Republican state senator is correct, Wisconsin’s tourism budget is up 98%

Is Wisconsin doubling down on efforts to attract visitors? One Wisconsin lawmaker says funding for the state’s tourism department is up nearly 100 percent.

"The most recent State Budget increased funding for the Department of Tourism by 98 percent," state Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, said July 12 during the Weekly GOP radio address posted on WisPolitics.com, as he hailed the importance of attracting tourists to the Badger State. 

Cowles’ address was made just a few days before the Republican National Convention, held July 15 to July 18, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Cowles referenced the RNC along with the upcoming NFL Draft, set for April 24–26, 2025, in Green Bay as important milestones for Wisconsin’s tourism industry.

In his radio address, Cowles pointed out that tourists bring their wallets with them, and the money they spend patronizing local businesses and restaurants makes a difference in local communities and statewide. 

We were intrigued by Cowles' claim that funding had nearly doubled. 

Is he right? 

When asked for backup, the state senator’s staff pointed to data from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, a state government agency that provides fiscal and program information and analyses. 

A summary prepared by the bureau on the state Department of Tourism’s 2023-25 budget shows a table that puts the 2023-25 change at 97.8%. 

"For simplicity in the radio address you are referencing, I rounded up to 98% to avoid the need to verbalize decimals in the radio address," Cowles wrote in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin. 

Also in the email, Cowles explained that tourism spending ensures that more people learn about Wisconsin, and "When visitors come to Wisconsin, we build a stronger tourism industry, which drives a stronger economy."

 The state senator also touted tourism as a "great return on investment. 

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 "Visitors will spend their money here, leaving funds with small businesses throughout the state and generating additional revenues for local governments and the state government," he told PolitiFact in an email.

Here is a breakdown of the fiscal bureau’s calculations:

Tourism funding for fiscal year 2022-23 is $18,287,700. But the bureau uses a two-year budget system so the base year is doubled to $36,575,400 for the budget. 

Total funding for fiscal year 2023-25 is $72,343,900. Subtract $36,575,400 from that and you get $35,768,500 for one year and that equals an increase of 97.8% 

In a June 11, 2024 news release, Travel Wisconsin announced the 2023-25 biennial budget signed by Gov. Tony Evers invested approximately $35 million over the two-year period to raise Wisconsin’s profile across the country as a premier business, cultural, and recreational destination. 

"This is the largest increase in marketing and advertising funds for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism in state history, and with this investment, the department will be able to run a competitive marketing campaign and keep pace with neighboring states," Travel Wisconsin said in the news release.

Meanwhile, Evers’ office noted that when the governor introduced his 2023-25 budget, it proposed making more than $117 million in additional investments to bolster the state’s tourism industry, including efforts to expand existing programs such as the Tourism Capital Investment Grant Program, increase support for marketing and advertising initiatives, attract and recruit large-scale events and conventions to Wisconsin, and provide for the local arts with innovative programs and funds.

"In total, the final budget included less than half than what Gov. Evers originally requested to support the tourism industry in Wisconsin," Evers’ communications director Britt Cudaback said in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin. 

Cowles said: "The most recent State Budget increased funding for the Department of Tourism by 98 percent." 

The state’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau confirmed the nearly 98% figure, so the math is correct. 

The governor’s office did object to Cowles’ radio address statements, saying that some of the funding requested in the governor’s budget aimed at tourism was removed or cut back by Republican legislators. Be that as it may, the nearly 98% figure Cowles touted in his radio address is right on the money. 

For a statement that is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing, our rating is True.