Jennifer Aniston, Vince Vaughn, Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, Geena Davis and Matthew Broderick are just a few people the Illinois Department of Tourism (IDOT) is hoping will draw visitors to the state.
These high-profile actors have spent time in Illinois filming movies, and the state is highlighting these movies on a new Web site designed to entice vacationers into taking a closer look.
Targeting the Midwest
The goal of Onscreenillinois.com is to get people to view Illinois in a different way, said Jan Kostner, state travel director at the IDOT.
"One thing we found when promoting ourselves was that people were interested in movies. We thought it would be fun to put together a guide as a different way to promote the state."
Kostner said the department is targeting the Midwest region more than any other for financial reasons.
"We reached such critical mass in the Chicago land area," she said, "and while we do PR [public relations] through national magazines, we know the Midwesterners would be more willing to take this type of trip as a result of the low cost."
There have been 500 films shot in Illinois since the 1980s, Kostner said, and not all of them have happened in Chicago. So the Web site, she added, is a way to open up the state to more people who may otherwise only be targeting the big city.
Onscreen Illinois
While the idea for the Web site had been brewing for a few years, Kostner said, most of the work was completed in about six months. Her department spent time obtaining permission from movie studios to reproduce information and movie images, as well as the names of the actors. Working this closely with the studios, Kostner said, is mutually beneficial. It draws more interest to different parts of the state, but it also has the potential to extend the life of the movie.
"There are a lot of people out there who know their movies," she said. "We've done great research and crossed our T's and dotted our I's."
The result is an online library of films that use the Illinois landscape as their backdrops.
Onscreenillinois.com lists movies by region. Each title is accompanied by a synopsis and an address, if applicable, of the exact location where the film was shot.
The Web site also offers movie packages divided into several genres, including romance, big hits, Americana and adventure. These sections include day-by-day itineraries.
"We have really helped people lay out what you can and can't do in a three-day time frame," Kostner said.
Tourists can book their three-day excursions directly from the Web site and download a PDF file of the itinerary, which includes information on the areas they'll be visiting and the movies filmed there. In addition, the PDF file includes contact information for other tourist stops along the routes.
Kostner also noted that visitors can download podcast tours to obtain more information about their destinations. The department, she said, is hoping to expand the podcasts to virtual driving tours compatible with MP3 players.
"It's becoming more and more common to use this kind of technology," she said of the Web site. "I think there are a lot of people who are over that fear of using the Internet. We're just making it easier for people to get the information they need in a number of different ways."
For example, she said, the Web site is equipped with various travel guides that provide information on local tourist attractions. Some people want to order them, so it gives people options in the medium they're comfortable with.
A Viable Draw?
Kostner said it's still too early to tell whether Onscreenillinois.com has yielded any significant boosts in tourism. However, there is data suggesting Illinois has a chance to increase tourism from around and within the state.
"Hotel-motel tax receipts were up 14 percent in July over last year," she said. "People are taking trips closer to home, and we pretty much promote within our competitive set, which is in the Midwest."
The Web site also gives Illinois a chance to attract more visitors. Kostner said another goal of the site is to get people to keep coming back.
"There was as study done that said 55 percent of the people who go on a state tourism Web site will actually book travel," she said. "So a person spending time on a state's tourism site is likely to take a trip there. It is having a positive effect on tourism."
Whatever kind of effect Onscreenillinois.com has on the tourism numbers, the Web site puts a unique spin on movies and allows Illinois to engage travelers in ways it hadn't before.
