weeks ago.

Well, I guess in a way, I thin if you live in the Quad Cities, I know a lot of people who really are looking forwar to passenger rail, but to leave, they want to go to Chicago where they want to shop or visit things.

Right.

So I'm thinking more that it's a departure than it is incoming revenue.

Well, from my point of view, we would probably flip that script a little bit because obviously it gives us a chance to get inbound, you know, visitation from you know, the Chicagoland area.

Again, it's our it's our leading, you know, source market in the clubhouse.

Will there be Quad Citizens that will go to Chicago?

Of course they're driving there, you know, every day, um, they're going to continue to, to do so.

But now this, this opportunity just provides another option, you know, for them, not everybody can get in the car and drive that two hours plus to get in there.

And so having a transportation option for the to to be able to use is great.

So that could create opportunities for, for jobs.

It's definitely going to create opportunities for, you know, visitation.

But both ways.

You know, I think it's, it's a chance that we can really, you know, hopefully galvanize more activity.

And if people are leaving here to go to Chicago and experience Chicago, fantastic.

It also probably gives us a collaborative opportunity to think about how we work with Chicago go and maybe are Chicagoland in a suburban destination, marketing organizations to try to maybe do some fun things in and around joint promotion to create activity in both markets, too.

When you take a look at what Moline has done, when you transform the old Sears warehouse building into, you know, a hote and a, a ticketing area for a, uh, uh, passenger rail, the cities are really now are poised for this.

I mean, do you think that was a major, uh, benefit?

Is that that investment was already there?

You know, I think the more that we can activate our downtowns and invest in you know, capital infrastructure and take some of these buildings and, and reimagine them, I think the private sector is doing a phenomenal job looking at really the historic character of some of the assets that we have and then putting dollars into them and then working with public sector, you know, partners to get thos projects across the goal line.

It definitely adds value.

It creates opportunity to think about quality of place, quality of life.

And if youve got an activ downtown, one that's thriving, that's vibrant, well, that's good for residents.

It's certainly good for, you know, the visitor economy and tourism, but it's also great for quality of life.

You want people to have options from a livability, you know, perspective across all demographic lines.

I think sometimes people think, oh, the only people that live downtown are maybe like a younger demographic, and that's just not true.

So having a diverse portfolio, um, of those options is, is a good thing.

Well, and I'm thinking when I arrived here 30 years ago, uh downtown Molin the market just recently opened, and there was empty Deere warehouses in the are where the pavilion is right now.

Right.

Rock Island had the district, the arts and entertainment district, which had some bars that were just starting downtown.

Davenport really wasn't doing much, and Bettendorf was a bedroom community.

You take a look now at the development that' just completed in Rock Island.

Uh, what's happening with the I-74 bridge being removed in downtown Moline.

The fact that we're seeing sparks, several of them in downtown East Moline.

And then all that's going on, of course, on the Iowa side, in Davenport and Rock, uh, Davenport and Bettendorf.

This is a major transformation for the heart of the cities.

It really is.

And I think sometimes, you know people need to recognize that.

I mean, that there is progress and there is momentum, you know, being made in every single community in the Quad Cities.

And we're proud to see, those, you know, results.

You know sometimes it takes a little time to get a vision, get a little civic will.

But I definitely feel like they're, these, these downtowns are coming more alive.

And they're a key part of like the product experience for, you know, visitors.

When they come here, they want walkability.

They want destination assets that that are right there.

They want that connectivity to maybe a hotel property, restaurants, attractions, you know, nightlife, all of these things.

And so it's exciting to see these things come, you know, online.

And like you said, like look at what's happening in East Moline, downtown Rock Island with the revive, revitalization of that area.

Moline, you know, there's got some exciting plans on the horizon.

And then downtown Davenport, just how that it's become more and more alive.

The main Street landing project in that major, you know, riverfront redevelopment, you know, Project.

Bettendorf, and the thing that they've got in the hopper, but also like communities like LeClaire, you know, Port Byron, you know, you look at the entire, like, swath of the Quad Cities region.

And there is investment that is happening.

You know, it's not just publi sector investment, it's private sector folks coming togethe to create these neighborhoods.

And, you know, we're kind o like the boroughs of New York.

We love that character.

We love that diversity in place and have all of these little places, right.

How they're tethered.

