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.