There were more than 100 million visitors to Illinois in 2013. State agencies aim to grow those numbers more in the face of budget cuts.
For the third year in a row, Illinois broke its own record for visitors to the state. In 2013, travelers spent $34.5 billion dollars in Illinois, according to the state's office of tourism.
Though Illinois' new budget provides less for the state's Historic Preservation Agency, and the tourist attractions and museums under it, there have not yet been closures. However there has been talk of curbing hours of operation later this year.
"We want to continue to attract more and more visitors to the state of Illinois so that that demand stays high and so that does not need to happen," said Jen Hoelzle with the Illinois Office of Tourism.
Hoelzle says tourism has rebounded and has exceeded pre-recession levels.