Robert Fojtik | Choose Chicago
Choose Chicago was awarded $5.5 million to expand its neighborhood tourism initiatives in 2023. This funding will enable Choose Chicago to work even more closely with neighborhood partners, creating and promoting new tourism experiences that benefit both visitors and the local community.
Since 2021, Choose Chicago has worked with residents and community organizations to promote historically overlooked and underrepresented neighborhoods through a number of innovative initiatives. By incorporating community-led goals, Choose Chicago and its partners aim to leverage tourism as a tool of economic development that can benefit both residents and visitors.
Robert Fojtik, Choose Chicago’s VP of Neighborhood Strategy, is the leader of this effort. His team works closely with local organizations and residents to incorporate neighborhoods into Chicago’s brand as a tourist destination, providing data and research services, sponsoring industry participation and trying to provide communities with whatever marketing support they may need.