Approximately 677.000 people attended the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture in Oshkosh July 24 to 30 up from the 2022 record of 650,000.
“We had record-setting totals of campers, exhibitors, volunteers, and more. It was also a challenging year at times with weather, logistics, and other factors, which makes me even more proud of the efforts by our volunteers and staff to organize an outstanding event,” said EAA CEO Jack Pelton
More than 13,000 sites in aircraft and drive-in camping accounted for an estimated 40,000 visitors. About 5,500 volunteers contributed 250,000 hours.
International visitors returned in a big way in 2023, with 2,372 attendees registering the International Visitors Tent from a record-tying 93 countries outside the U.S. Adding a significant number of international visitors who do not register at the tent when they arrive, the actual total is much higher.
The economic impact was estimated at $170 million for the five counties in the Oshkosh region (Winnebago, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Brown). That is based on 2017 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh economic impact study.
More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin. At Wittman alone, there were 21,883 aircraft operations in the 11-day period from July 20-30, which is an average of approximately 148 takeoffs/landings per hour when the airport is open.
“We’ll start planning for EAA AirVenture 2024 a little later in August, but we are already looking at a number of big activities, including the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force,” Pelton said. “Plenty of ideas have also been forwarded to us from EAA members and others that will be part of the planning for 2024.”
