Editorial: Illinois is wooing foreign tourists, despite a hostile White House and a blue-red divide

Chicago Tribune

4 hours ago

Chicago hosted an influential travel group at McCormick Place last week, putting on a show to win international tourist and convention business. From a blowout opening night at the Field Museum to tours of neighborhoods, sports venues and dining hotspots, the program was impressive. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker were on hand to give friendly, uncontroversial welcomes.
But like most of the attendees, they danced around the elephant in the room. When it comes to attracting foreign visitors to the U.S., there's no ignoring President Donald J. Trump.
The conference opened Sunday as a 'No Kings' rally attracted thousands of protesters downtown, a military parade rolled through Washington, D.C., and U.S. troops patrolled Los Angeles in a Trump-ordered show of force.
While the conference-goers were heading out on Monday for an evening meant to showcase the Magnificent Mile, Trump was urging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stage more armed roundups of unauthorized migrants in Chicago, New York and L.A. As the tour operators and travel writers sampled Mr. Beef sandwiches and Pequod's pizzas, the administration proposed a ban on travel from up to 36 more countries, on top of 19 travel bans already in effect.
Trump's tariffs have weakened the dollar, which makes foreign travel to the U.S. more affordable. But no one should fool themselves about a trade war being good for business — tourism included.
No amount of catchy marketing can easily overcome America's hostility to the rest of the planet since Trump took office in January. Foreign visitors have reason to worry they could be detained at customs, their devices searched, their visas canceled.
So how does the U.S. Travel Association cope with an administration throwing up so many roadblocks at many of the same countries it's trying to woo?
Geoff Freeman, chief executive of the travel group, acknowledged the 'growing perception' that America doesn't want foreign visitors. 'That perception is costing us,' he told conference-goers. 'The world is watching.'
In an interview, Freeman said the administration, including Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, finally is getting the message being more welcoming to visitors, especially with the FIFA World Cup coming to 11 U.S. cities next year and L.A. hosting the Summer Olympics in 2028. Yet that's the same Secretary Duffy who just threatened to withhold federal transportation funding from cities such as Chicago where the most vehement anti-ICE protests take place.
The us-vs.-them divide that characterizes the administration's approach to blue states didn't appear to be spilling over to the travel officials exhibiting at the conference. 'Travel shouldn't be a debate on blue or red,' noted Cole Irwin, global travel and trade director for deep-red South Dakota. 'We don't want to turn anyone away.' And travelers open to new experiences aren't concerned with a state's politics, according to Jane Powell, executive director of a tourism group in South Carolina. The 'whole blue state, red state thing' is more of an issue in the media than among travelers she interacts with, Powell said. Dan Marengo of California's Visit Berkeley acknowledged what he considers 'crazy rhetoric coming out of Washington,' but believes 'California is too powerful a destination for people to stay away.' Here's hoping.
Illinois tourism officials are praying the Trump chill doesn't last. The Choose Chicago tourism group has made something of a post-pandemic comeback, hiring a new chief executive, Kristen Reynolds, and launching a new ad blitz.
The $4 million ad campaign features the slogan, 'Never Done. Never Outdone,' which we doubt will become a viral sensation like, 'I Love New York' or 'Keep Austin Weird.' But it represents a vast improvement over the baffling 'Chicago Not in Chicago' tourism campaign that bombed in 2022.
We'll be watching the numbers. Here's what we know about tourism growth in our city last year. Chicago welcomed an estimated 55.3 million visitors in 2024, marking a 6.5% increase from the previous year, according to a 2025 Choose Chicago report. Preliminary data shows that international visitation exceeded 2 million for the first time since 2019 — a year-over-year jump of more than 10%. Tourism generated an estimated $20.6 billion in total economic impact. On the conventions and events front, 1,891 meetings and conventions booked by Choose Chicago were held in 2024, contributing more than $3 billion to the local economy.
The city and state have put their best foot forward, and now it's up to foreign visitors to decide whether they want to venture into a country that has become, to many, Trump Country. Here's hoping Chicago's rekindled tourism efforts are not only 'Never Outdone,' but also never 'done in' by whatever comes next from Washington.