U.S. Chicago tourism may fully recover by 2024

CHICAGO, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Tourism in Chicago, the third most populous city in the United States, may fully recover by 2024 and return to pre-pandemic levels, industry leaders said.

In the week leading up to the July 4 holiday, the city's hotel occupancy exceeded 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic, Chicago Tribune quoted Michael Jacobson, CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, as saying at a news conference earlier this week.

In the four weeks ending July 9, hotel occupancy in the central business district of Chicago was 75 percent, compared with 81 percent during the same time in 2019, according to research firm STR data.

In the first six months of the year, hotel stays generated 82 percent of the tax revenue they did during the same time pre-pandemic, according to Choose Chicago. Hotel bookings for leisure travel were at 76 percent of 2019 levels, and business travel was at 71 percent.

Glenn Eden, board chair for Choose Chicago, said at the news conference he was optimistic not only that travel would return full force to the city, but that the city could reimagine what travel to the Midwest looks like.

Convention attendance in Chicago has recently been around 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Chicago's hospitality industry has been slower to come back than in other cities, the local newspaper quoted the CEOs of Hyatt Hotels and American Airlines as saying. Industry leaders have also been tasked with overcoming concerns about downtown crime, as crime remains a concern for tourism agencies.