CHICAGO — Chicago attracted more than 50 million tourists last year, the Mayor's Office said.
The city drew 50.2 million visitors last year and is on track to reach Emanuel's goal to bring in 55 million travelers annually by 2020, according Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Choose Chicago, the city's tourism bureau.
"Continuing to grow Chicago's tourism industry is a vital part of our strategy to create jobs for and promote economic growth in neighborhoods," Emanuel said.
Since 2010, the tourism industry has added 9,400 jobs, and visitors have spent $13.7 billion and generated $871 million in tax revenue, Emanuel said.
Last year, Chicago's tourism industry saw $2.03 billion in hotel revenue, and hotel tax revenue of $113.5 million.
"Chicago continues to have one of the fastest growing domestic markets for new hotel development, and we remain committed to securing new demand generators for the city," said Don Welsh, president and CEO of Choose Chicago.
"With major new events on the horizon, including the NFL Draft, the James Beard Awards, Microsoft Ignite .... 2015 is poised to be Chicago's best year yet," Welsh added.
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