Wisconsin tourism generated $25.8 billion in total economic impact in 2024, when the state recorded 114.4 million visits. Visitor activity also produced $16.3 billion in direct spending, supported 181,898 jobs, and generated $1.7 billion in state and local taxes, according to the Wisconsin Tourism 2024 Economic Impact Report.
Contents
- Wisconsin tourism at a glance
- Visits and travel patterns
- Visitor spending by category
- Day trips versus overnight stays
- Tourism jobs, income, and government revenue
- Tourism’s place in the Wisconsin economy
Wisconsin tourism at a glance
The 2024 figures describe a large visitor economy with effects extending beyond hotels, attractions, and restaurants. The Wisconsin Tourism 2024 Economic Impact Report measured both direct visitor activity and the broader effects that activity created through suppliers and household spending.
Key statewide measures for 2024 were:
- Total economic impact: $25.8 billion.
- Direct visitor spending: $16.3 billion.
- Total visits: 114.4 million.
- Total jobs supported: 181,898.
- Direct jobs supported by visitor activity: 129,026.
- Visitor-generated personal income: $7.0 billion.
- Visitor economy GDP: $12.2 billion.
- Total government revenues: $3.1 billion.
- State and local taxes: $1.7 billion.
The report recorded year-over-year growth in several major measures. Total economic impact increased 3.3% in 2024, while direct visitor spending rose 3.5%. Visits increased 1.3%. Employment directly supported by visitor activity increased 2.5%, and total employment impacts increased 2.2%.
These measures are not interchangeable. Direct visitor spending describes purchases made by visitors. Total economic impact includes wider effects associated with that activity. Jobs, personal income, GDP, and government revenue are additional measures of the visitor economy rather than extra spending totals to add together.
Visits and travel patterns
Wisconsin recorded 114.4 million visits in 2024. That total included 68.5 million day visits and 45.9 million overnight visits. Day visits therefore remained the larger travel segment by recorded volume, while overnight visits represented a substantial part of statewide tourism activity.
The year-over-year pattern differed by trip type. Day visits increased 2.2% in 2024, while overnight visitor volume was flat year over year. International arrivals increased 6.2%, although the report’s supplied figures do not identify a separate total number of international arrivals.
The longer series shows how travel volume changed across the 2019–2024 period:
| Year | Total visits | Day visits | Overnight visits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 113.2 million | 70.4 million | 42.8 million |
| 2020 | 90.7 million | 58.5 million | 32.3 million |
| 2021 | 102.3 million | 62.3 million | 39.9 million |
| 2022 | 111.1 million | 65.7 million | 45.4 million |
| 2023 | 113.0 million | 67.1 million | 45.9 million |
| 2024 | 114.4 million | 68.5 million | 45.9 million |
The 2020 total was 90.7 million visits, followed by 102.3 million in 2021 and 111.1 million in 2022. The report recorded 113.0 million visits in 2023 and 114.4 million in 2024. Overnight visits reached 45.9 million in both 2023 and 2024, while day visits rose from 67.1 million to 68.5 million across those two years.
Visitor spending by category
Direct visitor spending reached $16.3 billion in 2024. The largest named spending categories were lodging and food and beverage. Lodging accounted for $4.4 billion, or 27.2% of direct visitor spending. Food and beverage spending reached $4.3 billion, representing 26.3%.
Retail spending reached $3.1 billion and represented 19.1% of direct visitor spending. Transportation spending was $2.2 billion, or 13.7%, while recreation spending was also $2.2 billion, representing 13.6%.
| Spending category | 2024 spending | Share of direct visitor spending |
|---|---|---|
| Lodging | $4.4 billion | 27.2% |
| Food and beverage | $4.3 billion | 26.3% |
| Retail | $3.1 billion | 19.1% |
| Transportation | $2.2 billion | 13.7% |
| Recreation | $2.2 billion | 13.6% |
The category shares show the broad mix of tourism-related purchases measured in the report. Lodging and food and beverage together accounted for more than half of direct visitor spending by their reported shares. Retail, transportation, and recreation made up the remaining named categories in the supplied breakdown.
