(From left) UWSP Chancellor Thomas Gibson, Tourism Secretary Ann Sayers, Gov. Tony Evers, Stevens Point Mayor Mike Witha and other guests tour Schmeeckle Preserve in Stevens Point. MWC Photo by Mike Leischner
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) — Governor Tony Evers and Tourism Secretary Ann Sayers hiked Schmeeckle Preserve in Stevens Point on Wednesday to celebrate a record year for tourist spending in the state.
“Those numbers mean a lot to our community and our state,” he said.
Governor Evers said he was especially impressed by the number of hotel nights, noting that overnight visitors are spending about three times as much as day-trippers. “Interest in Wisconsin is at an all-time high.”
Those numbers were buoyed by events such as the USGA Men’s Senior Open held at Stevens Point, and Evers noted there will be more similar events over the next 12 months, including next spring’s NFL Draft in Green Bay and the return of IndyCar racing at the famed Milwaukee Mile in West Allis in August.
This marks the second consecutive year that tourist spending in the state has broken records.
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Evers and Sayers’ visit came just a few weeks after they visited a cranberry farm in Biron as part of tourism week.
The couple also had plans to visit a nature area in Eau Claire on Wednesday, but that visit was canceled due to police activity in the area.