And that tapestry reall provides us a competitive chance when we're trying to think through how we market, how we promote, how we sell the Quad Cities.

But that downtown town vibrancy is critical to what we do.

Well, and as you know, ove the last particularly five years there's been an emphasis by the Chamber of Commerce, Uh huh.

to attract families here that want to work here but make this a vibrant plac to live, almost make it more hip and more interesting.

How is that process going, in your opinion?

Well, I think it's, you know one, kudos to our, our partners, the Quad Cities chamber, you know, Grow Quad Cities, Peter Tokar and their team, I think they've got a bold vision for the future.

And we're blessed to be their partner.

We always try to remind people that everything starts with a visit.

So we got to get people here first so they can kick the tires so they can experience the Quad Cities and what we have to offer.

So tourism is a huge cog in the wheel and the broader economic development picture.

But you're never gonna move to a community, take that first job maybe go to school unless you visit first.

So when people come here, that first impression is is vitally important.

So as we think about like our pillars tourism development, destination marketing, visitor experience, all of those things have to be seamless.

But they are connected to, to livability.

They are connected to talen attraction and talent retention.

And the more that we can work together as kind of like a tea in this private public sector, you know, concept, the better off we're going to be in the more competitively positione we're going to be as a region, cuz it is a hyper competitive space.

We're competing with communities all around the United States for increased visitation and talent retention, all of these kind of things.

And so how do we take our package and then deploy that to the world is kind of where visit Quad Cities needs to, to be in our lane and bringing all of our stakeholders and partners together to make sure we realize those goals.

You came out with, the latest report, as far as the health of tourism... Right.

...in the Quad Cities for the past year.

And you reported that, uh, uh, tourism visits dropped from... Yeah.

...6.7 million to 6.1 million.

That's a 10% drop.

Yeah.

How concerned are you about something like that, even though revenues stayed relatively flat?

Well, I think it's a little nuanced because even though, um, even though the visits, those trips are down a little bit and again, that's all ge location business intelligence.

So it's somebody coming in our market doesn't necessarily mean an overnight stay can literally be like a day trip.

And if they're using their cell phone and connecting on an app that's how we capture that data.

Is that down?

Yes.

But what was up was the amoun of visitor days in total, 13.9 million visitor days and average length of stay was 2.3, which actually increases in those two categories.

However, though I am concerned about the overall health of our visitor economy, so in total 1.38 billion, a significant amount of tax revenue generated at the local level and in, in both states.

But it is, it is flat.

And that's why we need to constantl remind everybody whether that's the public sector, you know, partners that we have and our and our key investors and the private sector that we need that nonresident revenue in the Quad Cities, because that nonresident revenue is not just hotel motel tax, that transient occupancy tax, it's, it's sales tax and it's gaming revenue.

And it's, you know, food and beverage, and it's gas and it's all of these things that kind of make up, um, you know, the overall, you know, visitor economy.

So holding serve at that 1.3, you know, plus you know billion is is a good thing.

I'm not going to capture it as a win.

But hopefully what it is it's a catalyst.

And just from remind people that we have to do mor and we need inbound visitation.

You know, everybody wants to se our population, you know, grow.

And currently it's stagnant.

And so sounding that alarm to be thinking about how are we gonna market ourselves more robustly so that we can bring people in.

And once they do, once they're here, they are going to spend those dollars in our regional economy, and we need them to do that and do that a lot.

Now, the fact that people, according to the latest research, are staying for a longer period of time is obviously good news.

But does that 10% drop concern you?

It really doesn't, Jim, because I think, you know, there's so many variables go into that.

And in our, in our world there's going to be ebbs and flows.

Right?

And sometimes people might say, oh, did you not bring as many meetings, conventions, you know, sporting events.

So that's part of it.

But business travel that Monday through Thursday is vitally important.

So that's why we need companies like, you know, the John Deeres in the world and Imag.

We need Rock Island Arsenal, all of our major employers to, to constantly be reminded that we want that inbound, you know, traffic or hospitality industry needs to be in a position, they need to thrive.

And when you think about tourism and travel, you can't just think of it in the context of Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

You really need to be thinkin Monday through Thursday as well, so that business travel is just as crucial as anything that we do, whether it's group travel, whether it's leisure travel, we need to be firing off all cylinders to drive that, that performance even higher than what it was last year.

