CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago’s downtown has experienced significant changes since the pandemic from office overhauls to the ways that we get back and forth each day. This also includes both changes and some challenges with the tourism scene in downtown.
If you live in Chicago you've likely visited the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, Or taken a walk along the lakefront, Or maybe seen a performance at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
But how is the city sharing those offerings with people who don't live here?
Lynn Osmond with Choose Chicago shares one way the organization is making tourists "choose Chicago."
"We do that by, you know, having a campaign like 'When you go, you know,' because I think one of the things that we know is Chicago, so many people say I've never been there and when they come to the city, they go, 'Oh, wow, this city is so great."
She said the campaign seems to be working. Chicago was recently named "Best Big City in the U.S.” for the seventh straight year by readers of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine.
"One of the reasons we won that is because of our house, hospitality and our people," Osmond said.
"And I think for me, you know, the exciting thing about the city is that we have this incredible natural beauty with the lakefront and the riverwalk and the you know... this vibrancy that happens there, but we have this amazing manmade beauty with our architecture and so it's just a gorgeous city."
She points out that's also part of reason why the city is on track to post-pandemic recovery.
"Last year we were at 80% of recovery post COVID," Osmond explained.
"With over 50 million visitors this year, we expect will be over 54 million visitors. You know, we've had a strong recovery and leisure in groups."
The pandemic has also brought about some changes in Chicago tourism including the emergence of what Osmond calls the "leisure traveler."
She said that visitors are coming in early for the weekend and they're working out of the hotels on the week.
"And that's great because Fridays used to be the big restaurant day. Everybody went out for lunch on a Friday. Now everybody goes out for lunch and drinks on a Thursday."
The tourists keep restaurant and those amenities busy for the weekend, Osmond added.
But still, she said Chicago tourism has its challenges.
"The area that slower for us is international. We've never been a huge international city. Unfortunately, we're a bit of a flyover city."
Like any major city, Chicago is still fighting the crime narrative.
"That's something we have to continue to work on and we are working on that, because there's so many positive wonderful things that have happened in Chicago, and we really want to focus on, you know, how do we make the visitor experience feeling safe, and that people feel welcome?"
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