(From left) UWSP Chancellor Thomas Gibson, Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers, Governor Tony Evers, and Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza joined by other guests for a tour of the Schmeeckle Reserve in Stevens Point. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — Governor Tony Evers and Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers celebrated a record year for tourist spending in the state by taking a hike around the Schmeeckle Reserve in Stevens Point on Wednesday.
Sayers says $25 billion was spent on tourism last year, supporting one out of every 21 jobs in the state. “Those numbers mean a lot to our communities and our state,” said Sayers.
Governor Evers says what stuck out to him was the number of overnight hotel stays, noting that tourists who stay the night spend about three times more than those who make a day trip. “Interest in the state of Wisconsin is at an all-time high.”
Those numbers were propped up by events including the USGA Men’s Senior Open in Stevens Point. Evers notes that even more events like that will be coming in the next 12 months including the NFL Draft in Green Bay next spring and the return of Indycar racing to the famed Milwaukee Mile in West Allis in August.
It’s the second consecutive year the state has set a record for tourist spending.
RELATED: Governor Evers Kicks Off Tourism Week in Biron
Evers and Sayers’ visit comes just a few weeks after they visited a cranberry farm in Biron as part of Tourism Week.
The duo was supposed to take in a nature area in Eau Claire on Wednesday as well. That stop was canceled due to a police situation in the area
Comments