The UK is lagging behind other source markets in the rebound of visitor numbers to Chicago, according to the city’s tourism chief.
The UK has traditionally been Chicago’s third biggest source market, but visitor numbers for the first half of 2022 were at just 65% of pre-pandemic levels.
In comparison, India’s visitor numbers are at 150% compared to 2019, and Denmark is at 104%.
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Chief executive of Choose Chicago Lynn Osmond said the city is seeing a “strong recovery”, but warned she does not expect visitor numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025.
In an interview with Travel Weekly, she said: “We are making strong headway in terms of visitor numbers but it will be 2025 before we are back to 2019 levels if we enter a recession.
“If we don’t enter a recession then we will be full steam ahead, but a recession is likely and we have concerns about what it will do to Chicago’s recovery from the pandemic. It’ll certainly slow us down.”
To boost UK visitor numbers, Choose Chicago will launch a campaign in the next month to engage with agents and encourage them to promote Chicago holidays.
Osmond said: “Travel agents are very important to us and we are seeing an uptick in holidaymakers using agents due to the pandemic and ongoing aviation disruption.
“We plan to launch a strategic campaign for UK agents so we can target UK visitors and promote autumn holidays. We know people will already have their summer vacation set, so we want to entice them with a fall trip.
“To help agents, we are looking at training opportunities and running fam trips later this year.”
The campaign will also focus on Chicago being an “end destination”, as opposed to being a stopover for travellers heading to another state.
Osmond said: “We want UK visitors to discover Chicago and realise we are not just a fly-over city, we are an end destination.
“Often people will stop over if they are going to New York or Orlando or Las Vegas, but they should also think about spending time in Chicago and enjoying all the amazing things the city has to offer.”
Osmond attributed UK travellers’ slow return to Chicago on the UK’s own lockdown rules, which she said have made travellers “nervous”.
“The UK had strict lockdowns which I think has impacted people who would have gone away, but are now nervous due to the lockdown procedures they experienced”, she said. “Canada is similar, and we are seeing much lower visitor numbers than before the pandemic.”
“Other countries which had softer lockdown rules have returned in much higher numbers, such as Brazil.
“The UK is still doing well but it has dropped down the list in terms of our top source markets.”