2005 Illinois Tourism FactSheets

Here are some facts about the state’s tourism industry in 2005:

The Illinois travel and tourism industry, in 2005, contributed nearly $26.2 billion to the Illinois economy.

Travelers spent over $71 million dollars on average every day in Illinois businesses.

The Illinois travel and tourism industry directly employed 300,100 persons in Illinois, who earned over $7.8 billion.

On average, every $87,279 spent by travelers in Illinois directly supported one job.

  Traveler spending generated over $1.2 billion in tax revenues for the state treasury and over $608 million for local governments.

In 2005, Illinois welcomed a record breaking 90.78 million domestic visitors, 28.50 million for business and 62.28 million for leisure purposes, and more than 1.5 million international visitors.

Illinois’ total U.S. market share was 3.0% in 2005, ranking 9th in the U.S. in its share of total domestic travel and 5th in traveler spending.

Illinois is the 6th most popular state and Chicago is the 9th most popular city for overseas visitors to the U.S.

In 2005, the top five states providing visitors to Illinois were: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri and Michigan. The top markets for international visitors to Illinois were: Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany and Japan.

On average, visitors to Illinois spent $113 per person per day.

The primary activities of leisure travelers to Illinois included dining, shopping, entertainment, sightseeing, and nightlife.

The average age of Illinois leisure visitors was 43; the majority was married, and had an annual household income of $69,000.

Illinois’ hotel-motel tax revenues for CY 2005 were $172,412,566.

Consumer inquiries for 2005 were nearly 2.3 million.