Gov. Tony Evers traveled across the state to celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week and highlight Wisconsin’s tourism industry.
“Tourism is a more than $20 billion industry in our state, and we’re proud to be outpacing our Midwestern neighbors,” Evers said. “That’s a win not only for our economy and workforce but a win for the hardworking folks who keep this industry moving forward.”
To kick off National Travel and Tourism Week, May 5 and 6, Evers participated in the 2023 Governor’s Fishing Opener in Phillips, where he caught a 23-inch walleye.
On Monday, Evers visited Spring Green, where he toured the American Players Theater and received updates on their parking lot expansion and revitalization project, which was made possible by a $970,000 Tourism Capital Investment grant. He also toured the Pump House Regional Arts Center in La Crosse, which received a $288,140 Tourism Capital Investment grant to replace chairs and update restroom facilities.
On Tuesday, the governor and Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers visited Brillion and toured the newly finished AriensCo Museum and the Ariens Nordic Center.
From there, Evers went to Ukwakhwa (Our Foods), a 10-acre property on the Oneida Nation Reservation, where Becky and Steve Webster, both Oneida citizens, bring together community members and visitors to learn about planting, growing, and harvesting traditional, heirloom foods, especially Haudenosaunee varieties of corn, beans, and squash. Ukwakhwa was recently featured in Condé Nast Traveler.
Other stops during the week included the Leinenkugel’s Disc Golf Course in Chippewa Falls, the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire, the Crandon International Raceway, Circus World Museum and the Al. Ringling Theater in Baraboo and Interstate State Park in St. Croix.
The state has invested more than $1 billion of federal pandemic relief funds in economic resilience, including small businesses and other industries impacted by the pandemic, and more than $200 million of that total was invested in the travel and tourism, hotels and lodging, and entertainment industries. Wisconsin ranks first in the country for federal relief aid directed to economic development and first in the country in aid allocated to assist businesses.
Visitor spending in Wisconsin grew 5.9 percent in September 2022 compared to September 2019, which was the largest gain of any month since the start of the pandemic when compared to the same month in 2019. The outdoor recreation industry contributed a record-setting $8.7 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2021 and that the outdoor economy grew by 14.1 percent—more than three times faster than the state’s overall economy.
Economic impact data for 2021 also showed tourism generated $20.9 billion in total economic impact—a 21 percent increase from 2020—and supported more than 169,000 full- and part-time jobs.
