It’s been another record year for tourism in Manitowoc County.
The county generated $226 million in economic impact, well above the record-breaking $216 million generated in 2022, according to a release from the Manitowoc Tourism Bureau.
Manitowoc Tourism Director Courtney Hansen said the $226 million raised shows Manitowoc’s tourism industry is thriving and continues to grow.
“At this point, we are well above our economic impact numbers from tourism pre-COVID pandemic, clearly demonstrating that what we are doing to grow our tourism assets in Manitowoc is working,” Hansen said.
Hansen continues to say people are coming to Manitowoc County for outdoor recreation, which has been the city’s focus since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
But one of the biggest attractions, the SS Badger, had to cut its season short last year due to mechanical problems, but the overall quality of Clipper City’s tourism product has continued to draw visitors to the area.
“Last year, without the badgers, everyone was very worried about what visitor numbers would be like in late July, August, September and October,” she explained, “and we didn’t see any of the dip that some people were worried about. This data shows that 2023 was an incredible year, even though we were without one of our biggest attractions for several months.”
But beyond just attracting visitors, the tourism industry has helped the county’s tourism sector thrive by creating 1,723 full-time and part-time jobs across a range of sectors in the industry.
Hansen will also discuss how he will bring a fresh perspective to the tourism sector by bringing it to the City of Manitowoc and rebuilding their website and social pages from the ground up.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing the results of that effort. It certainly changes the way tourism is viewed and really makes people, not just in the region but across the province and across the country, realize that Manitowoc is a can’t-miss destination,” she exclaimed.
Manitowoc County also generated $14.3 million in local and state taxes through tourism.
About 113 million people visited the county, also 2 million more than last year.
