Press Release: Gov. Evers Delivers Radio Address on Plan to Bolster Wisconsin's Tourism Industry

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 05/11/2023 10:00 AM CDT
Office of Governor Tony Evers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2023
Contact: GovPress@wisconsin.gov 
 
Gov. Evers Delivers Radio Address on Plan to Bolster Wisconsin's Tourism Industry
 
Audio File of Radio Address.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today, during National Travel and Tourism Week, delivered the Democratic Radio Address highlighting his plan to bolster and continue the success of Wisconsin’s tourism industry, including outdoor recreation. More information regarding Gov. Evers’ plan to keep promoting Wisconsin as a premier business, cultural, and recreational destination is available here.

Hey there, Governor Tony Evers here.

This week, we’re celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week.

It’s no secret tourism is a critical industry for our state, which is why we’ve invested more than $200 million of our federal pandemic relief funds in our travel and tourism, hotels and lodging, and entertainment industries.

And our strategic investments have paid off: Wisconsin outpaced the national average every month last year in travel spending compared to pre-pandemic levels.

In fact, this past fall was the best season for travel spending recovery in the last three years.

And while I am all for being neighborly, we crushed our competitors in Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota.

When comparing changes in travel spending from 2022 to spending from 2019, Wisconsin beat those three states every single month in 2022—and that means more jobs and economic activity for all the hardworking folks here in our state.

And from fishing and boating to camping and hiking, outdoor recreation also brought in more than $8.7 billion.

These numbers are proof of the strength and success of this industry and the hardworking folks who run it, and it’s why investing in its success continues to be critically important to ensuring our economic momentum continues.

In my budget, we proposed continuing the Tourism Capital Investment Program, continuing our support for the Office of Outdoor Recreation, and creating a new Meetings, Conventions, and Sports Bureau to keep promoting Wisconsin as a premier business, cultural, and recreational destination—among many other provisions to support and bolster this important economic engine.

And we’re going to continue fighting for these investments so that we can keep this momentum going and keep sharing all that makes our state special with visitors and folks from around the world. Thank you.
 
An online version of this release is available here.
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