Devil's Lake State Park
On Thursday, Gov. Tony Evers, Wisconsin Department of Tourism, and the Wisconsin Department of Outdoor Recreation announced that the state’s outdoor recreation industry contributed a record-breaking $8.7 billion to the state in 2021. Furthermore, the industry grew by 14.1%, more than three times faster than the overall economy, which grew by 4.6%.
Per data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation supported nearly 90,000 jobs across various sectors in 2021, with a growth rate of 9.7%, compared with 2.4% for all jobs. Manufacturing jobs accounted for 10% of all outdoor recreation jobs in each of the last two years, making Wisconsin fourth in the country for this sector. Despite supply chain issues during the pandemic, manufacturing jobs continued to grow from 2019 to 2021, increasing by 11%.
“We’ve long understood this inextricable link between outdoor recreation and tourism. Our traveler surveys consistently show outdoor recreation is a top marketable reason people visit Wisconsin,” said Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary-designee Anne Sayers via statement. “Supporting the entire outdoor recreation industry through the work of the Office of Outdoor Recreation is essential to safeguard and enhance a significant tourism offering that helped buoy our industry during the most unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.”
Data shows that travel and tourism, as well as local trips, accounted for almost $2.8 billion of outdoor recreation's contributions to Wisconsin's GDP. In 2020, Wisconsin was one of only seven states to see an increase in economic impact from local outdoor recreation-related trips. In 2021, the economic impact of local trips grew even more, increasing by 7.2% to $771 million.
“From hunting and fishing to boating and paddling to snowboarding and skiing, outdoor recreation is part of who we are as a people and a state—it improves our quality of life, draws visitors from all over the world, supports tens of thousands, and serves as a major economic driver for communities across Wisconsin,” said Gov. Evers via statement. “I’m proud of our work to create the Office of Outdoor Recreation and to ensure this critical industry recovers from the pandemic, and these numbers are an excellent testament to this important work and the Office’s success.”
The Office of Outdoor Recreation was created by Gov. Evers in 2019 under the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. More information about the office can be found on their website.
