Thank you for visiting Illinois!: 2004 Illinois Tourism Visitor Information

In 2004, Illinois welcomed 90.61 million domestic visitors, 25.73 million for business and 64.88 million for leisure purposes, and more than 1 million international visitors.
Illinois increased its leisure market share to 2.9% in 2004, ranking 9th in the U.S. in its share of leisure domestic travel and 5th in traveler spending.
Chicago was the top U.S. city for business travel in 2004.
Illinois is tied as the 6th most popular state and Chicago is the 9th most popular city for overseas visitors to the U.S.
Travelers in Illinois spent $24.5 billion on transportation, lodging, food, entertainment, recreation and incidentals during 2004.
The average age of Illinois visitors was 41, the majority were married, and had an annual household income of $68,000.
In 2004, the top five states providing visitors to Illinois were: Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, and Michigan. The top markets for international visitors to Illinois were: Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan and Germany.
The primary activities of leisure travelers to Illinois included dining, shopping, sightseeing, entertainment, visiting a museum/art exhibit and nightlife.
On average, visitors to Illinois in 2004 spent $116 per person per day.
Illinois' hotel-motel tax revenue totaled $158,902,785 in 2004. The Illinois tourism budget is funded solely by 33.5% of these tax receipts. Approximately 50% of the state tourism office budget is returned to local tourism organizations or communities through grants.