All of the visitors you saw come into Door and Kewaunee counties last year helped the state set another record for tourism. Governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Anne Sayers announced that the state’s tourism industry generated $25 billion in total economic impact in 2023, more than the then-record-setting $23.7 billion in 2022. The state welcomed 113 million visits in 2023, two million more than the previous year, and saw its highest-ever number of overnight guests at nearly 46 million. All 72 counties saw economic impact growth in 2023, with Door County seeing a 5.7 percent increase and Kewaunee County experiencing a 6.5 percent increase. At $620 million, only seven counties had a higher economic impact from tourism than Door County. Only a dozen counties saw a bigger percentage jump year-over-year than Kewaunee County’s 6.5 percent. Destination Door County's Jon Jarosh says it was an encouraging report for the county ahead of the release of their more expansive analysis later this week.

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Direct visitor spending was also above the state average in Door and Kewaunee counties. Door County’s direct visitor spending was up 5.6 percent ($497 million in 2023 compared to $470.7 in 2022), and Kewaunee County’s was up 6.7 percent ($34 million in 2023 compared to 31.9 in 2022). One in every 21 jobs in the state is sustained by tourism, totaling up to more than 178,000 full-time and part-time jobs.