Chicago names new tourism chief as international visits fall across the U.S.
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Some international travelers are skipping trips to the U.S., including from Canada, where Chicago gets the biggest chunk of its international travelers.
Driving the news: Chicago has a new tourism head, who will be tasked with making sure international and domestic visitors keep coming here. Choose Chicago announced Thursday it has selected Kristen Reynolds as the new CEO, replacing interim CEO Rich Gamble.
- Reynolds comes from Discover Long Island and has more than 25 years of experience in the tourism industry, according to a news release.
Why it matters: Reynolds takes over as anti-American sentiment is high because of federal policies such as tariffs and anti-transgender executive orders.
The big picture: More than 50 million people visited Chicago in 2023, 1.8 million were international, and overall they spent about $19.5 billion, according to Choose.
- Reynolds' goals include growing visitors to more than 61 million.
- Approximately 450,000 visitors came from Canada in 2023.
Zoom out: Advance bookings for Canada-U.S. flights for April-September are down more than 70% compared with this time last year, per aviation data firm OAG, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick reports.
By the numbers: The number of foreigners passing through customs at the 10 busiest U.S. airports, including O'Hare, fell by more than 20% year over year toward late March, based on a seven-day rolling average.
- A slight uptick followed, but the number was still down 18.4% as of March 28 versus the same time last year.
- Compare that to the number of U.S. citizens returning to the country, which was up nearly 14% by late March from a year earlier.
What they're saying: "We are holding information sessions for partners and working closely with our teams on the ground in Canada and in key markets around the world to elevate the message that Chicago remains a welcoming, bucket-list destination for all global visitors," Choose chief marketing officer Lisa Nucci told Axios in a statement.
Flashback: Chicago had historic hotel revenue last year, Choose said, likely due to large events like Taylor Swift concerts.
The intrigue: Reynolds' salary is not public record even though Choose is a public-private nonprofit. A Choose spokesperson would not share Reynolds' salary.
- In the past, the position has had a salary of $520,000, according to the Sun-Times, which also reported that Reynolds was selected after Mayor Brandon Johnson's choice was rejected by Choose's board of directors.
What's next: Reynolds is scheduled to start May 5.