Governor Pat Quinn announced Monday that Illinois’ tourism industry generated $29.3 billion in revenue in 2010, an increase of more than $2.2 billion as visitor spending continued to provide a strong economic impact for the state, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“The gains we experienced in 2010 clearly show that the tourism industry continues to play a critical role in our state’s ongoing economic recovery,” said Governor Quinn. “With our world-class destinations and accessible locations, more people from around the world are coming to Illinois and staying longer, which is creating new jobs and bringing additional revenue throughout the state” The economic impact of tourism in Illinois has grown by more than $3 billion during the past five years. Additionally, the travel industry generated 287,500 jobs in Illinois in 2010, directly and indirectly supporting one in ten jobs in the state. On average, visitors spend nearly $80 million with Illinois businesses every day. Illinois hosted nearly 84.7 million visitors in 2010, according to D. K. Shifflet and Associates. This is up five percent from 2009. Both business and leisure travel saw increases in visitor volume, with leisure travel up six percent and business travel up two percent. Overnight leisure travel to the state was up 13.8 percent, increasing market share by 11 percent in this category and ranking Illinois 10th in the U.S.

“Chicago’s economic vitality is driven by its visitor industry, which generates more than $11 billion in direct spending, $616 million in tax revenue, and sustains more than 124,000 jobs for our city’s economy,” said Don Welsh, President and CEO, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau. Illinois maintained its ranking as the 7th most popular state for overseas visitors to the U.S. in 2010, hosting 1,186,000 such visitors, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Tourism Industries. The City of Chicago, the 10th most popular U.S. city for overseas visitors, hosted 1,134,000 international visitors in 2010, a two percent increase over 2009 arrivals.