Sole Source CY26 USTA Membership

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's Office of Tourism is pursuing a sole source procurement for a Calendar Year 2026 membership with the US Travel Association. This mandatory annual membership is critical for the state's tourism office, enabling participation in key industry events such as the International Pow Wow (IPW), which will be hosted in Chicago in summer 2026. The procurement is specifically for organizational membership dues, providing access to travel industry research data, event registrations, and networking opportunities with other state tourism directors. The solicitation is structured as a one-time purchase rather than a term contract, with a firm deadline of November 12, 2025, for potential bidders to submit comments or request a public hearing. Interested parties must submit written comments or hearing requests by November 7, 2025, at 4 p.m. to the designated information contact. The procurement process requires no competitive bidding due to the unique nature of the US Travel Association as the sole organization representing all 50 states' tourism offices and the entire U.S. travel industry.

The procurement appears to have no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on responding organizations. The sole source justification emphasizes that failing to renew membership would result in Illinois being the only state unrepresented in the organization. The contract value is fixed at $105,000 for the 2026 membership term, which is consistent with state appropriated funding and historical spending patterns. Previous membership costs have ranged from $72,500 to $105,000 annually, with procurement methods varying between small purchases and sole source designations. The State Purchasing Officer approved the sole source determination on October 20, 2025. The membership provides critical benefits including participation in industry events, access to research data, complimentary event registrations, and professional networking opportunities for state tourism directors. No alternative vendors were evaluated due to the US Travel Association's unique position as the comprehensive national tourism industry representative.