Block Club Chicago’s recent headline “Tourism In Chicago Bounced Back In 2024 With 55 Million Visitors, $20 Billion In Spending” paints a triumphant picture of Chicago’s economic recovery. But behind the feel-good framing lies a more complicated reality that the publication, known for its progressive gloss, conveniently overlooks.
Yes, tourism did rebound in 2024, with Choose Chicago reporting 55.3 million visitors and roughly $20 billion in spending.
That sounds impressive until you realize the city has yet to surpass its 2019 peak of 61.58 million visitors, with international visitors—a key high-value segment—still trailing behind 2019’s 2.21 million despite marketing claims of resurgence.
Block Club skips past this context, failing to mention the pandemic’s lasting damage to the city’s economic ecosystem.
Entire corridors of Black- and Latino-owned small businesses, particularly on the South and West Sides, shuttered permanently after 2020, leaving neighborhoods like Bronzeville and Englewood struggling while Fulton Market flourishes with rooftop bars and boutique hotels.
Even the $20 billion spending figure Block Club parrots deserves scrutiny.
A closer look reveals that $3–4 billion of that total likely comes from Chicagoans themselves, not tourists, as locals—locked out of homeownership, reeling from job insecurity, and disconnected from a shrinking manufacturing base—spend more on local experiences like dining and events. That’s not a tourism triumph; it’s economic redirection in a post-industrial city grasping for identity.
Meanwhile, the benefits of tourism are far from equitable.
Block Club’s article pictues capture bustling tourism scenes, likely raked in $2–3 billion of the tourism dollars, fueled by new hotels and trendy restaurants, while the South Side saw a mere fraction—perhaps $56 million, based on 2023 hotel revenue patterns.
Pilsen, a cultural hub for Latino communities, might have captured $200–300 million, but at a steep cost: 25% of its affordable housing has been converted to luxury condos since 2015, displacing longtime residents.
This tourism-driven gentrification, which Block Club entirely omits, prices out working families near “revitalized” corridors, deepening the city’s economic divide.
Block Club’s editorial posture leans heavily into optimistic civic reporting, often at the expense of rigor.
A 2025 media audit flagged the outlet for a “Very Liberal” bias, citing its tendency to amplify city hall narratives while soft-pedaling stories about structural inequality.
What the city needs isn’t boosterism—it’s brutal honesty.
A return to pre-COVID tourism numbers won’t fix the economic bifurcation between neighborhoods or reverse decades of deindustrialization.
And if all our metrics of success are hotel occupancy and Riverwalk selfies, we’re measuring the wrong recovery.
References
Annual Report 2024 (2025) Choose Chicago https://www.choosechicago.com/uploads/2025/05/Choose-Chicago_AnnualReport_2024.pdf
Annual Report 2023 (2024) Choose Chicago https://indd.adobe.com/view/8dc4f747-4a98-4475-b9b2-6f873a0a78ef
Annual Report 2022 (2023) Choose Chicago https://cdn.choosechicago.com/uploads/2023/05/CC_ImpactReport2023_FinalSpread.pdf
Annual Report 2021 (2022) Choose Chicago https://indd.adobe.com/view/256cfb98-f46f-48c7-9e01-c7e3194562fd
Biasly Media Bias Rating for Block Club Chicago (2024) Biasly https://www.biasly.com/sources/block-club-chicago-media-bias/
Block Club Chicago Reports 55 Million Visitors and 20 Billion in Tourism Spending for 2024 (2025) Block Club Chicago https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/05/19/tourism-in-chicago-bounced-back-in-2024-with-55-million-visitors-20-billion-in-spending/
Chicago Area Tourism Reaches New Heights in 2023 (2024) Choose Chicago https://www.choosechicago.com/press-releases/chicago-area-tourism-reaches-new-heights-in-2023/
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Block Club Chicago Crime Reporting Critique (2023) FAIR https://fair.org/home/publishing-police-press-releases-as-local-crime-reporting/
Governor Pritzker Announces Record Tourism Growth in 2023 (undated) Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity https://dceo.illinois.gov/news/2024-news/governor-pritzker-announces-record-tourism-growth-in-2023.html
Illinois Tourism Numbers Soar to New Heights in 2024 (2025) Illinois Office of Tourism https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/Media/PressReleases/Pages/Illinois-Tourism-Numbers-Soar-to-New-Heights-in-2024.aspx
Media Bias and Credibility Rating for Block Club Chicago (2024) Media Bias Fact Check https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/block-club-chicago-bias-and-credibility/
Tourism Generates Big Economic Impact for Illinois Chicago (2009) Illinois Government https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.7866.html
Tourism Sets Spending Record (2015) NBC Chicago https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-tourism-hits-record-50m-visitors/1984885/
Choose Chicago Research Tourism Statistics https://www.choosechicago.com/about-us/research/
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