One of the big draws of the Quad Cities, of course, were the three casino boats.

And we're seeing that more competitive.

As you were pointing out, there's new casino boats in Illinois popping up.

Right.

You've got the new one in Cedar Rapids that's being developed and should be open by the end of next year.

Does that have an impact that we're not seeing that incoming dollars into the Quad Cities as much because of the spread of gambling outside?

You know, I think all of these things are tethered together, right?

I think it's, it's a function of, um, what destination assets you have.

I think it's got, you know, broader ripple effects in terms of just the economy, consumer confidence, all of these things.

I think our casinos are thriving.

And my concern about competitive threats, you know.

Yes.

And I think that just gives us a chance to be thinking about with our gaming industry partners.

How do we elevate that you know, marketing even more?

What are we doing on the sale side to try to drive in a more, you know, activity?

Because we want them to be successful because those dollars that we're bringing in are being reinvested.

And particularly, you know, in Iowa with the Q, the QSOs, QSOs, which are really, you know, investing, reinvesting in those dollars into nonprofit organizations.

So we need to make sure we're growing those and drivin that base, you know, even more.

Um, but I feel like we're poised to do more in that arena.

But we just need to continually, you know, focus on what's our marketing, what's our advertising.

We cannot be status quo because other communities are competing against us.

And that's why thi level of investment is critical.

That's where I was gonna go next.

Is that what you have is a ver hyper competitive environment.

Right.

I mean, you're, competin against De Moines, Saint Louis, you know, you go to the north.

Madison, Milwaukee, you name it.

Yeah.

And so, you gotta find your own niche?

Or do you have to try to be more broad?

Well, I think for us, I mean, we've gotta, one, we know who we are.

Two, we are a drive to, you know, destination.

We want to continually focus on things like airlift and making sure that we're prioritizing that.

But it's this relationshi in these other source markets.

You know, obviously Chicago is number one.

Des Moines the corridor.

Right.

That entire, you know, area, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Dubuque, Waterloo.

Like what is our relationship, you know, with them Madison, Wisconsin, you kno Milwaukee, southern Minnesota, Minneapolis Saint Louis, Kansas City, Omaha.

Uh, we're seeing huge, growth in Indiana from Indianapolis into the Western, you know, part of the state.

So we need to continue to invest resources in marketing within that Midwest, you know, profile.

Will we be doing media, buying and things in Miami and Seattle and Los Angeles?

No.

We don't have th resources to be able to do that, but that super regional, you know, profile again, there's 37 million people that live within six hour radius points of the Quad Cities.

How are we connected to that and this drive-to mentality to try to get them here so that they're spending dollars in our market?

I'm surprised you mentioned Indianapolis in Indiana.

What's driving that?

You know, I think it's a lot of things.

I think one, um, we're doing mor more on the, on the marketing side, and so I think we're understandin where these source markets are and if we're seeing some upward, you know, trends in terms of activity, then we can maybe invest, you know, some resources.

We've got a whole new marketin approach at Visit Quad Cities.

We're not necessarily capturing things in campaigns per se.

We are literally advertising and marketing.

The QC 365 days out of the year.

So paid media earned media owned media strategies to make sure that we're top of mind and we're getting that messaging out.

But sometimes we do shift if we see, you know, maybe some growth in a in a market like Indianapolis or western Indiana, we're like, okay, maybe that's something that we need to double down on more and invest some resources to see if we can get even more traction.

And that's what we're going to do.

You have, uh, also really focused on, uh, uh, athletics and sports tourism, which is, is growing amazingly quickly.

You take a look at, uh, the TBK... Uh, huh.

...uh, uh, complex that's out in Bettendorf, which has transformed that interchange in way I think people were expecting, but were still pleasantly surprised.

But you also see, lik the Extreme Arena in Coralville Yup.

that's grabbing new events, uh because it's shiny and new and and how tough is that market right now?

And how much should the Quad Cities be banking?

Yeah.

On the sports entertainment aspect of tourism.

Well, from our perspective, you know, sports tourism and the recruitment of sporting events is about 56% of our group business.

So if you look at meetings, conventions, you know, group tours, conferences in a sporting events, make up 56% of it.

Ah, it's huge.

Yeah.

So it is, it is a huge percentage of what we do.

