Route 66 bolsters Illinois recovery in tourism

The state of Illinois announced that tourism returned to pre-recession levels in 2011, with Route 66 helping drive that recovery, reported the Chicago Tribune.

The state reported hosting more than 93.3 million visitors, up 10.2 percent from 2010 and surpassing the previous record of 91 million in 2006.

The increase outpaced a national average gain of 6.7 percent, according to D.K. Shifflet & Associates, which prepared some of the data released by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Tourism. […]

The number of overseas visitors rose 6 percent, to 1.25 million, the highest level since 2008. Route 66 and the new Pontiac Oakland Auto Museum in Pontiac are proving popular with overseas visitors, Kostner said.

The state is seeing a surge in information requests on its Web site and through its call center, leading to optimism that visitor numbers will continue to climb this year, Kostner said.

The strong numbers of foreign visitors on Route 66 aren’t a surprise, as the City of Pontiac has been reporting robust double-digit increases for the past few years.

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