Governor JB Pritzker, along with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's Office of Tourism, recently announced some impressive figures for Illinois’ 2024 tourism. The state reportedly welcomed 113 million visitors last year, which translates to a cool $48.5 billion spent. That's up from 2023, marking a nifty increase of half a million visitors and an extra $1.3 billion in spending.
The announcements also highlighted a hefty amount of hotel tax revenue collected in FY25 - $367 million to be exact. This is not just some trivial jump but a striking 14% increase over the previous record set in FY24. And let's talk about Chicago – the city saw a significant 7.7% rise in overnight guests, solidly positioning Illinois as a magnet for travelers, whether they're coming from nearby states or across the ocean.
There's more to this than just a bragging right for the state. The higher numbers correspond with jobs, local spending boosts, and support for those mom-and-pop stores we all love. In fact, the cash flow from visitors directly supported 282,165 jobs in the local tourism and hospitality industry, up from the previous year. "This rising demand has provided important momentum for the hotel industry, which despite recent gains, struggles under the weight of rising costs and economic uncertainty," Michael Jacobson, President & CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, told the Illinois state news release.
And it's not just happenstance – there's strategy at work here. Illinois doled out $7.3 million through various grants, prepping the state for the Route 66 centennial in 2026 and boosting events and attractions left and right. One such event is the IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon which has moved to Rockford, thanks to a fresh $15 million tourism incentive grant program from FY24 — a clear sign that the state is investing in its appeal, come one and all. All this hustle resulted in an extra $4.7 billion filling the state and local tax coffers.
Now, hats off to the clever folks behind the state's "Middle of Everything" tourism campaign, which, by the way, garnered an additional 2 million trips to Illinois in 2024, raking in more than $675 million spent in Illinois hotels, restaurants, and attractions. That's a fair bang for their marketing buck, with every dollar spent on the campaign bringing in $74 of visitor dough. As Senator Sara Feigenholtz quite rightly put it in the Illinois state news release, "Illinois' record-breaking tourism numbers are evidence of our commitment to promoting our great state to visitors while supporting our tourism industry."
