Oregon recently received a state Tourism Marketing Partnership Grant for $32,788 that will be used for a multi-year project to strategically market and promote Oregon’s destinations, tourism attractions and community events, City Manager Darin DeHaan said March 4.

The marketing and tourism project began last year with community stakeholders gathering to refine the city’s tourism identity, which focuses on nature, art, food, festivals and proximity to larger population centers. The “All Trails Lead to Oregon IL” tagline was created along with a dedicated tourism website of Visitoregonil.com and associated social media pages.

Oregon is working with marketing company a5 Branding and Digital on the project.

The first year of the project saw tourism-related articles written about Oregon in Travel and Leisure, Islands.com and MappingOurTracks.com along with advertising done on WTVO, WGN and 102.3 The Coyote. The city utilized paid social media influencers that saw 3.8 million views and other influencers asked for partnerships afterward, DeHaan said.

Oregon has a 1% sales tax within its city limits, which directly benefits from increases in tourism. DeHaan said the sales tax is projected to be up almost $86,000 over last year. Sales tax revenues are designated specifically for road and sidewalk infrastructure improvements in Oregon. Last year, it was used to rebuild portions of Third Street, 10th Street and Monroe Street.

“For us, having this additional 1% sales tax with a portion of it paid by visitors helps us really keep up with our roads,” DeHaan said. “We want nice, safe, comfortable roads to drive on, which also helps with presentation to visitors. If we can have outsiders help pay for that, that’s great.”

Along with the $32,788 grant, the city has dedicated $20,000 of its own funding to the marketing and tourism project. A private local donor granted the city $80,000 for the work in its first year and committed to funding that same number for two following years.

“They are looking to make sure that we’re covering entities that don’t have the resources to market themselves, such as our museums and businesses,” DeHaan said. “We’ve been able to share our sales tax improvement numbers with that donor and they felt like committing again for two more years. That’s huge for a small community. Seeing that support and having someone dedicate that amount of funds to lift up the community is heartwarming and encouraging.”

The focuses for the current second year of the program include strengthening support of local businesses, increased collaboration, expanding the tourism website to a regional approach, and offering more itineraries for day trips.

Media buys will be focused in the DeKalb, Madison and Milwaukee areas to draw in additional markets, DeHaan said. Other work will include videos, Google ads, email marketing, updated photography and coordination with local events, taverns, restaurants, parks and museums.

Oregon’s tourism resources include state parks, the Rock River, the Eternal Indian Statue and the Oregon Park District’s amenities. DeHaan said many conversations have been had about how to best market those features and increase foot traffic in local businesses.

The Oregon Chamber of Commerce announced it was ceasing operations in December and DeHaan said the tourism project is another way for the city to pick up that work and support local businesses.

“Our businesses mean employment, sales tax and quality of life,” DeHaan said. “Having things like restaurants and taverns is good for our citizens and visitors. We felt like the city was in a position to kind of be the clearing house for advertising and marketing. We want to work more closely with our businesses now with the chamber not being an element to ask them how we can help. We could create some additional events and tie that into the marketing.”

The Oregon city manager called applying for grants “vitally important” for alternate revenue sources for work like the tourism project. Itineraries for day trips for visitors to the Oregon area have been put together by a5 for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Increases in tourism in Oregon can have more impact than just the city 1% sales tax revenue, DeHaan said.

“Often I think that a lot of our local businesses, because we’re a town of 3,600 people, they just don’t have the people coming in the doors,” DeHaan said. “They need those people from outside the community to come in to help lift up their bottom lines. That’s our ultimate goal, to help solidify businesses so we don’t have empty storefronts and they make a good living and get a good return on their investment.”

Oregon is looking at the project from a regional perspective and wants it to benefit other communities, including Mt. Morris, Dixon, Byron and Polo, DeHaan said.

“We’re getting on the map,” DeHaan said. “That’s important to us, to show what we have and lead the way for this area. We’re all suffering from some exodus of population. So we have to continue to work on things that put us in a good position for the future. And I think tourism and marketing what we have is a big part of that.”