And and we need to continue to do more in that arena.

Now we are limited in resources.

There's only so much that we can do in terms of like investing and trying to acquire events, because it takes direct investmen to be able to bring things here.

Um, facilities.

You know, you mentioned TBK Bank Sports Complex.

Just the vision that Doug Kratz and his team have had in that venue, but also the collaboration with the city of Bettendorf and then our organization to think through, like, how are we optimizing, you know, that venue?

But without Doug's private investment, none of that happens.

And so incredibly grateful for, for Doug and what he's done.

But that facility has bee an economic development engine for the entire Quad Cities region.

And people are activating, you know, TBK Bank sports complex on a weekend.

I can virtually guarantee you they're probably, they could be staying in Rock Island or East Moline or Moline.

So it's got a broader, um, yo know, value to, to the region.

The Vibrant Arena, you know continues to do amazing things.

And we're very fortunate that we're going to host the 2028 D3 Wrestling Championship at a vibrant, you know, arena.

And, you know, we've got Missouri Valley Women's Basketball tournament coming back in 2027.

You know we had the Hawks here for a game, you know, last uh, last November.

We've got to continually push on activating you know the, these venues.

But sports tourism is a huge part of it.

It is, it is definitely more and more competitive.

Sometimes you might have had, you know, 5 to 7 competitors in terms of going after a piece of business now it can be 12 to 14.

Okay?

And there's more and more venues and facilities popping up in the Midwest.

Um, Scheels um, has a huge investment in, in Springfield, Illinois.

You know, Bradley, Illinois has a new complex, West Des Moines is adding.

Um, you know, Minnesota, Wisconsin, all of these places are doing more on the facility side.

And we need to continually push that envelope over the long haul to make sure that we're competitive and relevant within the sports tourism space of the future.

Well, and you look at the homegrown events, I mean, if you look at the John Deere Classics, when you, when you, when you look at Bix 7, sometimes Ragbrai comes here.

I mean, the Quad Cities already has some valuable assets... Yeah.

...that that other communities must just look at, and they're not going to leave, but other communities must look at it with awe.

I think they do.

But I think the important thing is we get to do everything in our power as a community, as a community to make sure they don't leave.

So the John Deere Classic is such a treasure for our community, and it's not a given that it's going to be here for the next, you know, 30 years.

But we got to make sure we're doing everything in our power to retain an event like that because the economic development, you know, impact that it makes is, is so, you know, wide sweepin and just to Birdies for Charity and the value that it provides those nonprofits.

And so, events like that events like the Bix, events um, like our TBK Bank, uh marathon that happens, you know, that's such a huge value prop in terms of like programing our community, but we're also doing things that we're hosting the the women's, NJCAA Golf Regional Championship, um her in April, national championship.

You know, it's going to be a phenomenal event, you know, for us to get NAIA um, you know, golf again We're going to be hosting NCAA, you know, women's gol regional championship in 2028.

So these thing and how we program and diversify our portfolio.

In May of ‘26 we're hosting an event called SAFECON, which is, its essentially like the the Final Four for collegiate pilots.

It's going to be a three week, you know, event for the Quad Cities.

And there's the students that are going to be participating in that event.

We've got to continue to push the envelope and acquire these events and bring in that group business, because it's vitally important to our regional economy.

How important are...?

Because making the Quad Cities a destinatio sometimes means making it a hip place to be.

Yeah.

And you look at Alternating Currents which, which, uh And you look at Alternating Currents which, which, uh you know, it starte as River Roots has, has kind of you know, it starte as River Roots has, has kind of become the South b Southwest-esque type of event.

Um, how important are events like that to, to not only bring in tourists, but also, once again, I go back to tourists at home and make this a hip place to live.

Well, I think if you look at just destination programing, which is, you know, connected to our destination vision and our tourism master plan like that, programing is vitally important to quality of life, you know, vibrancy, getting your your locals activated in your community.

But those are also products.

And how do we take those products and make sure that people are emotionally connecting with them?

You mentioned Alternating Currents, you know, huge opportunity for our region.

Kyle Carter and his team a Downtown Davenport Partnership just do a phenomenal jo in bringing that event to life.

And we're proud to be their partner in shaping that story so that we can bring in, you know, visitors and and experience that.

