Getting away from the office, turning your cell phone off, having a drink in the sun or just catching up on sleep. Whatever you consider to be a vacation, the economy has not stopped people from taking them — at least in Chicago.

One-third of the nation’s population is within 500 miles of Chicago, and even with the depressed economy, continued interest in taking vacations has seen Chicago’s tourism increase over the past year, said Karen Vaughan, manager of communications for the Chicago Office of Tourism.

“No one has been immune to the effects the economy has had,” Vaughan said, “but Chicago has also been lucky in that aspect. Even with the down economy, people still value what a vacation has to offer, and since one-third of the nation’s population is within 500 miles of Chicago, our tourism has been thriving lately.”

Melissa Kruth, spokeswoman for the Shedd Aquarium, said the number of visitors to her organization last year proves that people are still vacationing, but are staying closer to home.

“The number of visitors from the Midwest was up to 44 percent in 2009,” Kruth said, “which is an increase from the 38 percent in 2008.”

Shedd’s neighbor, the Field museum, also noticed an increase.

“We had 1,325,000 visitors last year, which was a lot more than we expected,” said Nancy O’Shea, spokeswoman for the Field Museum. “We average between 1.3 million and 1.4 million a year, so 2009 fit right in there, but that was surprising with the how the economy has been.”

O’Shea added that even in a recession, museums offer great value.

“You can spend an entire day at a museum, like The Field Museum, for about the same price as a movie ticket, popcorn and soda,” she said. “And a museum experience is both entertaining and educational.  Even in tough economic times, people will seek out quality experiences for them and their families.”

According to Mapquest, the 500-mile perimeter around Chicago includes places like Pittsburgh, Penn., 463 miles from Chicago to the east; Nashville, Tenn., 470 miles to the south; Omaha, Neb., 467 miles to the west; and Duluth, Minn., 468 miles to the north.

Vaughan thinks she knows reason why the Loop community remains so lively.

“Since 2003, Chicago has increased the number of annual tourists by 46 percent,” Vaughan said. “The national average is just 6 percent.”

Vaughan said the potential Olympic bid, Obama’s election to president of the United States and the expanding South Loop community have made the Loop a popular place for tourists as well as residents of the area.

Jill Wettersen, account executive for Performance Media, a company that helps promote tourist spots, said they understand that long-distance travel may be out of the question, so many people are doing the things they enjoy close to home.

“Attendance is way up in the venues we represent,” said Wettersen, whose clients include the Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Symphony, Harris Theater, Chicago Botanic Garden and the Randolph Street Market.

Attendance will likely continue to increase with summer on the horizon.

“The four seasons are pretty close in the number of tourists that visit in each,” Vaughan said, “but obviously summer is the best quarter for us. Summer brings in about 30 percent of our guests, and winter is second with about 25 percent.”

Free events, such as the Jazz Festival, Ribfest and Taste of Chicago, are also a draw for many people in the down economy. The renovated Buckingham Fountain also has Vaughan excited.

“A lot of people visit because Chicago is within driving distance and we offer a lot of free entertainment,” Vaughan said. “Forty percent of our guests visit the Art Museum and its new modern wing. It doesn’t hurt that we have a lot of entertainment surrounding the Loop, either.

Tags: Buckingham Fountain, Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Loop, Field Museum, Field Museum of Natural History, recession, Shedd Aquarium, staycations, Tourism, tourists

This entry was posted on April 16, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Festival & Special Events, Today's Talk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.