7/6/2007 11:18:50 AMBy Jim MerrittTravelers between the coasts may think of Chicago as “fly-over country,” but that old put-down may be on the way out as America’s heartland metropolis prepares for an event of Olympic possibility. The city is vying for a 2016 bid and is also awaiting the completion of huge new hotel construction projects. And RevPAR and occupancy rates are climbing.
In April, the United States Olympic Committee announced that Chicago had won the right to represent the United States in the effort to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With the international competition for host city including Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona, Chicago already has a web site promoting its Olympic dreams, http://www.chicago2016.org./
Mark Theis, Executive VP Sales for the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, says being in the running for the Olympics “will further reinforce that we are a global destination” with “international appeal.”
The City of Chicago had more than 44 million visitors last year, which set an all-time record and is a nearly 10 percent increase from 2005, according to the Illinois governor’s office. Chicago also saw a 13.5 percent increase in leisure visitors with overnight paid accommodations volume increased by nearly 16 percent to more than 9 million visitors. That was also a record high, according to the governor’s office.
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