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DuPage tourism group hires sports market manager

OAK BROOK - The DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau announced the hiring of Igor Bakovic as sports market manager, tasked with advancing DuPage's presence in the lucrative sports tourism market.

Before joining DCVB, Bakovic was a core complex sales manager at Marriott International, representing 24 hotels in the Minneapolis, Des Moines, Iowa City, St. Louis and Kansas City markets.

After graduating from Ryerson University, Bakovic spent four years playing basketball professionally in Europe for clubs in Greece, Germany, Bulgaria and Austria. Prior to joining Marriott, he spent six years in the logistics and supply chain management industry working for Great Lakes Coca-Cola, Coyote Logistics and Fredonia Inc.

"As we begin down the road to recovery from the pandemic, now is the right time to put more energy and resources into the sports market given the return on investment for our businesses and communities when participants, families and spectators spend their dollars in DuPage," said DCVB Executive Director Beth Marchetti.

According to a study released in September by Tourism Economics, nearly 180 million people traveled to a sports event in the U.S. in 2019, either as a participant or spectator, which generated 69 million room nights and $45.1 billion in spending across lodging, transportation, food and beverage, entertainment, retail and tournament operations.

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