Beyonce helps drive Chicago hotel bookings above Lionel Messi's record
[CHICAGO] Beyonce's concert in Chicago helped drive hotel bookings to a fresh record, beating a previous high set when Lionel Messi's Inter Miami played in the third-largest US city.
Travellers booked 46,450 hotel rooms in Chicago last Saturday (May 17), the most ever for any single day, according to Choose Chicago, the city's tourism organisation.
Visitors were also in town for the National Restaurant Association Show, which usually attracts more than 50,000 people.
The new record is good news for Chicago, which had been struggling to lure tourists back. While the number of visitors rose 6.5 per cent last year to 55.3 million, it still remains below pre-pandemic levels. The city received 61 million tourists in 2019, according to Choose Chicago data.
'This is such an exciting time of year in Chicago,' Kristen Reynolds, the group's president, said in a statement, referring to events that take place in the summer including the Nascar street race and Lollapalooza. 'We look forward to continuing this momentum, driving economic vitality through visitation.'
Bookings last Saturday compared with the previous record set on Aug 31, when a Pearl Jam concert at Wrigley Field coincided with the Chicago Fire game against Inter Miami at Soldier Field. That day, tourists booked 46,126 hotel rooms, data from Choose Chicago showed.
Major concert tours have proved profitable in the city in recent years. Taylor Swift's Eras Tour weekend in 2023 generated an average of 44,383 hotel rooms over a Friday and Saturday, a record back then. BLOOMBERG
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