The Boscobel Chamber of Commerce went to press the last week of April with a 16-page, full-color visitors guide to promote tourism for Boscobel, Muscoda, Blue River and Wauzeka. The guide contains listings of special events, local attractions, outdoor adventures, parks, dining, shopping, lodging, and area churches. A map of the area can be found on the back cover.
“Tourism is incredibly important for our local economy,” said Eric Swan, chair of the Chamber marketing committee. “We’ve calculated that overnight visitors to Boscobel, both in our lodging and those camping on the Wisconsin River, generated about $2 million of economic activity last year. And people who drive through on day trips undoubtedly generate millions more for local businesses.”
According to a study commissioned by the Department of Tourism, travelers to Grant County spent $43.2 million in 2015, an increase of 1.74 percent over the previous year. Among the contributing factors for local tourism growth was Boscobel’s new destination marketing campaign. Statewide, the impact of tourism on the economy was $19.3 billion in 2015, an increase of 4.4 percent from the previous year.
“These results let us know that what we have been doing over the last five years is working,” said Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett. “It’s a tremendous credit to the tourism industry in all 72 counties and the innovative work they do to create exciting vacation experiences, market their destinations under our united brand of fun, and provide great customer service that makes travelers want to return to Wisconsin time and again.”
“Tourism continues to be one of Wisconsin’s most important economic resources,” Secretary Klett said. “Research shows that tourism advertising goes beyond just promoting vacations. It also positively influences the state’s overall image as a great place to live, find a job, or open a business.”
The visitors guide was created with funding from the Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism to promote this area as Wisconsin’s Outdoor Recreation Destination. Signalfire LLC designed the guide with content gathered by a number of Chamber volunteers.
“It was a big, collaborative effort to create a visitors guide from scratch,” Swan said, “but, the plan is for it to be easily updated in subsequent years.”
Having a printed visitors guide and a digital version online will complement the Chamber of Commerce’s work to promote the community through multiple channels, including the website, promotional videos, e-mail, and social media marketing.
“The amazing scenic beauty and sheer volume of outdoor recreational opportunities here are not well enough known outside of the immediate region,” said Chamber president Patsy Pippin. “The visitors guide is one more tool we have to showcase the best of what Boscobel has to offer the traveling public.”
The guide became available in print form this week.
For more information, visit www.outdoorrecdestination.com or www.VisitBoscobel.com, or call the Chamber office at 375-2672.
Jacobson is Boscobel’s Director of Economic Development.
