Chicago Breaks Record for Tourist Spending in 2025

Chicago had its best year ever for tourism in 2025, according to Choose Chicago, the city's tourism marketing group. Visitors spent a record $21.5 billion while in the city, more than ever before. About 56.8 million people traveled to Chicago last year, and that much visitor spending helped support more than 135,000 local jobs.

Choose Chicago announced the numbers on Thursday. The organization also said tourists and their spending created more than $2.9 billion in tax money for the state and city of Illinois. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker praised the results, saying Chicago is a one-of-a-kind place. 'Chicago offers something for everyone,' he said.

One visitor, a man named Karl from Sweden, spent part of his trip on the Chicago Architecture Center's river cruise. He was already in the United States to watch Sweden play in the World Cup, and then decided to visit Chicago. 'It's been great,' he said. His visit is part of a bigger pattern the Architecture Center has noticed this year.

Lauren Bakos, who works at the Chicago Architecture Center, said the river cruises have had about 20 percent more guests this year compared to last year. She said walking tours and bus tours are also doing very well. International travel to the center has stayed about the same. All of these numbers point to strong visitor interest in what Chicago has to offer.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also celebrated the tourism news. He said tourism acts like a powerful engine for the city's economy and helps neighborhoods grow stronger. 'There is no place quite like Chicago,' Mayor Johnson said.

Even with the record spending, Chicago has not yet returned to its all-time high for visitor numbers. Back in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 61 million people visited the city. Last year's total of 56.8 million was about 1.5 million more than in 2024, which shows the city is slowly bouncing back.

The tourism group broke down where visitors came from. About 40.7 million of them were Americans visiting for fun or vacation, which was up nearly 5 percent from the year before. There were also 1.9 million international visitors, though that number dropped 8 percent compared to 2024 — the only category that went down.

Kristen Reynolds, the president and CEO of Choose Chicago, said she was relieved by the overall results. She pointed out that many other cities and tourist spots are seeing their numbers fall right now because of high costs and global issues. 'Most of our other competitors and destinations are seeing declines right now,' Reynolds said.

Hotels in Chicago also had a strong year, bringing in $2.9 billion in revenue and paying $161.1 million in taxes to the city. Michael Jacobson, who leads the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, said local government decisions can help keep this growth going. He mentioned that keeping Soldier Field as a top concert venue is one way to bring even more visitors to the city.

Summer was the most popular time to visit Chicago, with 34 percent of tourists arriving during those months. Fall came in second with 28 percent, followed by winter at 22 percent. Spring was the least popular season, bringing in only 6 percent of visitors. City and tourism leaders say they hope to attract even more visitors in every season in the years ahead.