Impact Innovation: The Economic Spin on Cultural Tourism in Chicago

Mitch Nichols, President of the Nichols Tourism Group, spoke to a packed room of Chicago tourism supporters on Tuesday.

The Nichols Group just completed a yearlong study on the cultural tourism of Chicago. Nichols presented four ‘key lessons’ of his study and highlighted numerous statistics to the audience. The first lesson reviewed the impact the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture on visitors. COTC is proud of their service before and during visitors' stay.

The second lesson highlighted the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture’s means to convert the explorechicago.org site traffic into economic returns. Explorechicago.org engaged visitors with placing significant influence on activities that give back to the Chicago tourism economy. The third ‘key lesson’ allowed visitors and residents alike to view Chicago as a cultural destination; not only was the site used by visitors, but also by residents! Finally, private and public partnerships are critical to the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture’s success.

Economically, the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture and its partners helped the tourism industry thrive for the past year. Explorechicago.org filled potential visitors in on upcoming events and attractions, proving to be the number one attraction for Chicago visitors. Chicago residents spoke highly about the cultural offerings the city has to offer, and as the study shows, visitors value culture.

Where does the Congress for the New Urbanism play a role into Chicago’s economic vitality? The principles the Congress was established on continue to promote initiatives and programs supporting economic vitality and the overall livability of communities and cities alike. Lesson four highlighted the importance of public and private partnerships, which echo the way in which CNU’s charter highlights the importance of governmental cooperation, public policy, physical planning, and economic strategies to help metropolitan regions thrive as a whole.

Hopefully the city realizes how important the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture is for economic vitality and promoting the culture of Chicago. The Nichols Tourism Group sure proved it.