Speaking to TTG, Cory Jobe, director, Illinois Office of Tourism, said: “We’re very committed to the UK market and we’re not going anywhere. We have 82 UK tour operators carrying our product.”

He explained that the state government was responsible for tourism budgets and there had been a delay in confirming allocations. “Once we get through this budget cycle, we’ll be out there stronger than ever,” he said. Last year Choose Chicago closed tourism offices in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan and Brazil. Jobe insisted that Illinois was supporting Chicago and the wider state, and no focus had been lost on the Windy City, which attracted 110 million visitors in 2014.

“Our unified effort shows a strong commitment [to increasing tourism]. Where the Illinois Office of Tourism can help prop up our partners, including Choose Chicago, we will.”

The office’s tourism strategy is pinned by using Chicago as a gateway, and encouraging visitors to tour the state: “75% of visitor expenditure is created outside of Chicago, and we have many scenic byways that can be explored with a seven-day fly-drive programme,” he said.