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On a calm summer evening, runners follow their usual route in River North, a trendy area just outside Chicago's downtown business district, their path now converging with lively restaurant patios - a welcome change from the quiet pandemic era.
Like many downtown business districts around the world, the Chicago Loop became a ghost town during the pandemic. Commuters are now trickling back into the neighbourhood while the return of international visitors has prompted the reopening of several luxury downtown hotels, with an additional 1,338 daily rooms expected to be added to the city's inventory by the end of 2023.
Leisure travellers have driven Chicago's recovery, with the city welcoming a total of 31 million (predominantly domestic) visitors in 2021, an 86 per cent increase on 2020. In a tourism update this summer, Mayor Lori Lightfoot described the turnaround as “a true testament to Chicago's resilience and strength as a top destination for tourists, businesses, and events”. The city
