Illinois Bureau of Tourism Deputy Director Jan Kostner refuses to dwell on the poor economy and its effect on tourism.

In mid-February, as she delivered the annual State of the State of Tourism Address to more than 500 tourism professionals at the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Kostner instead infused confidence into the state’s $2 billion industry. The past year’s revenues remained stable, she said, and are again on the rise.

“This is not the time to slow down or stop; it is the time to move onward and upward,” Kostner continued. “American Express says consumers are approaching the year with ‘an optimistic yet prudent outlook’ and that travel tops their list of ‘pursuits most valuable to their livelihood and well-being.’” “We should be optimistic, too — this is our time to take the new landscape and plant the appropriate seeds so that we grow.”

Travel inquiries to the bureau’s office and to its Web site EnjoyIllinois.com dwindled throughout the summer, but rebounded in December, increasing by 27 percent. The endof-the-year upswing helped boost total inquiries to EnjoyIllinois by nearly 8 percent over 2008.

Kostner also credits last year’s Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial for helping to stabilize the state’s tourism industry. Despite the economic downturn, the celebration increased hotel occupancy in February and March 2009 by 6.9 and 11 percent, respectively, and Lincoln site attendance by 26 percent from January through September 2009.

Tim Farley, executive director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, agrees that the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth helped carry capital city tourism over economic crisis. The fourth largest industry generated $346 million for Sangamon County in 2008, and Farley expects similar numbers for 2009.

“We were the anomaly last year,” he says.

“We were fairly flat — in these economic times, flat is good.”

According to the SCVB, out of nine local historic sites, the Dana-Thomas House, closed by the state budget crunch during early 2009, was the only site to see a decrease in visitors compared to 2008.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum had roughly 411,000 visitors in 2009 compared to roughly 349,000 in 2008. Lincoln’s Tomb had roughly 371,000 visitors in 2009 compared to 296,000 in 2008. And the Lincoln’s Home National Historic site had roughly 474,000 visitors in 2009 compared to roughly 347,000 in 2008.

Now that the bicentennial has ended, can Springfield continue to attract these large crowds and grow its tourism alongside the state?

“It’s important to keep marketing,” Kostner says. “There’s still a heck of a lot of people who haven’t been to that museum. We need to get people to return, but also get those new people who haven’t had a chance to come.”