Vacation in Detroit ?

[nain rouge]

I focused on international tourism numbers, because it's quite easy to identify international tourists, as they are recorded upon entry. It's almost impossible to identify domestic tourists, as there is no such tracking system.

Oh really?

"Included in the total visitor tally [[for Chicago) are both overnight leisure and business visitors, as well as day visitors — segments that aren't nearly so likely to be the kind of big spenders the city has indicated it wants to attract more of in years to come. Overnight leisure travelers accounted for 18.65 million of the 2013 domestic total and overnight business travelers for another 7.23 million. Combined they represent well over half the total 2013 domestic tourism count."

source: http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/n....html?page=all

But hey, you already know it all.

And I have never heard of a big tourism destination that doesn't attract people from outside the host country. That makes no sense, and excludes 98% of the planet. If a place doesn't draw from afar, it isn't a major destination.

Yeah, it's a regional tourist destination. And it turns out that, in Chicago's case, that's a lucrative market.

No, many of the biggest U.S. tourist destinations aren't located on the East or West Coasts. Somehow places like Vegas, New Orleans, Niagara, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and many others are quite popular with visitors, despite being inland, while very attractive coastal cities like Seattle and Philly lag.

I do stand guilty of only halfway paying attention to some of your "points". What does the Grand Canyon have to do with Chicago? I just don't care.