Marketing rural tourism workshop set Oct. 11 at IVCC

Join the University of Illinois Extension from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, in Room CTC124 at Illinois Valley Community College for Marketing Rural Tourism.

Pam Schallhorn, an extension specialist in community and economic development, will be providing information and resources from a recent research project completed by the University of Illinois and Illinois Extension called I-Rural: Reimagining Illinois Rural Tourism Through Community and Extension Collaboration. Resources include an I-Rural toolkit that communities and organizations can use to better understand and promote local tourism as well as an updated grant resource guide.

In addition, Schallhorn will discuss insights into identifying target markets, the importance of digital marketing and how to create effective tourism marketing campaigns that reach different generations.

If you need reasonable accommodations to attend or have questions about the program, email pscha2@illinois.edu.

Schallhorn is an extension specialist in community and economic development serving 40 counties in western and central Illinois. She received a master’s degree in political studies from the University of Illinois-Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Northern Illinois University.

From 1986 to 2004, she was a commercial lender and vice president of several Midwestern regional banks. Previously, she was the director of the Small Business Development Center in Rockford and founder of New Urban Futures, where she consulted on community and economic development projects.

Her teaching and research interests include entrepreneurial development, economic development policy, downtown revitalization, outmigration of young adults from rural communities and cultural awareness.