Wisconsin tourism: Nearly $1B increase in 2015

GREEN LAKE - For the travelers that helped Wisconsin achieve a nearly $1 billion increase in tourism economic impact in 2015, it's all about the fun and memories. For the state's tourism industry, it's big business.
And for taxpayers and residents, it's all about jobs and tax revenue those travelers generate. A study conducted by Tourism Economics shows the impact of tourism on the state's economy was $19.3 billion in 2015, an increase of 4.4 percent from the previous year.

Locally, travelers to Green Lake County spent $37.9 million in 2015. Among the contributing factors for local tourism growth was a continued effort by the Green Lake County Visitors Bureau to drive visitors to the area.  A destination marketing campaign that was created and generously supported by Green Lake County and the state provided visitors a chance to 'Relax, Retreat, and Repeat' to an area that offers unique natural resources, expanded retail opportunities, heritage and historical sites, and is no more than a 25 minute drive away from each other.

'The collaboration between all five communities of the Green Lake County Visitors Bureau is a testament to the staff and board of directors of each of our chambers.  Their hard work and dedication is vital to making Green Lake County of the finest tourist destinations in Wisconsin," said Jason Mansmith, president of the Green Lake County Visitors Bureau.  'These numbers are phenomenal news for the GLCVB area and we look to keep the momentum going with continued and targeted promotion to potential visitors.'

Statewide, traveler spending generated $1.5 billion in state and local revenue and $1.1 billion in federal taxes.

'These results let us know that what we have been doing over the last five years is working,' said Secretary Stephanie Klett. 'It's a tremendous credit to the tourism industry in all 72 counties and the innovative work they do to create exciting vacation experiences, market their destinations under our united brand of fun, and provide great customer service that makes travelers want to return to Wisconsin time and again.'

Tourism continues to be one of Wisconsin's most important economic resources. Research continues to shows that tourism advertising goes beyond just promoting vacations, it also positively influences the state's overall image as a great place to live, find a job, or open a business.'

The Department of Tourism worked with a national research firm, Tourism Economics, and Longwoods International to produce the reports.

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