Chicago’s 'Overperforming' Culture and Events Scene Powering Strong Tourism Surge

Chicago’s biggest cultural institutions and events are doubling down on the city’s future as travel volumes hit new heights after a punishing pandemic and a few sluggish recovery years.

The city’s tourism numbers have nearly rebounded to their prepandemic benchmarks, and panelists at Bisnow’s Chicago Sports & Entertainment Summit credited the success to a targeted investment strategy and an improved ability to get the positive word out.

Representatives from the Shedd Aquarium to Lollapalooza touted the city’s tourism wins in 2024 and burgeoning momentum this year at the event held at Roosevelt University. 

“Never count Chicago out,” said Meghan Curran, chief operating officer at the Shedd Aquarium. “We're in a city that overperforms and overdelivers every single time.”

Chicago saw about 55 million tourists in 2024, trailing its prepandemic benchmark by about 6 million visitors but a 6.5% increase over the year before. International travel to the city eclipsed 2 million visitors last year for the first time since 2019. 

Travel volume in the city has reached new heights in 2025. A record number of travelers passed through O’Hare International Airport on June 22 over Juneteenth weekend. About 114,000 people were screened, the highest ever for a single day through the airport. 

The more the city’s top attractions can set the narrative by investing in themselves and offering high-quality entertainment, the easier it is to leave a positive impression on visitors, Curran said. 

“When you overdeliver, everyone who comes here walks away telling everyone they know, ‘You've got to go to Chicago,’” Curran said. “[They’ll say], ‘I didn't expect it to be as beautiful. I didn't expect there to be as many things to do. The people are nice. The place is clean. There's things to do all the time.’” 

The Shedd Aquarium is taking Curran's advice to invest, with a phased approach to renovations that ensures each stage offers something new while keeping construction disruption to a minimum. Recent improvements include a more accessible entrance and a redesigned central exhibit, with a two-story Caribbean reef tunnel and kelp forest set to open next year.

Every investment is guided by community input and designed to broaden access and inclusion, Curran said. The goal is to attract more visitors, create a stronger sense of belonging and make sure guests feel the changes are meaningful and worth returning for.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago has also seized on the city’s momentum. It is increasing its performance calendar by 25% to keep up with the added demand, said John Mangum, president and CEO of the organization.

The city is a global destination for arts and culture, and the venue is seeing about a third of its audience come from outside of the market, he said. 

“Opera has the myth of elitism around it,” Mangum said.  “It's really important to us as an institution that all of Chicago is seeing themselves reflected on our stage and feel welcome in our space.”

The Lyric Opera uses Placer.ai to measure foot traffic and see patterns over the course of the day, Mangum said. That allows it to plan when its restaurant should be open and if it is effectively growing its audience.

Other city staples, like McCormick Place, are expected to contribute significantly to the city’s tourism scene.

The venue is projected to host 109 events this year, drawing 1.3 million attendees and generating an estimated $1.9B in economic impact, said Larita Clark, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority. A significant share of attendees are international, like the 40% who came for the recent American Society of Clinical Oncologists meeting. 

Many of those visitors bring family and explore the city’s cultural attractions, extending the reach of each event beyond the convention center, Clark said.

Hotel numbers from earlier this month confirm that travelers are returning to the city. While demand continued to decline nationally for the week of June 8-14, STR reported this was not the case in Chicago. The city, along with Nashville, Orlando, Florida, Oklahoma and St. Louis, accounted for 32% of all demand growth.

“There's a flywheel for this economy of having entertainment tourism come to the city,” said Tuba Smith, festival director at Lollapalooza.

“So while they may be going to McCormick Place or Lollapalooza, they're also staying in a hotel, and they're going to our amazing restaurants here in the city. And so all of that generates jobs, generates business, keeps this flywheel going, generates a lot of taxes.”