Gov. Evers, Wisconsin Department of Tourism Celebrate Forecasted Record-Breaking Growth For 2026 Great Lakes Cruising Season

GREEN BAY — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, Discover Green Bay, and Cruise the Great Lakes, a regional cruise marketing program led by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, today celebrated the announcement of the 2026 visitor and economic impact projections for Great Lakes cruises. The 2026 cruising season is projected to see over 170,000 total cruise passenger visits—up 10 percent from 2025—as well as roughly 800 port visits, and a regional economic impact of approximately $290 million, representing an estimated 20 percent increase compared to 2025.

“Great Lakes cruising is vitally important to Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. It’s a major economic driver and job creator for our port communities and the state,” said Gov. Evers. “I commend Cruise the Great Lakes for playing a key role in promoting the Great Lakes as a world-class destination.”

This announcement comes as, earlier this year, Gov. Evers announced Wisconsin’s tourism industry in 2024 saw its third consecutive record-breaking year of economic impact under the Evers Administration. According to 2024 economic impact data, the tourism industry generated a record-high $25.8 billion in total economic impact, or about $70 million per day, surpassing the previous record of $25 billion set in 2023, which itself was a record year.

Additionally, Wisconsin also welcomed a record-breaking 114.4 million visitors in 2024—a 1.4 million increase from the previous year and eclipsing the former record of 113.2 million visitors in 2019, and the state’s tourism industry generated a record amount of state and local revenue, generating a record $1.7 billion that goes back to local communities and essential state services.

“Great Lakes cruising does more than delight passengers, it drives dollars to shorelines across the region,” said Wisconsin Tourism Secretary and Cruise the Great Lakes Chair Anne Sayers. “The expected growth means more travelers making lifelong memories, more passengers visiting businesses in port cities, and more economic impact in Wisconsin and across the Great Lakes region.”

“As we look to 2026, we’re excited to see continued growth in the Great Lakes cruise sector,” said Cruise the Great Lakes Tourism Director Sally Davis Berry. “We forecast this upcoming season to be even stronger than 2025, both in terms of passenger numbers, destinations visited, and economic impact, which underscores the appeal of cruising in the Great Lakes.”

“Being part of Cruise the Great Lakes is a tremendous opportunity for Green Bay,” said President and CEO of Discover Green Bay Brad Toll. “Each ship that visits introduces travelers from around the world to our community while generating meaningful economic benefits for local businesses. We’re excited to continue building on this momentum in 2026 and to showcase all that Green Bay has to offer cruise passengers.”

Wisconsin is home to more than 800 miles of Great Lakes coastline, and more than 20 percent of the state’s land area lies within the Great Lakes basin. Lake Superior and Lake Michigan are critical economic drivers of Wisconsin’s economy and play an important role in the state’s record-breaking tourism industry. Thanks to Wisconsin’s access to Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, its harbors and marinas support a $9.4 billion a year recreational boating industry. The lakes serve as a wet highway linking the heartland to global markets with major shipping ports in Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Duluth/Superior, and more than $7 billion worth of cargo passes through Wisconsin ports each year.

ADDITIONAL EVERS ADMINISTRATION EFFORTS TO SUPPORT WISCONSIN’S TOURISM INDUSTRY

Gov. Evers has been a champion of the tourism industry since Day One, and under his leadership, the state has seen three record-breaking years of economic impact from Wisconsin’s booming tourism industry. This success is thanks in part to the Evers Administration’s strategic investments to expand Wisconsin’s coastline infrastructure to directly support the health of the cruising industry. In 2022, Gov. Evers awarded a $3.5 million Tourism Capital Investment grant to Port Milwaukee, in addition to a $500,000 Harbor Assistance grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, to get the South Shore Cruise Dock expansion project over the finish line. Thanks to these investments, Port Milwaukee will open the 2026 cruise season with a new cruise dock, a crucial turnaround point for cruise ships, and as a result, the port expects to see over 60 cruise visits in 2026 alone—an increase from the four ships that visited the city in 2015.

To build upon this work, the 2025-27 Biennial Budget provided additional investments for the Department of Tourism, including:

• Making the Office of Outdoor Recreation, created by Gov. Evers in the 2019-21 state budget, permanent;
• Matching the 2023-25 investment in the last state budget of $31 million over the biennium for tourism marketing, which will help the agency attract events and increase advertising in key tourism markets;
• Creating a State Film Office and providing one new position as well as authority to provide up to $5 million annually for film production tax credits to attract film opportunities to the state;
• Providing $5 million for a Taliesin Preservation Grant to support projects that sustain Taliesin’s unique mix of nature and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture in Spring Green, Wisconsin, such as an education center, upgraded visitor amenities, and structural improvements;
• Providing three positions and associated funding to support the planning, preparation, and operation of the new, state-of-the-art Wisconsin History Center, scheduled to open in 2027; and
• Providing $340,000 GPR in fiscal year 2025-26 and $222,000 GPR in fiscal year 2026-27 to make security and safety improvements at historic sites across the state.

Gov. Evers also exercised his broad, constitutional veto authority to partially veto aspects of the budget that were outside of the bipartisan budget negotiations. More information about the bipartisan budget signed by Gov. Evers is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.