Visit Lake County
Visit Lake County is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit destination marketing organization that promotes tourism across Lake County, Illinois, serving leisure visitors, meeting planners, wedding parties, sports groups, and tour operators through its website, social channels, and partner network of 20+ municipalities and local businesses.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersGurnee, IL, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Visit Lake County does
Visit Lake County, formally the Lake County, Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau, is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit destination marketing organization (DMO) founded in 2006 and headquartered in Gurnee, Illinois. The organization promotes tourism across Lake County, Illinois, including 20+ municipalities such as Gurnee, Libertyville, Highland Park, Deerfield, Waukegan, Mundelein, and Lake Zurich, with a focus on the county's 170 lakes and rivers, 31,000 acres of forest preserves, and 6 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. It serves five primary customer segments: individual leisure travelers, meeting and event planners, wedding parties, sports groups, and group tour operators.
The organization's core product is a digital destination marketing platform centered on visitlakecounty.org, supplemented by a multi-channel social presence (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn), an email newsletter, a toll-free visitor hotline, and physical visitor guides. The website is built and maintained by third-party vendor J Rudny, LLC, and incorporates UserWay's automated accessibility remediation technology for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. Content is organized into thematic sections covering outdoor recreation, dining, shopping, accommodations, events, weddings, meetings, sports tournaments, and group tours.
Visit Lake County generates revenue through two primary streams: recurring membership and partnership fees from local businesses, venues, and municipalities, and tourism promotion services provided to municipalities and tourism-related businesses. The organization holds Destination Marketing International accreditation and Illinois Destinations Association certification, and participates in the Illinois Office of Tourism's "Illinois Made" program and the Illinois America 250 initiative. With 13 employees, operations are lean and partnership-driven, with no disclosed financial data and no traditional equity funding.
Visit Lake County firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Visit Lake County
- Legal name
- Lake County, Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Website
- https://visitlakecounty.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Visit Lake County is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit destination marketing organization that promotes tourism across Lake County, Illinois, serving leisure visitors, meeting planners, wedding parties, sports groups, and tour operators through its website, social channels, and partner network of 20+ municipalities and local businesses.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Visit Lake County industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Destination Marketing & Tourism Promotion
- NAICS
- Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- River & Wetland Ecotours (Canoe/Kayak, Mangrove/Swamp Tours) (THAAAEAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sightseeing & Scenic Boat Tours (Harbor, Sunset, Dolphin/Whale Watching) (THAJAJAA)
Keywords
Where Visit Lake County is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gurnee, IL
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Visit Lake County business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Membership/Partnership Fees: Local businesses and venues pay to become partners/members, gaining visibility and marketing support through the CVB platform.
- Tourism Promotion Services: Providing destination marketing services to local municipalities and tourism-related businesses in Lake County, Illinois.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Visit Lake County product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Visit Lake County operates as the official destination marketing organization (Convention & Visitors Bureau) for Lake County, Illinois. It provides free visitor information, curated travel guides, event calendars, dining and accommodations directories, and specialized planning resources for leisure travelers, meeting planners, wedding parties, sports groups, and tour operators. The organization promotes Lake County's tourism economy through digital content marketing, partner network coordination, and membership-based business partnerships across 20+ municipalities.
Product overview
Visit Lake County, operated by the Lake County, Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau (a 501(c)6 nonprofit organization), is a destination marketing organization website that provides tourism information for Lake County, Illinois. The organization offers visitor guides, event calendars, travel planning resources, and business partnership programs. Their digital presence includes various informational guides covering outdoor recreation, dining, accommodations, arts & entertainment, and local attractions. This is not a software product but rather a marketing and information platform for regional tourism promotion.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Visitor Guides and Travel Planning Resources
Companies that use Visit Lake County
Customer profileSegments5 records
Visit Lake County technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Visit Lake County partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Illinois Office of TourismcoreCollaborative partnership in the 'Illinois Made' program celebrating exceptional small businesses, artists, chefs, and manufacturers. Visit Lake County works alongside the Illinois Office of Tourism to showcase Lake County makers and participate in state-wide tourism initiatives including Illinois America 250.
- Destination Marketing InternationalcoreAccreditation body for destination marketing organizations worldwide. Visit Lake County holds official accreditation from this organization, demonstrating professional standards in tourism promotion.
- Illinois Destinations AssociationcoreState-level association of Illinois destination marketing organizations. Visit Lake County holds certification from this body as part of Illinois tourism promotion network.
- UserWaysupportingThird-party accessibility consulting organization providing website accessibility solutions. UserWay helps ensure visitlakecounty.org is accessible to people with disabilities through automated remediation technology and accessibility widgets.
