Full Text of HJR0083 102nd General Assembly
HJ0083 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Gateway | 3 | | National in Madison, Governors Run in Carlyle, Kokopelli in | 4 | | Marion, Rend Lake Golf Resort in Whittington, Stone Creek Golf | 5 | | Club in Urbana, and Stonewolf Golf Club in Fairview Heights | 6 | | offer some of the most beautiful and captivating courses for | 7 | | golf in the State of Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, These seven courses currently operate as | 9 | | independent golfing destinations; to visit each course, | 10 | | separate dealings with all seven are required in order to set | 11 | | up tee times and lodging; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Other states have linked their courses into a | 13 | | "trail" to boost tourism and thus revenue; Alabama created the | 14 | | highly successful Robert Trent Jones Trail; Iowa and Ohio have | 15 | | also connected many of their golf courses and have seen | 16 | | tremendous positive economic growth by doing so; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The success of linking golf courses into a | 18 | | statewide golf trail is dependent upon ease of use; | 19 | | ultimately, there should be one internet portal that would | 20 | | enable golfers to reserve tee times and book lodging at all | 21 | | seven golf courses; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Other states have already demonstrated that this | 2 | | concept can be tremendously successful, and similar results | 3 | | are expected in Illinois; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Illinois State parks and lodges could utilize | 5 | | additional revenue streams; the additional revenue could be | 6 | | used for maintenance, repairs, and improvements or to enhance | 7 | | the image and marketing of said facilities; therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 9 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 10 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Office of Tourism | 11 | | is urged to do a feasibility study on linking together the | 12 | | seven golf courses listed above into the Abraham Lincoln Golf | 13 | | Trail (ALGT); and be it further | 14 | | RESOLVED, That the study should include, but not be | 15 | | limited to, the following: | 16 | | (1) electronic tee time scheduling, which at the start | 17 | | could be an 800 number that golfers would call with a | 18 | | planned move to a fully-automated, electronic tee time | 19 | | scheduling system to take place as soon as possible; | 20 | | (2) automated lodging/hotel reservations, as the | 21 | | convenience of automated bookings and reservations | 22 | | encourages usage; | 23 | | (3) 24/7 customer service assistance, which, until the |
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| 1 | | ALGT has the ability to handle customer service itself, | 2 | | could be outsourced to a third party, with the ability to | 3 | | schedule all tee times and make lodging reservations at | 4 | | all courses that are part of the ALGT; | 5 | | (4) ongoing training, as customer service is the | 6 | | hallmark of any successful organization, annual training | 7 | | for all golf course staff would be recommended; | 8 | | (5) promotion, including information about the trail | 9 | | to be disseminated at the individual courses, | 10 | | advertisements on the website, and paid advertising space; | 11 | | (6) public relations "buzz" and "word of mouth"; and | 12 | | (7) licensing merchandise, as merchandise with a logo | 13 | | is a natural for all member pro shops; and be it further | 14 | | RESOLVED, That the seven courses listed above would be | 15 | | considered phase one of the ALGT; as the trail becomes | 16 | | operational, additional golf courses in central and northern | 17 | | Illinois could be added; and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That the study is requested to be completed by | 19 | | December 31, 2023; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | delivered to the Illinois Office of Tourism.
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