In order to fully understand the economic impact of the tourism industry on Portage, Wood and Marathon counties it is important to first look at the state as a whole.  Tourism continues to be one of Wisconsin’s top three industries.  In 1997, travelers spent $6.7 billion in Wisconsin.  Tourism also supported more than 200,000 jobs. 

Nationwide, travel and tourism are the third largest retail industry.  (Largest is automotive and second is food stores.)  Wisconsin continues to garner national recognition as the top vacation destination in the Midwest.  Despite having a smaller marketing budget than our neighboring states of Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota, our superior product and hard work on the state and local level keep Wisconsin ahead of the pack in this region.  Wisconsin can boast that 93% of all people who visit the state return for multiple visits. 

What is the tourism product?  You cannot put it in a box, or load it on a truck.  It is however one of the largest segments of the service sector.  A sampling of these businesses that make up the industry include hotels, motels, resorts, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, waterparks, restaurants, festivals, fairs, antique shops, specialty stores, car rentals, sporting events, ski hills, marinas, museums, airlines and even gas stations.  Combine all these entities with spectacular landscape, ease of accessibility, four distinct seasons, friendly

people, and you have the components for one of the nation's premier destinations.  Here is how these features translate into money, and how it flows:

VISITORS

MODE OF TRAVEL

LODGING

GOODS & SERVICES

RESULTS

Who are tourists?  They are not exclusively mom, dad and 2.5 kids pulling a pop-up camper.  They are senior citizens on a bank club tour.  They are individual corporate travelers, and in Portage, Wood and Marathon counties they include a significant number of meeting and convention attendees.  Last year alone there were over five hundred meetings, conferences, reunions, conventions and conclaves of all sorts in Portage, Wood and Marathon Counties.  These gatherings brought over one hundred thousand people into the Tri - county area.  The average length of stay was 2.6 nights and each delegate spent approximately $149.00 per day. 

Leisure travel however remains the backbone of Wisconsin’s tourism industry.  The Department of Tourism recently conducted “guest intercept” interviews during this past winter in order to learn more about our customer’s likes, dislikes and purchasing patterns.

This information is extremely valuable to the destination marketing organizations in Portage, Wood and Marathon counties.  Here are some key findings.

VACATION FREQUENCY

 Winter vacationers typically visit Wisconsin much more frequently than do summer or fall vacationers

 PLACE OF ORIGIN

Just over half of winter vacationers live in Wisconsin, which is similar to the proportion of fall vacationers from the state.  Most of the remaining winter visitors were from Illinois or Minnesota, as in the summer study. 

 VACATION TIMING

Weather was even more key in winter than it was in the other seasons for determining when to take a Wisconsin vacation, with nearly 40% giving this reason.  Another third cited adult's schedules or finding the only time that everyone in the travel party was available.  In contrast, the need to schedule vacation time from work was a less important factor in winter than in summer or fall. 

 ACTIVITIES

Winter vacationers to these areas engaged in fewer activities than vacationers in other seasons did, focusing primarily on winter sports such as snowmobiling and skiing.  They were also likely to eat at a restaurant during their winter vacation.  They were more likely than vacationers in other seasons to gamble at a casino, but less likely to shop or visit an attraction, museum, or historic site. 

 INCOME

Winter vacationers had the highest income levels of the three seasons, with nearly one-third (32.9%) of those answering the question earning a household income of $75,000 or more. 

 VACATION SPENDING

Winter vacationers typically spent more during their visit to Wisconsin than did vacationers in other seasons, spending a median of $300 compared to $250 in summer and fall.  Mean spending was slightly lower than the mean for summer vacations, and higher than the mean for fall trips. 

 SATISFACTION RATINGS

Satisfaction ratings were generally quite favorable.  Satisfaction with many of the attributes was higher in winter than in either summer or fall, particularly for:

-        Scenery

-        Opportunity to Relax

-        Road Conditions

-        Lodging Facilities

-        Food Available

-        Activities for Adults 

In contrast to other seasons, road conditions received some of the highest ratings of the study, perhaps because the mild weather left the roads in better condition than vacationers would normally expect in the winter. 

Tourism does not just happen.  Marketing Wisconsin is executed on several levels, including both the public and private sectors.  The Wisconsin Department of Tourism has an eight million dollar annual budget to promote the entire state.  There are twenty-six recognized Convention & Visitors Bureaus in Wisconsin whose sole purpose is to attract travelers to their cities and municipalities.  Additionally, there are dozens of Chambers of Commerce who are actively involved to varying degrees of tourism promotion. 

Tourism marketing alone cannot drive people to spend their discretionary dollars on travel.  However if done effectively, it can determine where a person visits.  Modern life styles dictate how people use their leisure time.  Today’s dual wage earner families and couples often find it difficult to get away together for any extended period of time.  Business trips with families/signifcants are up 7% over the past five years, and now accounts for 20% of all business travel.  Travelers are taking shorter, more frequent trips.  They want a variety of things to do to entertain the entire family.  They decide what they want to do, and then decide where to go and do it.  (Of note: Women make 65% of travel related decisions.) 

Now closer to home, lets examine the numbers just released by the Department of Tourism’s Economic Impact of Expenditures By Travelers On Wisconsin For 1997 as prepared by Davidson-Peterson Associates, Inc. For Portage, Wood and Marathon counties.

1997 vs. 1996

Total Economic Impact of Tourism Dollars

PORTAGE COUNTY

1997 vs. 1996

Total Economic Impact of Tourism Dollars

WOOD COUNTY
 

 1997 vs. 1996

Total Economic Impact of Tourism Dollars

MARATHON COUNTY

 As you can see Portage, Wood and Marathon counties lost some of the market share last year, while the entire state was virtually flat with a net gain of .5%.  This can be attributed to the fact that Wisconsin experienced an extremely wet spring.  That weather pattern continued through early summer.  It should also be noted that while the state had a decent amount of snow-fall during the winter months, slushy conditions and melting patterns adversely affected many weekends.  However, Mother Nature can only be blamed for so much.  The Department of Tourism’s marketing budget has not seen any significant increase, and inflation has eroded the buying power of advertising dollars.  To make matters worse, the neighboring states of Illinois and Minnesota spend twice as much in promotional efforts as Wisconsin.  Much of that money is targeted at in-state residents to keep them at home.  Here in the central region of the state two of the DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations) could also be considered hampered by limited marketing budgets.  The Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVB’s) located in Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids are ranked at the low end of the small to medium size bureaus, according to the Wisconsin Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (WACVB).  While Marathon County’s slippage was minimal, the lack of a cohesive promotional campaign in the Wausau area will be most definitely felt in the subsequent year.  Additionally, much like in larger statewide picture, some competing CVB’s have increased their advertising ad promotion budgets to get more aggressive in the pursuit of the valuable tourism dollar.  A better general understanding and appreciation of the value of tourism is the best tool to continue to build the industry here in the Tri-County Area.