The historical spending series places the 2024 result in context. Direct visitor spending was $13.7 billion in 2019, fell to $9.8 billion in 2020, and then reached $12.9 billion in 2021. It increased to $15.0 billion in 2022 and $15.7 billion in 2023 before reaching $16.3 billion in 2024. The report recorded direct spending growth of 3.5% in 2024.
Day trips versus overnight stays
Trip length was associated with a clear difference in spending per trip. Day-visit spending per trip was $82 in 2024. Overnight-visit spending per trip was $232. The report also recorded $5.6 billion in day-visitor spending and $10.7 billion in overnight-visitor spending.
The historical per-trip figures show different patterns for the two segments:
- Day-visit spending per trip was $69 in 2019, $70 in 2020, $70 in 2021, $75 in 2022, $79 in 2023, and $82 in 2024.
- Overnight-visit spending per trip was $206 in 2019, $178 in 2020, $213 in 2021, $221 in 2022, $227 in 2023, and $232 in 2024.
- Overall direct spending per visit was $121 in 2019, $108 in 2020, $126 in 2021, $135 in 2022, $139 in 2023, and $142 in 2024.
The visit totals and spending measures should be read together. In 2024, day visits were more numerous at 68.5 million, but overnight visits were associated with the higher spending-per-trip figure of $232. Overnight visitor volume was flat compared with 2023, while day visits increased 2.2%.
Tourism jobs, income, and government revenue
Tourism supported 181,898 total jobs in Wisconsin in 2024. Of that total, 129,026 were direct jobs supported by visitor activity. The report also identified 25,151 indirect jobs and 27,721 induced jobs.
The direct, indirect, and induced categories describe different channels of employment impact. Direct jobs are tied to visitor activity itself. Indirect jobs are associated with supplying tourism-related businesses, while induced jobs reflect household spending connected with income from the visitor economy. These categories are reported components of the total employment impact.
Visitor activity generated $7.0 billion in personal income in 2024. Direct personal income was $4.0 billion, indirect personal income was $1.5 billion, and induced personal income was $1.5 billion.
Tourism generated $3.1 billion in total government revenues and $1.7 billion in state and local taxes in 2024. The two figures use different labels in the Wisconsin Tourism 2024 Economic Impact Report and should not be treated as duplicate versions of the same measure.
The employment trend was positive in 2024. Employment directly supported by visitor activity increased 2.5%, and total employment impacts increased 2.2%. Those growth rates apply to employment measures for 2024 and do not provide a separate forecast for a later period.
Tourism’s place in the Wisconsin economy
The visitor economy produced $12.2 billion in GDP in 2024. Tourism GDP equaled 2.7% of Wisconsin’s entire economy during that year. This gives the tourism figures an economy-wide context without changing the underlying distinction between GDP, direct spending, and total economic impact.
The 2019–2024 history shows a sharp 2020 reduction followed by a multi-year recovery in the supplied measures. Total visits fell from 113.2 million in 2019 to 90.7 million in 2020. They then rose to 102.3 million in 2021, 111.1 million in 2022, 113.0 million in 2023, and 114.4 million in 2024.
Direct spending followed a similar sequence, moving from $13.7 billion in 2019 to $9.8 billion in 2020, then increasing to $12.9 billion in 2021, $15.0 billion in 2022, $15.7 billion in 2023, and $16.3 billion in 2024. Overall spending per visit moved from $121 in 2019 to $142 in 2024, with a low of $108 in 2020.
The recovery was not identical across trip types. Day visits were 70.4 million in 2019, 58.5 million in 2020, 62.3 million in 2021, 65.7 million in 2022, 67.1 million in 2023, and 68.5 million in 2024. Overnight visits were 42.8 million in 2019, 32.3 million in 2020, 39.9 million in 2021, 45.4 million in 2022, and 45.9 million in both 2023 and 2024.
For readers tracking Milwaukee and statewide travel, the main 2024 picture is a high-volume visitor economy with both day-trip and overnight demand. The latest reported measures combine 114.4 million visits, $16.3 billion in direct spending, $12.2 billion in visitor economy GDP, and 181,898 supported jobs, with the Wisconsin Tourism 2024 Economic Impact Report providing the measurement period for each figure.