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Chicago Tourism, Business Travel Post Another Record Year
Travel to Chicago posted another record year in 2018, as the city posted a 4.3% year-over-year increase to 57.7 million, says Choose Chicago. The growth resulted in a 4.4% increase in overall hotel room demand, and a 4.6% Y-O-Y gain in average daily room rate.
Overall tourism expenditures exceeded $16 billion last year, including almost $1.1 billion in tourism tax revenue, according to the annual report from Choose Chicago, the city’s convention and tourism marketing agency. Hotel tax revenues alone generated $437 million.
Tourism wasn’t the only growth driver. Choose Chicago also reported sizable upticks in future bookings at McCormick Place during the year, along with conventions and meetings hosted by hotels.
“The impact of our tourism, meetings and hospitality industry is increasingly noticeable,” said David Whitaker, president and CEO of Choose Chicago. He added that the impact “reaches far beyond the jobs supported and the taxes generated.”
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- ◦Economy
