Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced Chicago welcomed more than 57.6 million visitors in 2018 - a growth of 4.3% over the previous year, resulting in a new tourism record.
Speaking on the occasion, he said: ?When it comes to attracting tourists and business travellers, Chicago can go toe-to-toe with any city in the world. By continuing to set new tourism records and bring millions of more people to Chicago every year, we are creating jobs and economic opportunities that reach every neighbourhood.?
Annual visitor projections released by Choose Chicago were fueled by a growth of 4.4% in domestic visitors and an increase of 2.9% in overseas visitors.
David Whitaker, president & CEO of Choose Chicago, said: ?It?s encouraging to not only see growth but to see the pace of growth increase.?
?The previous year, visitor volumes grew 2.7%, so to see the pace improve with now a 4.3% annual increase is a reflection of the momentum that Chicago is enjoying and the growing impact the tourism, meetings and events industry generates in our community.?
There was an increase in international travellers to Chicago in 2018. Airline Passenger Information System (APIS) data collected from arriving non-stop international flights to Chicago for the first 11 months of the year show an increase of 3.9%, led by a growth in the number of passport holders from Brazil (up 16.2%), United Kingdom (up 14.1%), Italy (up 10.9%), South Korea (up 9.2%), Mexico (up 7.4%), Canada (up 2.5%) and China (up 2.1%).
Whitaker continued: ?The diversity of our visitors continues to grow as we welcome more and more people both from around the U.S. and increasingly around the world,? noted Whitaker. ?Diverse customers help match and fulfill the incredible diversity of experiences, venues, flavours and performances found here. A great city to visit is born out of a city that is a great place to live, work and play.?
Chicago tourism-related employment is estimated to have reached 150,616 jobs in 2018, an increase of 1.2%. More than 22,000 new tourism-related jobs have been added since 2011.