TOURISM TODAY

July/August 2002 

In this issue:

• Governor Presents JEM Grants
• Governor Unveils Wisconsin Stamp
• Department Capturing More E-mail Addresses
• New Design for Department E-newsletters 
• New Editions Highlight Wisconsin Heritage Tourism and Biking
• Travel Tracker: Shopping
• Department Collaborating with State Agencies on Chronic Wasting Disease
• Department Selects New Multi-cultural Agency
• Submit 2003 Spring/Summer Events by August 16th

Governor Presents JEM Grants

Governor Scott McCallum and Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Moose Speros delivered checks to Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) grant recipients across Wisconsin during May's National Tourism Week. Gov. McCallum and Sec. Speros made check presentations in Chippewa Falls, New Richmond and Rice Lake. The Governor thanked the groups for their hard work in promoting tourism and encouraged them to continue educating their communities on the positive impact that tourism has on Wisconsin's economy and quality of life. 

Secretary Speros also awarded JEM checks to tourism organizations in Waupaca, Manitowish Waters, Middleton, New Glarus, Prairie du Chien, and Trempeleau, Price and Forest counties. 

In fiscal year 2002, the Department awarded 50 JEM grants totaling $738,063, and 31 Destination Marketing JEM grants totaling $548,308.

Governor Unveils Wisconsin Stamp 

Governor McCallum and Secretary Speros helped unveil Wisconsin's Greetings From America commemorative stamp at an event held at the State Capitol building on March 8. McCallum, Speros, and Postmaster Lou Dunning each spoke at the event where stamp collectors, children from John Muir school, parents and onlookers gathered to be the first to see the Wisconsin design. 

The Travel Industry of America (TIA) partnered with the United States Postal Service and tourism organizations nationwide to issue a series of commemorative stamps highlighting each of the 50 states. Governor McCallum, whose father was a letter carrier in Fond du Lac, said the event was "an opportunity to give the entire country a glimpse of what makes Wisconsin so special." 

It's the first time the U.S. Postal Service issued a new commemorative stamp on the same day in every state. 

To find out more about the stamps and SeeAmerica Sweepstakes, visit www.seeamerica.org. 

Department Capturing More E-mail Addresses 

The Department recently launched two direct marketing programs designed to boost its e-mail subscriber list and increase the number of e-mail addresses the Department can offer through the co-op e-mail program. 

The first initiative, a direct mail to e-mail campaign, was launched in May. The Department sent a postcard promoting the Travel Wisconsin e-newsletter to 90,000 customers in its database that did not have an e-mail address listed in their record. In an effort to increase subscriptions, recipients were offered the chance to win a Milwaukee getaway package. 

The second project involves purchasing pre-qualified, opt-in e-mail lists. Subscribers on the list have opted in through special e-mail promotions to receive Wisconsin travel-related news via e-mail. The Department will purchase up to 10,000 names, test them against our existing customer database and send them the Travel Wisconsin e-mail newsletter. 

Click here for more information about the Department's Direct Marketing programs or contact Lisa Moling at 608/261-8203.

New Design for Department E-newsletters 

The Department is now offering its five electronic newsletters in HTML (hypertext markup language) format. The new format looks more like a Web page and is therefore more visually appealing and easier to read than text-only e-newsletters. The HTML versions of Tourism Today, Marketour and Travel Tracker repeat the look of the printed newsletters, while the Travel Wisconsin e-newsletter mirrors Wisconsin's "Stay Just a Little Bit Longer" advertising campaign. The monthly Film Office newsletter compliments the recently redesigned filmwisconsin.org Web site. The Department will continue to send text e-mails automatically to users that don't have HTML-ready e-mail software. Milwaukee's Ascedia, Inc. designed the HTML newsletter templates.  

• Subscribe to the Travel Wisconsin Newsletter
• Subcribe to Tourism Today, Marketour and/or Travel Tracker

New Editions Highlight Wisconsin Heritage Tourism and Biking 

The new edition of the Wisconsin Heritage Traveler will be ready for distribution July 15. The 64-page, full color publication is packed with information on Wisconsin's 12 Heritage Tourism project areas, Native American heritage, history museums and state-owned historic sites. The guide also includes a directory of sites participating in the Wisconsin Heritage Directional Sign program. 

