Quad Cities - With the first day of spring coming up on Friday, we're ready to say goodbye to Old Man Winter. Although these Quad Cities' organizations might be a little reluctant after a successful winter season with great visitation numbers.
Ski Snowstar in Andalusia ended their season this past weekend. Looking back, they opened in November for the first time ever and they were open 85 days which is the longest season since 1995-96. General Manager Ed Meyer says that they had almost 45,000 visits, and they welcomed their one millionth customer at the end of December. www.skisnowstar.com
The Bald Eagles visit the Quad Cities in the winter that, in turn, generates an increase in human visitors to view them. January is a busy month at the Mississippi River Visitor Center on Arsenal Island due to eagle watching. Almost 3,500 people visited the center this winter. Mike McKean, Natural Resource Specialist, says, "We pull in a lot of people from out of town, especially Chicago, coming here to watch eagles. Both last winter and this winter there were great numbers of eagles to be seen. We heard from a lot of people who are coming back each year because of this." www.missriver.org
LeClaire is another popular place to go eagle watching. LeClaire saw eagle watchers and photographers from all over the U.S. and Canada. LeClaire Tourism Manager Cindy Bruhn wants people to remember that LeClaire does not "close" in the winter. "We added an Eagle Watching Event this year and organized a variety of events to encourage winter visitors. The LeClaire Information Center visitation was higher in January and February this year over last year." www.visitleclaire.com
The Quad City Mallards are coming down the homestretch of what has been a highly successful season both on and off the ice. While the team has battled its way to second place and a playoff position in its first season in the ECHL, the organization has also enjoyed plenty of success away from the ice. The Mallards again this season have provided exciting hockey and promotion-packed entertainment all year and have been met with an overwhelming response:
- · The Mallards this season have increased weekend attendance by 25 percent over last season.
- · Group ticket sales this season have increased by 50 percent over last season
- · The team's season ticket base has doubled over the last two years.
As a member of the premier "AA" hockey league in North America, the Mallards are able to offer excitement to fans from near and far from October through April and beyond. www.myqcmallards.net
The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau had two successful promotions this winter. Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard Weekend in January saw an increase of 2,000 coupon views to over 24,000 views. Most recently Quad Cities Restaurant Week had 148,000 pageviews total, compared to 115,000 last year.
