Travel Trade Out in Force as Choose Chicago Visits Dublin

ITTN’S Sharon Jordan was at the Choose Chicago lunch, which was held in Dublin’s Hugo’s restaurant today. Hosting the event was Lynn Osmond, President and CEO of Choose Chicago.

The travel trade turned out in force to welcome the Second City to our Capital city.  

Here are a couple of key statistics on visitor numbers and new openings and anniversaries that were discussed during the presentation.

• In 2022 Chicago welcomed nearly 50 million visitors to the city
• In 2022 Chicago welcomed over 30,000 visitors from Ireland, which is nearly back at pre-pandemic levels, and this made up 3.4% of all overseas visitors to Chicago in 2022
• Between January and April 2023, hotel room demand is up 17% compared to 2022 
• Chicago is named the Best Big City in the US for a sixth consecutive year by readers of Condé Nast Traveller 

New Openings, Events & Anniversaries 

• Chicago will host the first-ever NASCAR Street Race in its 75-year history on 01 and 02 July in Downtown Chicago.
• St. Regis Chicago Hotel: Opened in May 2023 with 192 luxury guest rooms, this is the 54^th St. Regis globally and the 11^th in the United States. It is located in the stunning St. Regis Chicago, the largest building in the world designed by a woman. 
• Arlo Hotel: Opened in April with 218 rooms, this is the brand’s sixth hotel overall and first in the Midwest. 
• Guinness Open Gate Brewery: Diageo Beer Company will open the second location of its Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Chicago’s West Loop neighbourhood in the Summer of 2023.
• Pullman National Historical Park: Designated in January 2023, the Pullman National Historical Park is one of the newest National parks in the US. Located on the Far South Side in Pullman, the park pays homage to one of the nation’s first industrial planned communities and its role in labour, civil rights and architectural history.
• Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The only cruise narrated by CAC-certified volunteer docents who thrill guests with their wealth of knowledge about Chicago’s “canyon of architecture,” the 90-minute CAC River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady glides down all three branches of the Chicago River, provides guests with an unobstructed, open-air, 360-degree view of the city’s wide variety of architectural styles, including art deco, neoclassicism, mid-century modernism, and postmodernism.