Tourism in select southwest Illinois counties generated a local economic impact of $1.34 billion last year, setting records for parts of the metro east and exceeding levels seen prior to the pandemic.

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CHICAGO (WLS) -- The hotel industry broke its pre-pandemic record for revenue during the last 12 months. That's one of the clearest signs that tourism is on the road to recovery. "Our tourism industry ...

Machaela Sweeney enjoys the view at the top of Inspiration Point near the Mississippi River in southern Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest. Maggie Dougherty Medill Illinois News Bureau WOLF LAKE, Ill.

CHICAGO (WAND) - Governor JB Pritzker joined the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity at the Shedd Aquarium to announce the state’s new tourism campaign, “Middle of Everything,” ...

Illinois, which bills itself as the “Middle of Everything” in an ongoing TV ad campaign, may also be in the middle of a post-pandemic tourism recovery. While some metrics still lag, Illinois hotel tax ...

To continue reading this content, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings and refresh this page. Preview this article 1 min Illinois seeks to continue ...

CHICAGO (CBS) --When you think of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and NASCAR, economic growth doesn't necessarily come to mind. But these past and future events bring lots of people into the city. CBS 2's ...

Illinois has spent nearly $7 million to sponsor a Metro East NASCAR race and build a temporary track in Chicago since 2022. The expenditures are part of a broader state tourism campaign. The ...

NASCAR will not be returning to Chicago streets next summer as the racing series takes its road act to likely sunnier weather in San Diego following two rain-plagued races out of its three years in ...