The city of Chicago welcomed a record 54.1 million visitors in 2016, up nearly 3% on last year.
Booming business travel and the Chicago Cubs’ historic World Series success were cited for the increase by mayor Rahm Emanuel and Choose Chicago CEO David Whitaker.
Chicago tourism generated $15 billion in direct tourism spending in 2016 and supported more than 145,000 jobs, the city said.
Mayor Emanuel said. "We had an incredible and record-breaking year in 2016, but we are not stopping there. We have seen record increases in jobs and investment from our tourism industry, which is creating economic opportunities that reach every neighborhood in the city of Chicago."
Eight new hotels opened in the Central Business District during 2016 boosting the number of rooms to 40,947, while overall room demand grew by nearly 3%.
