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Data Show More US Tourists Visiting Illinois, Staying Longer

Flickr Creative Commons/Boston Public Library

New Illinois tourism figures show about 110 million tourists from around the country visited the state last year, a more than 1 million increase compared to 2015.  Eighty three percent of visitors came for leisure and 17% came for business. 

Governor Bruce Rauner says that every $1 invested in tourism in Illinois generates $9 in economic impact.  According to the Illinois Office of Tourism, the average stay lasted about 3% longer than the previous year.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Choose Chicago CEO and president David Whitaker say 54.1 million people visited Chicago in 2016. The city has had a 3.5% increase over the first quarter of 2016 with over 10.5 million visitors in the first quarter of 2017.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.