Douglas County's visitor spending up 4.86 percent.
TOURISM IN WISCONSIN TOPS $20.6 BILLION IN 2017
Douglas County’s visitor spending up 4.86%
For the travelers that helped Wisconsin achieve a $631 million increase in tourism economic impact in 2017, 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 visitors generate. A study conducted by Tourism Economics shows the impact of tourism on the state’s economy reached $20.6 billion in 2017, an increase of 3.2 percent from the previous year and a nearly 40% increase since 2011.
Locally, travelers to Douglas County spent $94.5 million in 2017. Among the contributing factors for local tourism growth was a new destination marketing campaign that focused on area’s unique natural resources and recent hotel and retail developments in Superior’s downtown. Total business sales were up 4.31 percent from 2016 with $138.8 million spent at Douglas County businesses.
“Tourism plays a critical role in our community and continues to grow, and from an economic standpoint, the numbers reflect that,” said Taylor Pedersen, President and CEO of Travel Superior. “Last year’s numbers are very encouraging and we hope to capitalize on this momentum in the coming summer season with a strong promotional campaign that defines our brand and targets potential visitors with a message that resonates.”
Statewide, traveler spending generated $1.5 billion in state and local revenue and $1.2 billion in federal taxes. In Douglas County, tourism generated $10.6 million in state and local taxes.
“It’s a tremendous credit to the tourism industry in all 72 counties and the work they do to create fun vacation experiences, market their destinations, and provide great customer service that makes travelers want to return to Wisconsin each year,” Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett said.
Research 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, open a business, attend college or retire.
Klett added, “We’ve found success in marketing Wisconsin under the brand of fun and our tourism industry is leveraging the brand in their own advertising efforts. These results let us know what we are doing is working and that investing in tourism not only benefits the economy, it also influences the way people think about Wisconsin.”
The Department of Tourism works with international research firms Tourism Economics and Longwoods International.