- J Rudny, LLCsupportingWebsite development partner responsible for building and maintaining visitlakecounty.org.
- Lake County Forest PreservescoreMajor outdoor recreation partner managing 31,000 acres of preserves with 170 lakes and rivers. Co-promotion of outdoor activities including hiking, boating, bird watching, and nature exploration.
- Lake County Municipalities (20+ communities)corePartnership with local governments including Antioch, Deerfield, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Gurnee, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Mundelein, North Chicago, Vernon Hills, Wauconda, Waukegan, Winthrop Harbor, and Zion for coordinated destination marketing.
- Community Partners (Hotels, Restaurants, Attractions)coreNetwork of local businesses including hotels (Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, Great Wolf Lodge, Hyatt Deerfield), restaurants, attractions (Volo Museum, Ravinia Festival), and retail venues that participate in promotional programs and special offers through the CVB platform.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Visit Lake County competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Illinois Office of Tourism: State-level tourism-promotion authority and Visit Lake County's strategic partner. Operates broader portfolio across all Illinois counties and manages statewide initiatives like Illinois Made and Illinois America 250 that the DMO plugs into.
- Destination DC: Established accredited DMO for Washington, D.C. Useful comparable for destination-marketing operating model, partnership monetization, and multi-channel content strategy at a larger scale.
- Visit Orlando: Major U.S. destination marketing organization with similar 501(c)(6) structure and partnership-based funding. Benchmark for advanced DMO digital marketing, content monetization, and meeting-lead generation practices.
Emerging players
- Simpleview: Leading DMO/CVB technology platform providing CRM, content management, and digital-marketing tools. Highly relevant because DMOs like Visit Lake County depend on this category of vendor for their digital infrastructure.
- Arrivalist: Travel-intent and visitation-measurement platform serving many U.S. DMOs. Relevant peer because it represents how DMOs increasingly purchase performance-marketing and attribution capabilities from third-party vendors.
Others
- Sojern: Digital marketing platform purpose-built for travel marketers including DMOs. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler whose paid-media and audience-targeting capabilities increasingly compete with DMO-led marketing efforts.
Direct peers
- Choose Chicago: Official DMO for Chicago, Illinois. Same destination-marketing mission and accredited DMO status as Visit Lake County, but operating at significantly larger scale and budget, making it the primary Illinois peer for model and competitive comparison.
- Visit Champaign County: County-level DMO in Illinois with similar nonprofit structure, partnership funding model, and event-driven GTM motion. Comparable scale and operating approach to Visit Lake County.
- Visit DuPage County: DMO for neighboring DuPage County, Illinois. Highly comparable in structure (501(c)(6) nonprofit DMO), team size, funding model, and Chicagoland regional focus — directly competing for visitors and partner relationships in the same metro.
- Visit Bloomington-Normal: Mid-size Illinois DMO operating with a comparable nonprofit membership structure and event-driven tourism promotion. Similar target segments (leisure, meetings, sports tournaments).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Visit Lake County social profiles
Digital presenceVisit Lake County compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Visit Lake County financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Visit Lake County leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Visit Lake County funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Visit Lake County M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Visit Lake County
What does Visit Lake County do?
Visit Lake County operates as the official destination marketing organization (Convention & Visitors Bureau) for Lake County, Illinois. It provides free visitor information, curated travel guides, event calendars, dining and accommodations directories, and specialized planning resources for leisure travelers, meeting planners, wedding parties, sports groups, and tour operators. The organization promotes Lake County's tourism economy through digital content marketing, partner network coordination, and membership-based business partnerships across 20+ municipalities.
Is Visit Lake County a public or private company?
Visit Lake County is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was Visit Lake County founded?
Visit Lake County was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Visit Lake County based?
Visit Lake County is headquartered in Gurnee, IL, United States, in the North America region.
How does Visit Lake County make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership/Partnership Fees are the primary driver. The others are tourism Promotion Services.
Who are Visit Lake County's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Illinois Office of Tourism, Destination DC and Visit Orlando. Emerging players are Simpleview and Arrivalist. Sojern is listed as an others. Direct peers are Choose Chicago, Visit Champaign County, Visit DuPage County and Visit Bloomington-Normal.
Does Visit Lake County have an API?
No public API is recorded for Visit Lake County.
What industry is Visit Lake County in?
Visit Lake County's product category is Destination Marketing & Tourism Promotion. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAAAEAE, River & Wetland Ecotours (Canoe/Kayak, Mangrove/Swamp Tours), with a secondary code of THAJAJAA, Sightseeing & Scenic Boat Tours (Harbor, Sunset, Dolphin/Whale Watching). Its NAICS code is 71219 and its SIC code is 8600.