GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)- Tourism has led to a successful 2017 in Brown County.
Tourism dollars increased 5.2 percent last year.
Brad Toll, President of the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau says 5.7 million people visited with $671 million dollars in direct sales.
“The total impact that comes from that spending rose to $1.11 billion dollars.”
The report was given during a Convention and Visitors Bureau annual meeting luncheon Tuesday.
Toll added that $.24 cents of every dollar spent was spent on food, and says Brown County has a lot to offer visitors to eat.
“Visitors here are fascinated with our cheese curds and booyah and the spaghetti noodles in the bottom of the chili bowl.”
The second most money was spent on lodging, and retail spending came in third.
“Brown County has nearly 12,000 people whose jobs are related to the tourism industry,” he said. “It is a tremendous industry, and one that we want to see continue to grow.”
He says that in order to maintain the same services that tourism dollars brought in last year, each household in Brown County would have to pay an addition $900 dollars.
Toll says 2018 is off to a good start, and with the Packers 100th season this year along with the return of the LPGA Tournament, it could be good news again at this time next year.
