The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Tourism has recently announced that Illinois welcomed a record-breaking number of visitors in 2024.

According to data provided by Tourism Economics, Illinois welcomed 113 million domestic and international visitors last year, who generated $48.5 billion in spending, an increase of 500,000 visitors and $1.3 billion in spending from the previous year.

This accounted for $4.7 billion in state and local tax revenue, supporting more than 280,000 jobs in the state’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Senate Republicans say tourism is a vital part of our state’s economic success, contributing valuable revenue to local economies. They say that these record-setting figures come as a great relief for those in the tourism and hospitality industry, who are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and the governor’s forced shutdown of businesses across the state.