Chicago Shines at IPW 2025

Choose Chicago and partners teamed up to welcome thousands of international travel buyers and media, driving millions in future travel to Chicago.

Choose Chicago, the city’s official destination marketing organisation, wrapped up a spectacular IPW 2025, driving hundreds of millions of future travel to Chicago. Hosted by Choose Chicago, U.S. Travel Association’s IPW 2025 drew more than 5,000 delegates from 64 countries, including thousands of key global travel buyers and media, for a jam-packed week of Chicago style events, meetings with tour operators, and media engagements that will impact the next three years of travel to the United States. With one-of-a-kind events at iconic attractions, a stunning booth on the trade show floor, and welcoming hospitality throughout the week, IPW visitors were wowed by Chicago at every turn, which will have a profound impact on driving international travel beyond the next three years.

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“I’m immensely proud of Chicago’s tourism community for making IPW 2025 a truly show-stopping event—and the best IPW ever,” said Choose Chicago President and CEO Kristen Reynolds. “From celebrating opening night at our incredible Field Museum to closing night at the iconic Navy Pier to the Press Brunch at Wrigley Field and everything in between, we showcased what a city that is never done and never outdone looks like. Alongside the U.S. Travel Association, our partners across Chicago’s museums, hospitality, attractions, and culinary industries rose to the occasion to ensure all IPW attendees had outstanding and truly memorable experiences. I am confident that our collective efforts will pay off for years to come.”

Last hosted by Chicago in 2014, the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW is the largest international inbound travel trade show in the country, bringing thousands of travel buyers and media to Chicago to connect with domestic travel exhibitors, generating global media coverage and leading to future business. According to new data released by U.S. Travel and Rockport Analytics, IPW 2025 is projected to drive 10.9 million new visitors to the U.S. over the next three years, generating $26.1 billion in visitor spending, supporting over 63,000 American jobs annually, and producing $3.3 billion in combined federal, state, and local tax revenue.

“IPW is more than a travel trade show, it’s a statement about America’s readiness to welcome the world,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “Choose Chicago was an incredible partner this year. Their work brought Chicago’s strengths—its culture, creativity and spirit—into the global spotlight.”

As host city, Chicago had a unique opportunity to position itself as a welcoming, bucket-list global destination, ensuring that we will receive an outsized portion of the future travel generated by IPW. Choose Chicago worked for well over a year to plan for IPW 2025 and take advantage of this opportunity. Over the course of three official business days at McCormick Place, Choose Chicago held over 500 appointments with international travel buyers and conducted over 200 meetings and interviews with international travel media.

In addition to the official business conducted at McCormick Place, Choose Chicago hosted numerous events, tours, and activations at iconic attractions and neighbourhoods across the city, designed to showcase the best of the city and ensure that travel buyers and media had a memorable experience in Chicago:

• Hosted more than 30 tours for media and travel buyers to showcase the city before IPW kicked off, including a culinary tour to showcase “The Bear,” a Blues Chicago tour led by Wayne Baker Brooks, and a walking tour of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ history.
• Wowed over 500 members of the international media at Chicago’s Press Brunch at Wrigley Field on Sunday on the warning track and in the bleachers, featuring a welcome from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki and a rendition of ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ led by Choose Chicago President and CEO Kristen Reynolds, Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts, Mayor Brandon Johnson, U.S. Travel President and CEO Geoff Freeman, and Brand USA President and CEO Fred Dixon.
• Kicked off IPW with an unforgettable House Party 2.0 Opening Night at the Field Museum on Sunday night, complete with food and drink across the museum, a karaoke lounge, a silent disco, and more.
• Governor Pritzker, Kristen Reynolds and Mayor Brandon Johnson welcomed IPW attendees to Chicago at the opening lunch and introduced Choose Chicago’s new campaign ‘Never Done. Never Outdone’ to a global audience.
• Hosted a VIP reception for the Japanese delegation aboard a First Lady architectural river cruise on Monday.
• Welcomed attendees to the Magnificent Mile Monday event, which encouraged attendees to enjoy special deals at various restaurants and shops along the Avenue – and concluding with an exclusive party at the Shops at North Bridge featuring a performance by Maggie Speaks.
• Kept the party going Monday night with late-nightPie in the Sky for IPW media at Skydeck Chicago with special guest Wayne Baker Brooks.
• Hosted a neighbourhood open night featuring Pilsen, West Town, and Hyde Park with guided tours, music, and activations on Tuesday.
• Supported the IGLTA Foundation 2025 Pride Reception as Premier Sponsor and Official Entertainment Sponsor at Sidetrack Lounge on Tuesday.
• Officially closed IPW in epic fashion with a Playcation-themed Closing Night at Navy Pier, featuring rides on the Centennial Wheel, a Route 66 inspired mini golf course sponsored by Enjoy Illinois, pop-up art exhibitions, and culminating in a fireworks display.
• Hosted hundreds of media and travel buyers for site visits before and after IPW, including a familiarisation tour before IPW for more than 20 key travel trade clients from Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

“We were thrilled to welcome thousands of tourism professionals from around the world to the Field Museum for the IPW Opening Night party,” said Dr. Julian Siggers, President and CEO of the Field Museum. “The entire week was a spectacular celebration of culture, connection, and Chicago—and opening night was the perfect way to kick off the festivities. Thank you to the Choose Chicago team for their vision and execution in showcasing the best of what this city has to offer.”

Choose Chicago welcomed visitors to McCormick Place in true Chicago Style with a spectacular booth on the trade show floor, including a stunning 50-foot Chicago Flag display hanging overhead. The booth was created in partnership with FG|PG and featured original artwork created by Oscar Joyo. We also hosted a Chicago Press Lounge inside the IPW Press Centre at McCormick Place, where we connected with global media, conducted interviews, and gave members of the media the opportunity to win Chicago prizes supplied by partners in a Chicago-style claw Machine.

We partnered with October TV to film the many IPW events, including helping create this sizzle reel, and collaborated with All Star Press to create custom artwork and giveaways featuring local artists including Ariel Sinha, Blake Jones, Sentrock, and Oscar Joyo. Choose Chicago was joined on the trade floor with more than 25 partners made up of some of the leading cultural institutions, attractions, and professional sports teams in Chicago.

• 360 CHICAGO
• The American Writers Museum
• The Art Institute of Chicago
• Barack Obama Presidential Centre
• Broadway in Chicago
• The Chicago Architecture Centre
• Chicago Cubs
• Chicago Fire
• Chicago White Sox
• Chicago’s First Lady Cruises
• City Cruises by Hornblower
• CityPASS
• Colour Factory Chicago
• The Field Museum of Natural History
• Flyover Chicago
• Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
• Hiltons of Chicago
• Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Centre
• John G. Shedd Aquarium
• K&G Coach Line
• The Magnificent Mile Association
• Museum of Ice Cream
• Navy Pier
• RIU Plaza Hotel
• Shoreline Sightseeing
• SKYDECK CHICAGO
• Wendella Tours & Cruises

Along with Choose Chicago, IPW 2025 was hosted by the Illinois Office of Tourism and O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Premier sponsors included 360 CHICAGO, Big Bus Tours Chicago, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Federation of Labor, the Field Museum of Natural History, First Lady, Levy Restaurants, Navy Pier, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Wrigley Field Events, as well as local unions including IBEW Local 134, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399, Labor-Management Union Carpenters Cooperation Promotion Fund, Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, Teamsters Local 727, UNITE HERE Local 1, and USW Local 17U Decorators.