Wisconsin Tourism Sets Record For Fourth Straight Year
State logs 117 million visits and $27 billion in economic impact, led by outdoor recreation and events.
Visitors take in the view at Ellison Bluff in Ellison Bay. Door County saw a 5 percent increase in economic impact from tourism in 2025. Photo courtesy of Destination Door County
Wisconsin’s tourism economy is marking another year of growth. The state’s Department of Tourism released new figures on Tuesday showing that Wisconsin broke its tourism record for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, with more than 117 million visits creating $27 billion dollars in total economic impact.
“These numbers are a big deal for our state, our economy, and the countless hardworking folks in the industry who make it all happen,” Gov. Tony Evers wrote in a press release announcing the four-year streak of record tourism numbers.
Around the state, local events saw a surge in attendance last year. The EAA Airventure in Oshkosh brought in more than 700,000 visitors, breaking the previous year’s record by 18,000. In Chippewa Falls, the Northern Wisconsin State Fair saw its highest single-day attendance in 17 years.
And with more visitors came more dollars spent in local communities throughout the state. Spending in Door County was up more than 5 percent last year, said Jon Jarosh, interim president/CEO and chief communications officer of Destination Door County, a nonprofit tourism organization.
Jarosh told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that the peninsula continues to be a vacation mainstay for families around the state.
“We’re close to so many Wisconsinites, and yet when people are here, they feel like they’re really farther away than they might be,” he said.
A windy stretch of Highway 42 near Gills Rock in Door County. Photo courtesy of Destination Door County
Natural resources, cultural events continue to be a draw
Outdoor recreation continues to be a big driver of Wisconsin tourism. In March, the state’s Office of Outdoor Recreation announced that the industry contributed a record $12 billion in economic impact for the state in 2024, the most recent year with data. Top activities include riding motorcycles and ATVs, boating and fishing, hunting, hiking, camping and cycling.
Cultural offerings and events can also be a “huge selling point for the state,” said Tanner Knorr, who directs the Tourism Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Eaux Claires, the indie music festival put on by Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon, is set to return to Wisconsin this summer after an eight-year hiatus. The festival brought in an estimated 25,000 visitors each year it was held from 2016 to 2018.
Door County saw an unexpected bump in winter visitors last year during the filming of the holiday movie “A Cherry Pie Christmas.”
And intrepid “troll hunters” have been flocking to Wauwatosa to see Mama Rose, a giant troll sculpture by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. Mount Pleasant is set to get its own Dambo troll next year, with one visitor from Ohio telling WPR she would definitely “be back” to check it out.
High gas prices may change tourist behavior
Whether Wisconsin can pull off a fifth year of breaking tourism records remains to be seen. Consumer scientists are watching as vacationers respond to high gas prices, currently sitting around $4 per gallon throughout most of the state.
However, if long drives and plane tickets remain more expensive than usual, that might boost the number of Wisconsin locals who stay close to home. Jarosh said he is not too worried about Door County’s prospects.
“Door County historically has not seen as big of a drop-off when gas prices, in particular, have been higher because of our proximity to so many Wisconsinites,” Jarosh said. “We may be a backup location instead of traveling across the country for a longer road trip.”
Knorr echoed the sentiment, saying that it might be “really favorable” for the Wisconsin economy to have more residents taking vacations here in the state.
“Being a tourist is more so a mindset,” Knorr said. “It’s going somewhere to experience a place for the first time, to experience a new perspective on life, even if that’s a town away.”
Wisconsin sees record-breaking tourism for fourth year in a row was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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