Overview

• The 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards drew more than 750,000 votes, with Condé Nast highlighting Chicago’s architecture, museums, dining, and hospitality.
• San Francisco ranked second and Milwaukee third in the big-city category, according to the reader survey.
• Choose Chicago reported 3.56 million hotel rooms filled from June through August, up 4.3% from 2024 and surpassing the previous high set in 2019.
• Summer hotel revenue neared $950 million, reflecting strong travel demand across the city’s peak months.
• Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker praised the recognition, as recent local reports cite about 55 million annual visitors, more than $20 billion in economic impact, and over 130,000 tourism-supported jobs.