The fourth edition of the Wisconsin Biking Guide rolled off the presses in late May. The all-new guide features information for 30 on-road, mountain bike and linear bike rides throughout the state. Fifteen of the featured trails are new to the biking guide. 

The guide was produced in a new, slim format that is small enough to throw in a backpack, yet packed with information. Detailed maps, trail facts, route descriptions and photographs help riders decide which Wisconsin biking adventure to pedal next. The guide also includes a listing of Wisconsin's top biking events.

Travel Tracker 

Travel Tracker appears as a featured excerpt in Tourism Today and Marketour, and as a monthly electronic newsletter. Click here to subscribe.

Shopping: A Top Travel Activity 

As many tourists can attest, shopping and vacations go hand-in-hand. On a national and state level, shopping consistently ranks as one of the top three travel activities. 

According to the 2001 Economic Impact of Expenditures by Travelers on Wisconsin, travelers spent $3.2 billion on shopping in Wisconsin in 2001, more than food ($3 billion), recreation ($2.8 billion), lodging ($1.5 billion) and transportation ($.9 billion). 

In Wisconsin, numerous festivals and events are geared toward shoppers. Visitors to the Syttende Mai festival rate shopping as their favorite leisure activity. In two other recent studies conducted by the Department of Tourism, bicyclists indicated they had plans to dine and shop in the area while on their trip, while visitors to Wisconsin's eight historic sites ranked shopping as an activity second only to dining. 

In a recent advertising awareness study of the core markets of Chicago and the Twin Cities, participants were asked to state their most memorable Wisconsin activity by season in the past three years. Fifteen percent of the fall visitors, 13% of the spring visitors, 10% of the summer visitors, and 7% of winter travelers listed shopping as their most memorable activity.

The following are highlights from the Travel Industry of Association of America's (TIA) The Shopping Traveler: 

• Shopping is a popular activity for leisure travelers. Eighty-one percent of shopping travelers are on leisure trips, 58% of which are visiting family and friends. 

• On average, shopping travelers report spending $333 on purchases while on vacation. 

• Seventy percent of shopping travelers want to shop at stores that are unique or different to stores they have at home. Half of these shoppers say they go to find items that represent the destination they are visiting. 

• Shopping travelers report they have more time to shop on leisure trips because they are away from home. They want shopping areas that are convenient and easy to find. 

• Shopping travelers most often spend money on clothes or shoes for themselves (77%) followed by souvenirs (49%), books or music (42%), specialty food and beverage items (41%), kid's toys (39%), items and crafts unique to the destination (37%), and jewelry/accessories (36%). 

• The most popular place to shop on trips is the traditional enclosed shopping center/mall, followed by the destination's major downtown shopping district or Main Street. However, when looking at the differences between age groups, the cost-conscious Baby Boomers are more inclined to shop outlet malls.

See the complete Travel Tracker online, or for more information from TIA's Shopping Traveler, contact Sue Hamilton at 608/266-6792.

Department Collaborating with State Agencies on Chronic Wasting Disease

The Department of Tourism is working closely with Governor McCallum's office, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other state agencies to stay current on the evolving issues surrounding Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Staff members are attending regular inter-agency meetings and are notified of all updates and releases to the media. The Department's Call Center and WTICs are also providing travel customers with the most accurate and current information available. For the most recent and comprehensive information, research, press releases, maps, and facts about CWD, visit the DNR's Web site at www.dnr.state.wi.us. 

Department Selects New Multi-Cultural Agency 

The Wisconsin Department of Tourism welcomes Creative Marketing Resources (CMR) of Milwaukee to assist the Department with its effort to extend an invitation to travelers of all cultures. CMR will work with Advertising Boelter and Lincoln on advertising and public relations efforts for the African American, Hispanic/Latino and Asian American markets. The contract, effective June 1, 2002, will run for one year with the option of four additional annual renewals.

Submit 2003 Spring/Summer Events by August 16th 

The Department is already gearing up for next year's Spring/Summer Event & Recreation Guide. In order to have your events and/or recreational activities considered for publication, please submit or update your information by August 16th to your Extranet partner or to tourinfo@travelwisconsin.com. The deadline for Extranet partners to enter data into the Department's database is August 30th.

Many annual events and recreational properties are already in the Department's database. To check to see if your listing is correct, please search www.travelwisconsin.com.  To find out who the Extranet partner is for your area, contact Linda Anderson at 608/266-8212.