Rob DeCleene, executive director of the South Bend/Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau

By Phil D’Amico, director of business growth, The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County

Rob DeCleene has been the executive director of the South Bend/Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau since May 2010.

Rob has extensive experience in the tourism industry, serving in a similar capacity in Bloomington, Ind., for more than nine years, and 16 years total experience in the tourism industry. Rob is originally from the South Bend area, graduating from John Adams High School. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in tourism management, and recently earned a Certified Destination Management Executive certification. He was out of the area for about 20 years before his return to South Bend.

Rob DeCleene, executive director of the South Bend/Mishawaka Convention and Visitors Bureau

Q: Rob, so you have been on the job now for more than seven months?

A: Yeah, time flies when you’re having fun. You should know that, Phil.

Q: Is it fair to say the “honeymoon” is over?

A: Hahaha … Not yet … I am having a lot of fun on the job and love the opportunities each day presents. I have met a lot of great and passionate people who really want to make a difference for our community. I am really humbled by the response and welcome I have received. It has been awesome to meet so many great people.

Q: Now you grew up here, graduated from a local high school, went away for a while, and now came back 20 years later. Do you kind of feel like the “prodigal son” returns?

A: Hahaha. I never thought of it that way, but it has been somewhat surreal at times being back in South Bend.

Q: Have you noticed any changes?

A: One of the first that stands out is the level of optimism now versus when I left. People seem to be more optimistic and positive about the future. The energy and spirit is much more prominent, plus I think people realize the potential for great success for our community is much more significant now.

Q: Well that leads into my next question … which is … what are our greatest strengths from the tourism aspect?

A: No question Phil, it is Notre Dame. They have been, and will continue to be, our No. 1 resource. They have such a national, and even international, appeal that will only become even greater as they expand their research and development opportunities. Also, let’s not overlook the football weekends. They are very real and very important. Forbes magazine estimates about $10 million is spent each football weekend through Notre Dame home games. That is an astounding number for our local economy.

Q: Well in addition to Notre Dame, what other assets do you look at that we could promote more, or may be underestimated in our community?

A: There is a great spiritual influence in our community that we could focus more on. Obviously Notre Dame is a driver in that area, but we have Bethel College, Holy Cross College, and Saint Mary’s College, each with great history, heritage, and strong spiritual assets. We plan to assess these opportunities, which could become a very important piece to our new tourism opportunities.

Q: What role do the arts and culture play in tourism? We hear that they are important, but how critical is it to have some of those cultural opportunities?

A: They are very important. People want all of those things in their community. South Bend is the largest city in North Central Indiana, so it can really serve a large population in the arts. To have a symphony, art museum, Center for History, Studebaker museum, Morris Performing Arts Center, South Bend Civic Theatre, IU South Bend’s performing musicians group, all of those organizations help attract people to your community from outside the area, as well as inside your region, and they also allow us to sell our community to outside conventions. You really need these types of things to show you are a community that can offer everything, whether it is to the outside traveler, or the in-town resident. These types of venues are necessary to be competitive in the “Quality of Life” category.

Q: Where does sports tourism, aside from Notre Dame, play a role in your future direction?

A: Sports can be a major draw, and specifically youth sports. People may not realize how much potential our county has when it comes to being a potential sports hub for our community. Many cities across our country have revitalized their tourism revenues through the addition of sports or renewed focus. Look at what amateur sports did for the city of Indianapolis. It is now a hub for amateur sports. Because of our location here, and proximity to many other cities and sites, we, too, could see great success in the area of youth and amateur sports.

Q: We always hear about the river … could that also be a factor in increasing tourism interest?

A: Oh yeah, absolutely! The river is an underutilized resource. We have seen many city examples of where the river can be an incredible tourism destination. Just look at San Antonio as a wonderful example of river prosperity.

Q: Now, in case you haven’t heard, we do have a winter season here in the South Bend market … weren’t sure you knew that?

A: Really? I wasn’t aware of our winters here. Look, a majority of places have winter. What we have seen is that there is no off-season anymore for tourism. The challenge is always turning your greatest weakness, i.e. in this case winter, into your greatest strength. We have a number of things that we could do, to highlight our winter season.

Q: Locally we have a great shopping presence, don’t we? That has to help.

A: Sure it does. We really have become the regional shopping district whereby we attract many regional visitors from Northwest and Northeast Indiana. I think what we have seen especially as we get closer to the holiday shopping season is that we are a shopping destination. That is truly something we could highlight with all types of dining experiences out here as well. We have 4,800 hotel rooms in St. Joseph County alone. We need to market them for all year round and not just six or seven home football games.

Q: What are some of your goals coming up for the next year?

A: Wow! There are many, but some immediate goals that I have are as follows: Look at the website and freshen it up. We need it to where people want to come here and feel energized to visit. Secondly, we need to brand more positively and freshen our image. We need to position ourselves as an innovative, creative, entrepreneurial community. Again we need to market ourselves with a newer image and brand of being a hip community with a lot going on. Finally, I want to revisit our visitor’s guide, to be more user-friendly and more eye-catching. Again, create interest and enthusiasm about our community.

Q: Wow, you’re going to be busy. Your energy and passion are and have been contagious. How do you create that in others?

A: We have incredible potential here, and this area needs to continue to be optimistic about our future. We have wonderful resources here. We just need to get the word out. I am extremely excited about the future of tourism here. We are going to do some “cool” things to create that excitement.

Q: Sounds like you love coming to work.

A: Phil, I love my job … and I love the potential we have.