Tourism continues to be the engine that drives Cook County’s economy.
Proof of that is in the 2018 lodging taxes collected by the county. All 12 months in 2018 exceeded every month in 2017, netting the county $1,689,961.64 in revenue in 2018 versus $1,511,931.58 the previous year, or an 11.8 percent increase over 2017.
The three months with the biggest statistical gains were March, November and December. Typically March and November are seen as “shoulder” months, with slow returns due to diminished business.
This past March saw collections of $142,563.56 versus $106814.98 in 2017, or a gain of 33.5 percent.
November 2018 was $171,426.07 versus $126,303.10, an increase of 35.7 percent, and December 2018 collections were $91,761.88 versus 2017 collections of $74,695.01, a jump of 22.8 percent.
While there are many factors for the overall increase, Visit Cook County’s year round promotions of special events and area activities, and North House Folk School’s strong programming—especially its growing winter classes—are two big reasons the county has continued to draw visitors to the area.
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