I mean, it's such a unique event and, you know, blending all of this creative energy, it's why we're sort of, you know, pushing this creative capital in the Midwest.

Message out, because we d feel this, this sense of place as it relates to our creative vibrancy.

And the more the Quad Cities can share that story, but also market it and promote it, it's good for visitation.

It's definitely good for tourism, but it's also good for residents and the people who live here.

Visit Quad Cities is marking 35 years right now.

Yeah.

You think of 40 years ago and it was a splintered Quad Cities.

Yeah.

You had you literally of course, had the river and the two states.

You had each communit with its own kind of tourism or chamber of commerce, even.

In the last 30 some years, 35 years.

Is it the Quad Cities gets it now, that, that you've got to have a regional approach, you got to talk with one voice, You've got to come together?

Well I think from our vantage point, well, we're always trying to remind our community stakeholders, public sector, you know, private sector you know, residents, you know.

Residents are our number one customer.

We always remind people of that.

People think because you're i the tourism space, your number one customer is the visitor, but really it's the locals.

Um, when visitors come here, they do not know boundaries or borders and they don't care.

And so we need Illinois and Iow to thrive together within the QC because our visitor economy is dependent on that, you know, the product development, you know, space.

What's good for Rock Island is good for Davenport.

And what's good for Bettendorf is good for Moline.

And what's good for East Moline is good for, you know, LeClaire and so on and so on.

And so trying to constantly remind people that.

You know, sometimes we do have a tendency to get in our own way.

And that's natural.

That's not just necessarily like the Quad Cities other communities experience that.

But, we want to remind people is this we are better positioned as a region.

Okay?

People emotionally connect to the Quad Cities, you know, brand.

We got a great story to tell.

We've got an amazing product to, to package.

And the more that we can get these folks connected to what we have to offer, the better off we're going to be.

But doing that as a regional approach is the only way that makes you know, the best sense for us to be competitively, you know, positioned.

But again, taking all of what we've got from all of our communities and blending that into one salable, in a message is really the role of Quad Visit Cities.

And we're going to continue to reinforce that, to create more value for our regional econom and the people that depend on us every day.

Travel and tourism is essential.

Okay?

We're supporting over 9000 jobs.

Okay?

But nonresident revenue and the more that we bring in is getting reinvested into our quality of life.

And so we can't have a destination marketing organization and a community that is status quo.

Got to continue to push.

We've got to continue to bring more people here.

And thats gonna be our mission, our focus for long term, Our thanks to Visit Quad Citie President and CEO Dave Harrell.

And speaking of Visit Quad Cities, here's their ideas to get you out and about to see what's going on in the cities right now.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Pick up a passport at a participating business and receive a stamp with each purchase.

Turn your passport in for a chance to win prizes.

Then Santa Claus The Musical is making its way to the circa 21 Dinner Playhouse.

It's the perfect show for the whole family.

Next, see The Grinch and Elf, Frosty the snowman, a reindeer and Sant during Christmas in the village.

Then enjoy train rides, shopping Santa, and lots of holiday cheer in downtown Rock Island all afternoon long.

Finally, take a step back in time t experience an 1800s Christmas.

Enjoy beautiful decorations and amazing musical performances.

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at visit Quad cities.com.

America declared its independence in 1776, and next year marks the 250th anniversary of that moment that changed the world.

But it's the people who have changed this nation, and we're highlighting those who have done just the same here in the cities.

We call it Civic Sparks.

Bethany for Women and Families has been a safety net for peopl through a variety of services.

It's led by Laura Ingram, its President and CEO.

And we asked Laura, what's your Civic Spark?

Because I believe that service to others, um, is actually what creates happiness.

Um, and I find that, um, looking outward is what makes me feel better.

It's what makes my family more stable.

It's what makes my neighbors happier.

So I love just to focus on service to others in general.

And so I chose to study social work in school, um, as a way to do that, and always knew that I was going to spend my life thinking about other people as much as I could.

Laura Ingram, CEO for Bethany for Women and Children, with her Civic Spark.

We're going on a hiatus for the next mont as Western Illinois University makes changes to its Quad City campus.

We're on the move with our offices and studio to change over the coming weeks, so we hope to be back with you after the holidays.

So until then, on the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile devic and streaming on your computer, thank you for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the issues on The Cities.

[lively music] [music ends]