This year marks the 25th anniversary of a successful experiment in community promotion and working together. In 1990, organizations in Davenport, Bettendorf, and the Illinois Quad Cities merged to form the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau.
President and ceo, Joe Taylor, says that experiment has worked much better than anyone imagined at the time.
The bureau now has a full-time staff of 12, and a yearly budget of about 2 million dollars. And it's played a key role in bringing tourists to the Quad Cities who now spend an estimated 800 million dollars each year, and support 7,000 full-time jobs.
One of the most important events "landed" by the bureau was the Women's International Bowling Congress, held here in 1998.
Other major events include hosting the Centennial of Chiropractic in 1995, the National Trails Symposium in 2006, and numerous softball tournaments. The Quad Cities also successfully bid for the Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament - starting next year (2016) it'll be held for at least 3 years at the I Wireless Center in Moline.
A formal anniversary celebration is being planned for September.