There are only two weekends remaining in Wisconsin’s winter tourism season. It spans from December through February.
Last winter, vacationers spent more than $2 billion dollars here, according to the Department of Tourism. That was a slight increase over the previous year.
No economic reports have yet been released for this season, so WUWM News Intern Andy Ambrosius called a few popular tourist-towns in northern Wisconsin to ask how things are going.
Between the rough economic downturn and recent frigid temperatures, traveling to Northern Wisconsin to enjoy some R&R may seem a bit crazy. But thousands of people make the trek every year to enjoy the state’s frozen outdoors, and this year has been fairly busy, according to Darien Schaefer, executive director of the Wausau Visitors Bureau. Yet Shaefer has noticed tourists making changes for financial reasons.
“We’re seeing people that are still traveling, more staying with family and friends than, let’s say, staying over night in hotels,” Schaeder says.
Schaefer says the good news is that weekends have been overflowing with tourists, especially this month. February in northern Wisconsin features events designed to draw crowds. Eagle River recently hosted the USA Pond Hockey Championships; 224 hockey teams took part. This weekend, thousands will take part in the annual “Book across the Bay”. Mary Mcphetridge of the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce says people will traverse Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay.
“There’s a huge bonfire right on the bay, and then they go out and they ski, skate and snowshoe all the way to Washburn. It’s kind of eerie out there when it gets dark, but it’s really cool,” Mcphetridge says.
Mcphetridge says Ashland County makes between $10 and $15 million dollars every winter from tourism, depending on the weather: the more snow and cold, the better. She says fortunately this has been a good season. The snow came early and there’s plenty of thick ice covering the water.
“Normally in February, there’s always been a week period or two-week period where we have a thaw. And we haven’t seen that this year, and that’s really good,” Mcphetridge says.
However the thaw isn’t that far off. Within the next few weeks, the state will require ice fishermen to remove their shanties from Wisconsin’s lakes. Ice-fishing remains one of the most popular winter activities in the north, along with snowmobiling and skiing. Yet Lisa Marshal of the Department of Tourism says communities continue to look for ways to diversify their attractions, so they’re not all dependent on ideal weather. She says visitors are also looking for deals.
“We are in a tough economy, and travelers are certainly holding onto their discretionary income. What they are looking for is good value,” Marshal says.
Marshal says what Wisconsin has going for it, is that vacationing in the north, in winter, is reasonable.
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