The Route 66 town of Pontiac, Ill., saw a 25 percent rise in the number of visitors from 2011 to 2012, according to a news release Monday from Pontiac Tourism.
Pontiac Tourism director Ellie Alexander said almost 23,000 tourists signed the guestbook at the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in the year that ended. That compared to about 18,000 tourists in 2011.
Due to the fact not everyone signs the guestbook at the museum, Alexander estimated the actual number totaled closer to 30,000 in 2012.
These robust tourist numbers aren’t new to Pontiac. In the past four years, visitor numbers have seen an average annual increase of 23 percent.
More from the news release:
One area of tourism that saw a significant increase in 2012 is the car club traffic. Last year over 40 car clubs visited Pontiac. Most of the clubs come for a full day of activities, including visits to Pontiac’s four museums, touring historic homes, car shows on the square, and taking the Jolly Trolley local history tour.
The number of coach bus tours has also increased.
“More tour bus operators are lengthening the amount of time they allow for stops in Pontiac. As they bring their groups to town, they have learned that their clients really enjoy our small town hospitality and they want to stay longer,” Alexander said. “There are a few coach bus tours that are planning longer, overnight stays here in 2013.”
Alexander also provided month-by-month tourism numbers for 2012:
- January – 405
- February – 671
- March – 1,003
- April – 1,737
- May – 3,019
- June – 3,852
- July – 3,024
- August – 2,936
- September – 3,293
- October – 1,805
- November – 761
- December – 482
Pontiac saw remarkably strong numbers in September. Alexander attributed that to a Pontiac GTO car show, a bluegrass festival, and “lots of coach buses” during the month.
During the busy months, Pontiac saw an average of more than 100 tourists a day. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but multiply their money spent at restaurants, gift shops, and other businesses, and it adds up to a lot — especially for a town of just 12,000 people.
Pontiac Mayor Robert Russell also made some interesting remarks:
“Rather than waiting for the state or federal governments to come to help us grow and progress, we have all worked together to create a whole new potential revenue stream for the City. Tourism in not the only solution to Pontiac’s financial future, but it holds the promise of leading to better business and a better quality of life here in the City.”
In addition to the Route 66 museum, downtown Pontiac also hosts the Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum and Resource Center, Livingston County War Museum, and the International Walldog Mural & Sign Art Museum.