MADISON, WI (WSAU) — Governor Evers used multiple stops at destination centers on Wednesday to announce a new $15 million pot of money for Destination Marketing Organizations or DMOs.
“Wisconsin’s tourism industry was one of the first and hardest hit industries of the COVID-19 pandemic, but our local folks at DMOs statewide have been innovative, dedicated, and resilient, and it’s because of them that this industry is bouncing back and better,” said Gov. Evers in a press release. “I am glad to be using these funds to support their good work, along with our more than $200 million investment in Wisconsin’s tourism industry. From the largest convention and visitor bureaus in Milwaukee and Wisconsin Dells to the smallest chambers of commerce in Pepin and Cassville, the $15 million investment awarded today will help continue to fuel our local recovery efforts and ensure those rebounds are felt statewide.”
The pot of money will be administered by the Department of Administration and is being taken from the state’s ARPA funds. Among the 120 groups that received funding from the pool were the Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Village of Rothschild, and Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Visit Sheboygan, the Sheboygan Falls Chamber, Green Bay Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and On Broadway Green Bay were also awarded funding.
Award amounts ranged from just over $10,000 to a high of $1 million. Just four of those checks were awarded to the CVBs in Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, and Wisconsin Dells.
Evers was scheduled to visit multiple locations in the state including Granite Peak Ski Resort in the Wausau area and the Vilas County Courthouse in Eagle River. He was also scheduled to visit the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake.