MEDIA CONTACT:

Lisa Marshall or Valeria Davis, 1-800-236-PLAY/7529

E-mail: pr@travelwisconsin.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

START YOUR WISCONSIN GETAWAY AT THE STATE’S WELCOME CENTERS

Centers open and ready for busy travel season ahead

MADISON, Wis. (April 8, 2008) – Warm weather is finally here and with it comes the anticipation of a getaway to Wisconsin. What better way to start a vacation than with a stop at one of the state’s Wisconsin Welcome Centers? All the centers are now open, staffed, and ready to greet the season’s travelers with a variety of promotions, events, tasty food samples, travel-planning guides, and of course, the personal assistance and hospitality visitors have come to expect from Wisconsin.

“The people of Wisconsin are what set us apart from other travel destinations; and nothing is better than the one-to-one, personal service that a Wisconsin Welcome Center can provide,” Tourism Secretary Kelli A. Trumble said. “Over a million travelers use our Welcome Centers each year, so we strive to enhance that experience with plenty of special promotions and activities and, of course, a warm Wisconsin welcome.”

The seasonal Welcome Centers located in Grant County and Marinette reopened this week and centers in Beloit, Hudson, Hurley, Kenosha, La Crosse and Superior begin their extended hours on May 2. All centers will be open seven days a week through the peak travel season of Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Promotions running in the centers this spring include a drawing for a Door County vacation package that includes lodging, dining and either a choice of guided water tubing trip or fishing trip. In keeping with the state’s commitment to protect its natural resources, Welcome Centers are distributing a free litterbag made of a biodegradable corn product and providing green travel trips to visitors. Travelers enthusiastic about the Welcome Center experience can also subscribe to the Welcome News from Wisconsin e-Newsletter, which features contest information, trivia, and plenty of first-hand knowledge about hot travel opportunities. To sign-up visit www.travelwisconsin.com and click on e-mail subscriptions.

Wisconsin’s Welcome Centers are located on inbound highways and offer services and amenities to travelers such as picnic areas, weather information, road conditions and highway maps. Each center features over 800 booklets and brochures on hundreds of Wisconsin travel destinations, attractions and events. Traveler favorites such as demonstrations, food tastings, special exhibits and personal travel planning assistance make the centers the perfect starting point for a Wisconsin vacation.

For free guides and travel planning information, visit TravelWisconsin.com, call 1-800-432-TRIP or visit the state’s Wisconsin Welcome Centers located in select state-border cities.

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