Chicago Showcased On Global Sport Stage

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has set some pretty lofty goals for the official marketing and sales organization of Chicago, Choose Chicago, according to The Business Journal. These goals include increasing annual visitation to 55 million visitors by 2020, book 2.3 million hotel room nights and 50 new groups annually, and also elevate Chicago to among the top five U.S. cities for inbound overseas travel by 2020. The way they are going to accomplish these goals? Sports!

Paired with the Chicago Sports Commission (CSC) they have been focusing on attracting high profile sporting events and making Chicago the premier destination for sporting events. Chicago has made a head start by hosting the ITU World Triathlon Series. They managed to not only showcase the event, but also the city by integrating landmarks like the lakefront, Buckingham fountain and Chicago’s skyline. This brought international media attention, a diverse group of participants, international visitors, and engaged the local community as well.

Presenting a reason to the world to visit your destination is not an easy feat in tourism marketing. Chicago has mastered the art of showcasing the city on a global stage. It has managed to be awarded 48 events in it’s city, representing 450,000 room nights in the past 3 years and still to come in 2015 to Chicago will be the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, the NFL Draft, and the ITU World Triathlon Series Grand Final.

So why would you not Choose Chicago to be a part of the international sports stage among the greats? See you there!