Posted 5:16 p.m. Friday, May 31, 2013
Cheese curds are an asset. So are Friday night fish fries, the Mississippi River, scenic country roads, breweries and restaurants. They are just some of the attractions that make Wisconsin a fun place to visit and a great place to live. These qualities and more are what UW-La Crosse alums working to attract tourism and business to the state talk about every day. They do important work promoting Wisconsin to attract conventions, meetings, sporting events, vacationers and even new citizens to the state.
Alums work to bring visitors and new citizens to the state
Cheese curds are an asset. So are Friday night fish fries, the Mississippi River, scenic country roads, breweries and restaurants. They are just some of the attractions that make Wisconsin a fun place to visit and a great place to live. These qualities and more are what UW-La Crosse alums working to attract tourism and business to the state talk about every day. They do important work promoting Wisconsin to attract conventions, meetings, sporting events, vacationers and even new citizens to the state. [caption id="attachment_3645" align="alignright" width="385"]
Brad Toll, president and CEO of the Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau, highlights the Green Bay Packers when promoting his city.[/caption]
Brad Toll, president and CEO of the Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau, says although much of his work is promoting fun and travel, he takes the job seriously. He understands the economic value of visitors who come to the area and leave tax dollars behind.
“The more visitors we can bring to Wisconsin or to the Green Bay area, the less we have to depend on our residents,” says Toll.
“Tourism is often looked at as those people who hand out visitor guides and maps,” says Toll. “The reality is it’s a business and it’s very competitive because every community is trying to get those tax dollars.”
Promoting beauty
An obvious plug for all of Wisconsin is its natural beauty. James Hill, ’76, executive director of the La Crosse Area Development Corporation, says beauty has consistently been a focus over the 30 years he’s worked to attract business and industry to the state. “You can’t invent the Mississippi River. It’s a distinguishing feature that immediately separates us,” says Hill. “Likewise, either you have a bluff range or you don’t.” Because of the natural beauty, Hill sees initiatives like the 7 Rivers Region Outdoor Recreation Alliance, an initiative to promote silent sports in the region, succeeding. La Crosse’s new mayor Tim Kabat, ’88, is looking forward to partnering with the Outdoor Recreation Alliance. “We have unparalleled resources when it comes to the bluffs, trails and river marshes — everything and anything you can think of from a recreation standpoint,” Kabat notes. “I think we can definitely make these a big part of our economy in La Crosse. We can be known as a mecca for these types of activities.” [caption id="attachment_3651" align="alignright" width="550"]
UW-L alum Kayla Shepard works at the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.[/caption]
UW-L alum Kayla Shepard is also focusing on silent sports promotion as an employee of the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. She manages bicyclelacrosse.com, a new website that promotes the La Crosse area as one of the top biking regions in the world because of its rolling, paved back roads. What is fabulous bike terrain of today was historically paved because of the weight of the milk trucks that drove Wisconsin’s dairy industry forward.