For most people, when they think of the top tourist destinations in America, Milwaukee doesn’t come to mind.
But tourism is a very important part of the Milwaukee area’s economy. Visitor spending in Milwaukee County was $2.1 billion in 2018, according to the latest data from the state Department of Tourism. Of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, Milwaukee is the top ranked for tourism spending; Waukesha is the fourth highest and Walworth the sixth.
2020 will certainly be a banner year for tourism in southeastern Wisconsin, with the DNC in Milwaukee in July and the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in September. But there are several other reasons to be excited about the region’s tourism industry beyond those huge one-time events.
The region is booming with hotel development downtown and in the suburbs, with several that have opened recently, are under construction or planned. Data from Hendersonville, Tennessee-based hotel data firm STR indicates the downtown Milwaukee hotel market had a banner year in 2019.
Plans to expand the downtown Milwaukee convention center (the Wisconsin Center) are finally moving forward. Construction is expected to begin in spring of 2021. The expansion is desperately needed for Milwaukee to be competitive with other cities for attracting conventions.
Incredibly, Milwaukee is growing as a cruise ship destination (see the cover story of this issue of BizTimes Milwaukee). Last year 10 passenger ships docked at Milwaukee, more than double from 2018. Those ships brought 3,200 tourists to Milwaukee. This year, Port Milwaukee expects to welcome 14 cruise ship port calls, bringing more than 4,000 visitors to the area. In 2022, Viking will launch new Great Lakes cruises with 20 that start or end in Milwaukee, which will bring more than 8,000 visitors here. While a far cry from a major cruise ship port like Miami, the growth of Milwaukee as a cruise ship destination is a nice boost for the region’s economy, and it exposes the city to people who could come back or encourage others to visit.
As highlighted in a BizTimes Milwaukee cover story last year, the city’s growing craft brewing scene is attracting more beer-enthusiast visitors. Considering its heritage as a brewing city, this is an area Milwaukee should continue to lean into and take advantage of.
Milwaukee’s music scene continues to improve. Fiserv Forum has already attracted a long list of big-time concerts. Improvements to the American Family Insurance Amphitheater at Henry Maier Festival Park, which will be completed this year, should help Summerfest continue to attract top acts. Alpine Valley also had a resurgence last year.
Visit Milwaukee is creating a new sports division to work on attracting sporting events of all sizes to the Milwaukee area. With Miller Park, Fiserv Forum, world class golf courses and numerous other venues, there is tremendous potential to attract more pro, college, high school and youth sporting events to the area. The NBA All-Star Game should be target No. 1.
