Thousands of travel and tourism professionals will visit Chicago this summer, as the city is hosting not one but two major international tourism conferences over the next several weeks.
Many attendees of the recent IPW tourism conference are venturing beyond Chicagoland this week on FAM – short for “familiarity” – tours, with one such tour making stops in DeKalb County.
FAM tours allow a group of visitors to explore regional destinations, and the attractions, events and venues within them.
The IPW group visiting DeKalb County this Friday is comprised of forty travel/tourism writers, journalists, planners and social media influencers from more than a dozen countries across the globe. The group will spend time at Blumen Gardens in Sycamore, Ellwood House Museum and Whiskey Acres in DeKalb.
The international tourism professionals will get a taste of the area’s cuisine, wine and spirits, and will learn about DeKalb County’s agricultural history and innovation.
The DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau (DCCVB) collaborated with Illinois Office of Tourism consultants Time Zone One to bring the international visitors west of the urban environment of Chicago into the prairie, cornfields and history of rural Illinois.
Illinois and national travel and tourism leaders believe this month’s IPW conference and July’s Destinations International conference can revitalize a sluggish international tourism market in the states.
With communities across the country making preparations to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, tourism experts anticipate many international as well as domestic travelers to fan out across the nation over the next year in search of experiences and events planned for America’s 250th Birthday.
This week’s visit by the IPW group is a unique opportunity to highlight the area’s top destinations and attractions to travel journalists, influencers and planners. These tourism professionals can spread throughout the world news and information about the great things to see, do and enjoy here in DeKalb County.
DCCVB staff, board members and dignitaries from throughout the county will be on hand at each of Friday’s local FAM tour stops to ensure that our international guests have the best possible experience when visiting our community.
This week’s FAM tour is the most recent DCCVB initiative to facilitate international tourism in DeKalb County.
DCCVB team members will participate in next month’s Destinations International conference, thanks in part to the bureau recently receiving an international tourism grant through the state Office of Tourism. The grant also covered the purchase of three portable travel information digital kiosks that will soon be deployed in high-visibility locations within the county.
Should this week’s FAM tour prove to be a success, the new travel kiosks may be getting quite a workout in the weeks, months and years to come.
A comprehensive listing of many more local events, attractions, and destinations can be found on the DCCVB’s events calendar https://dekalbcountycvb.com/.
- Brad Hoey is special projects manager for the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau.