With Chicago primed to host US Travel’s premiere IPW trade event in 2024, the Windy City will garner the gaze of the global travel industry for almost a week next June. But Choose Chicago’s chief marketing officer Lisa Nucci says her job is to ensure Chicago remains top of mind year-round – especially for Canadians.
“Canada is our No. 1 international market,” she told Travel Industry Today at an event Monday, conveniently taking place as the Chicago’s Blackhawks took on the Leafs in Toronto.
The Hawks lost, but that didn’t dampen the spirit of the city’s tourism team, which hosted close to 40 members of the trade at the Scotiabank Arena to talk up a destination that annually attracts over 500,000 visitors from north of the border, though not quite yet at pre-pandemic levels.
Nucci expects that milestone to be passed in 2025 as Canadians rediscover a city rich in culture and architecture, and boasting a vibrant culinary and craft beer scene, live music, and sports (such as the hockey Hawks, but also including two baseball teams – the Cubs’ Wrigley Field is a historic gem for ball fans – along with football, basketball, and soccer teams.
And the Second City comedy club – endeared to Canadians through our own famous chapter of comedians and actors, is still “a big thing,” she adds.
It also a city with a sensational waterfront that is the envy of Toronto – an otherwise “like-minded” city to Chicago, says Nucci.
Described as a kinder, gentler New York, Chicago is always evolving and has plenty to engage visitors – including the upcoming opening of the highly anticipated Obama Presidential Centre, which is expected in early 2026, setting in motion a transformation of the city’s south side.
But for all its attributes, not least its notable architecture and great museums, and a music legacy as home to the urban blues, Nucci says what really sets the city apart are its friendly people, who can best be engaged in the city’s unique neighbourhoods.
Photo – Choose Chicago“What people crave is seeing how other people live,” Nucci says, and to that end she suggests visitors get out to visit the culturally rich working-class Pilsen and African-American Bronzeville enclaves, amongst many others, to see the real Chicago.
And while the waterfront includes attractions like Navy Pier, a nearly kilometre-long wharf with tour boats, carnival rides and a king-sized Ferris wheel, it also boasts a nearly 30-km Lakefront Trail that offers stunning views of Lake Michigan and city skyline for pedestrians and cyclists, while connecting many of the city’s lakefront parks, beaches, museums, and neighbourhoods.
There’s also the River Walk, a 2-km. long public space filled with restaurants, bars, cafés, parks, view corridors, and where people can rent a boat or kayak.
The greater Chicago area also boast consists of over 5,000 hectares of parkland including more than 600 parks, most notably Lincoln Park, the largest in the city.
“What people don’t realize is that Chicago is super green,” Nucci observes.
In sum, she says, “It’s such a special city,” – a sentiment shared by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler, who have voted Chicago ‘#1 Best Big City in the US’ for eight consecutive years.
For Canadians, Chicago is a natural destination, reachable by car or in less than two hours by air from Toronto, with plenty of service provided by the likes of Air Canada, Porter, United, and American Airlines.
“It’s so close,” Nucci, concludes. “We want to welcome Canadians.” And not just to IPW!
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