Chicagoist: Chicago: No. 1 Tourist Destination ... Well, Kind Of ...

nobodyspecial

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:21:00 -0600

I used to drive pass wrigley field every day. Whenever I saw people taking the obligatory picture of each other in front of the stadium, it always made me feel lucky to live here. I guess I imagined those people living in some bland suburbia...or some lonely heartland. Chicago has a lot of little things like that going for it. It makes it near impossible to really quantify tourism, I would think. The Vegas and Orlando experience is only more obvious and easy to count. I'm willing to believe the numbers. But that may be the advil talking.

matty

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:46:19 -0600

I wonder what Alicia Dore has to say about all this.

guest

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:40:15 -0600

and there's only 24 homeless people downtown.

guest

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:23:32 -0600

"even if we have a bit of trouble believing a trip to the top of the John Hancock holds the same appeal as a night of raucous gambling in Vegas or a day with the Mouse down in Florida." Only because you live here. People that live in Orlando have zero fucking interest in Mickey Mouse. Vegas may be a different story, as everyone is indirectly employed by the casinos. But don't kid yourself about stuff like the Hancock and Sears skydecks...they are destinations to thousands who have never seen anything higher than the neighborhood sled hill.

lwinling

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:42:34 -0600

Atlanta? Is that for real? Everyone I've EVER talked to did their darnedest to get the hell out of Atlanta.

guest

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:57:42 -0600

"Like most Chicagoist readers, that's how I came to know the city." Really? I'd love to see your research. Probably as solid as these tourist numbers.

guest

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:54:09 -0600

According to Doug Shiflett Mark Levine...pointed out The way this is written, it makes it sound as though Olivia had direct conversations with Doug Shiflett and Mark Levine to help make sense of the information. It's misleading and dishonest to write a summary of a journalist's report and not credit the source.

guest

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 11:53:44 -0600

Honestly, I believe Chicago could compete with Vegas or Disneyland, assuming you're including day trippers and weekend visitors. Chicago is within easy driving distance of far more people than Las Vegas, and it doesn't carry the expense and logistical issues of the Magic Kingdom, with it's hundred bucks per person per day just to get in. If you're going to do Disney, then you make it a full-scale vacation, which means Disney is competing with places like Hawaii, the Carribean, Europe, et. al. Chicago, on the other hand, is competing with Indianapolis. Millions upon millions across 8 or 9 states can reasonably do Chicago on a whim without spending a lot of money. I know. Like most Chicagoist readers, that's how I came to know the city.