Here & Now

Kati Anderson on Booming Tourism Business in Bayfield County

Frederica Freyberg:

The tourism industry in Wisconsin hit an all-time high in 2022. That’s according to a recent report from the state Department of Tourism with a total economic impact of almost $24 billion. All 72 counties had an increase over the last record-breaking year in 2019, including Bayfield whose tourist dollars saw a 24% increase. Coming out of the big Fourth of July holiday, we check in with Kati Anderson from the Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau. Thanks very much for being here.

Kati Anderson:

Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

So how is the tourist season shaping up in Bayfield this summer?

Kati Anderson:

Well, we’re right in the thick of it now. Tourism here really ramps up around mid-June. July, August are our busiest months here in Bayfield. September as well has a lot of great tourism activities going on. We have some new events. An art escape event in the middle of September and then, of course, going into October, we have our Bayfield Apple Festival, which is always the first full weekend in October.

Frederica Freyberg:

So how does it compare to years past for tourism?

Kati Anderson:

Sure. So, well, this year we won’t know what the numbers are exactly for 2023 until next year, but the — as you had mentioned, we broke some records here. It was a 24% increase in tourism spending over 2019, and even in 2022, we also upped our tourism spending in September, which is technically a shoulder season with the launch of a new event called art escape, and we were able to bring in another — an additional $700,000 to the Bayfield County and Madeline Island area through that event, art escape. And this year we’re doing that again. It will only be our second year doing that and it’s September 9th through 17th, so we have a lot of — we have some new initiatives, which is helping bring in more people and hopefully we can continue that throughout the years, but even since, you know, 2020, Bayfield really saw a lot of people come here in 2020 to get away from the city activities, so we’re still seeing that momentum.

Frederica Freyberg:

So you’re super busy and Bayfield, obviously is a beautiful place to visit, but are local businesses able to keep up?

Kati Anderson:

Well, one of the challenges here is finding workers. We are noticing that and it’s kind of a double-edged sword because I think people want to live here but the problem seems to be housing. There’s not a lot of options here in Bayfield County for housing, but those are some initiatives that we are hoping to partner with some local other entities to try to help spur that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Okay. I know that the state budget that just was signed into law has some money in it for the Department of Tourism. What more could areas like yours use from the state? I mean, you just spoke to affordable housing or housing units, period. What more could the state possibly do?

Kati Anderson:

I think the housing is really the biggest piece right now. One thing that was really encouraging here in Bayfield, a lot of businesses and new businesses popped up within the last year or two and that was due to the Main Street Bounce Back Grant. We had several businesses here, a good — I know four off the top of my head for sure, who took advantage of that $10,000 funding. So things like that, initiatives like that do really well, could really help us for economic growth here in Bayfield, especially in Bayfield County where our main industry here is tourism.

Frederica Freyberg:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, we are envious that we are not in Bayfield with you. You said the weather is beautiful today but enjoy this busy season and even the season going into the fall. Kati Anderson, thanks so much.

Kati Anderson:

Thank you.