EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Officials with Visit Eau Claire said tourism numbers could continue to rise as more events and businesses come to the area.
Earlier this week we told you about how tourism in the Chippewa Valley broke records last year.
With the opening of the Sonnentag Arena, Reverb Music Festival and Shakespeare Fest along with new businesses in the works are just some of the things on the horizon.
Benny Anderson said the county has seen an increase of 17 percent in visitor spending.
He said fatigue from the pandemic could be a reason for the bump in tourism.
“There’s definitely some of that COVID comeback. We feel that the comeback story is finished, and now it’s the next chapter. You’ve had all these people that wanted to go out and travel,” said Anderson. “But this is definitely bigger than what our partners and competitors across the nation are seeing. And it’s really driven by how amazing our area is.”
He also hopes for the residents to get in on the exciting things to come.
“We look for this growth and development to continue, and really just make our area great for tourism. But, also for our residents. That’s what we really try to do with our work here. We want to provide cool things that tourists come here for, but it’s really to benefit our residents,” said Anderson.
He said so far, the numbers for this year are beating out last years numbers. The 1st quarter shows a 7 percent increase from that of last year.