APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – State tourism officials say the pandemic caused a 30% decline in direct spending by tourists across Wisconsin last year, but there is optimism that the industry will rebound quickly.
“It is time for us to return to some sense of normalcy,” Governor Tony Evers told reporters. “In turn, we’ve learned a lot of things during this pandemic too, that we want to make sure we continue to implement things to mitigate this happening again.”
The Wisconsin Department of Tourism reports spending dropped about $4 billion last year to $9.8 billion. That’s why Evers visited the Trout Museum of Art in downtown Appleton Wednesday to highlight Wisconsin tourism.
“Our department of tourism is working 24/7 on getting the word out to folks all across the country as it relates to Wisconsin’s tourism industry, whether it’s museums like this or going down water slides,” Evers said. “We will be spending in the neighborhood of $50million of the recovery act that the federal government is doing on tourism related industries, but also several hundred million dollars will go towards small businesses in the state…Any small town, any large city depends on tourist dollars. And it’s important, Wisconsin’s a beautiful place.”
Evers also visited Door County, stopping at J. Jeffery Taylor Jewelry and Fine Art in Fish Creek, Bearded Heart Coffee Baileys Harbor and Cave Point County park in Sturgeon Bay.
All 72 counties in the state saw a drop in tourism last year over 2019, but many believe the first four months of this year are looking promising – and could end up being even better than 2019.
The governor says there’s more to Wisconsin’s beauty than just drawing people in for money, but that’s also a big factor right now.
“There’s some wellness that happens when people are engaged with their families and having fun in a great state like this. I think it is more than money, but it’s an important economic driver,” Evers said.
National research shows 87% of Americans plan to travel in the next six months.
