@enjoyillinois: "So glad you tweeted that - I had no idea that they [the PeggyNotebaertNatureMuseum] had the butterfly exhibit in the winter! Yay!"

This message was posted by Wendy Piersall, a Chicago-based entrepreneur, on popular social media site Twitter.com. She was thanking those at the Illinois Board of Tourism, who had sent a message about the museum.

“That one compliment immediately led to 400 hits for the museum’s webpage,” said Jan Kostner, deputy director of the Illinois agency who presented the State of the State of Tourism address at the Illinois Governor's Conference on Tourism at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. “It gives you an idea of the power of social media in the tourism industry.”

Though the agency launched its integrated social media campaign only this year, it's seen some encouraging responses. So far, it has close to 1500 people on its Twitter site and 189 fans on Facebook.com, another highly popular site in the social media landscape.

“We realize that travelers need information when they’re on the road,” said Kostner. “We know they get on their phone, send out messages on Twitter and like it when they get an immediate response.”

Around 450 tourism professionals attended the opening address which kicked off the three-day conference.

“Many of us realize there’s no other option,” said Mary Joan Schultheisz, principal of NuZoo Media Inc. “It’s important to go where people are spending a lot of time.

“We teach people to think for social media. You put a five-minute long video on Youtube.com but you need to be able to cut the most meaningful 40 seconds when uploading onto a social media site like Facebook,” she said.

While many in the industry understand the value of entering the social media landscape, plenty of hurdles remain. Understandably, there are many who still don't understand the medium.

“We have a video on Youtube and that’s about where we’re at,” said Marian Brisard of the Clinton, Ill. area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau. “I don’t know about Flickr and the others but we’re willing to learn. I think social media is going to have a big impact on the tourism industry, especially to reach young people.”

High-end hotels have a few issues to grapple with. “One of your biggest concerns is handling our branding,” said Stacey Sreshour, public relations manager at Park Hyatt Chicago. “But it’s definitely a great new avenue to promote hotels and restaurants.”

But a few restaurateurs have embraced the medium. Chicago-based Stephanie Izard, last season's Top Chef winner, has 639 people following her Twitter updates. “Getting ready for Smackdown at GooseIsland tomorrow at 7pm,” she wrote recently. “Come taste over 15 mac n' cheeses from Chicago chefs and vote for your fav!”