Economy

Sec. Anne Sayers on growth in Wisconsin's tourism industry

Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers discusses the continuing growth of the tourism industry around the state and the prospects for expanded business from international visitors.

By Zac Schultz | Here & Now

April 28, 2025

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Sec. Anne Sayers:
You know, Wisconsin broke a record in 2023. We're a $25 billion industry in Wisconsin, and we intend to keep building from there. So, we're watching certainly what's going on out there, where the consumer sentiment is at, but at the end of the day, we're still seeing that the sentiment is strong for wanting to travel, for planning to make those vacation memories over the summer and through the fall. For us, we're in markets across the Midwest where people are willing to just drive to come in and take in our world-class outdoor recreation, our amazing spin on food and drink, our arts and our culture. So we're going to keep pushing even as we keep an eye on what's going on out there.

Zac Schultz:
Has Wisconsin international tourism grown over the years? Is there a risk of that stagnating?

Sec. Anne Sayers:
We're feeling pretty good about being able to maintain where we're at, which is not really a huge part of our tourism at the moment. We'd like to see it grow over time, of course, and we'll continue to work on that. But right now, we're still finding that the visitors we're looking to attract are still choosing Wisconsin for their vacation memories.