Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin Tourism Commissioner Ann Sayers said Wisconsin’s tourism industry will see a record economic impact in 2023, reaching $25 billion in total economic impact, surpassing 2022’s previous record of $23.7 billion.
This includes more than $15 billion in in-person visitor spending.
Evers said the state saw 113 million visitors, up nearly 2 million from the previous year, and overnight stays reached a record high of nearly 46 million.
It’s the second year in a row that overnight visitor numbers have broken records, and what’s more, overnight guests are spending, on average, nearly three times as much as day visitors, Evers said.
Door County had the 8th highest economic impact ($620 million, up 5.7%) among Wisconsin’s 72 counties, behind Milwaukee ($4.1 billion), Dane ($2.5 billion), Sauk ($1.9 billion), Waukesha ($1.6 billion), Brown ($1.3 billion), Walworth ($954 million) and Outagamie ($724 million).
Statewide, the economic impact was 5.4 percent higher than the previous fiscal year’s high of $23.7 billion.
Door County also ranked in the top 10 for direct visitor spending ($497 million, up 5.6 percent).
Remaining area counties’ tourism totals were Manitowoc County with $226 million (up 4.2 percent) and Kewaunee County with $52 million (up 6.2 percent).
In 2023, all 72 Wisconsin counties will see increased economic impact, with the industry supporting more than 178,000 part-time and full-time jobs across a range of sectors, a 2% increase, and state and local tax revenues reaching $1.6 billion, up 5.8% over 2022.
“Tourism in Wisconsin boosts our economy and strengthens the fabric of communities of all sizes,” Sayers said. “Tourism’s historic impact has reached every corner of Wisconsin, and in doing so, has sustained the livelihoods of thousands of our friends and neighbors.”
The tourism industry supported more than 178,000 part-time and full-time jobs, including more than 3,400 in Door County.
To learn more about this record-breaking year, visit industry.travelwisconsin.com/research/economic-impact/.
