Packer Country Gathers for Tourism Summit 2003
GREEN BAY, Wis.
May 28, 2003

Travel destinations across the country are celebrating May as National Tourism Month. To kick off the 2003 tourism season in Northeast Wisconsin, the Packer Country Regional Tourism Organization hosted a Tourism Summit luncheon today at the KI Convention Center, 333 Main Street in Green Bay.

About 50 travel industry professionals attended the Tourism Summit, which featured keynote speaker Don Schumacher, Executive Director of the National Association for Sports Commissions. Schumacher’s talk entitled “Sport Tourists: Worth Recruiting,” emphasized the importance of a grass-roots effort in attracting sporting events.

The NASC is a 305-member organization dedicated to the sports event travel industry. Schumacher is an expert in sports marketing, with more than 35 years of experience in the fields of family entertainment, theme park operations, arena and stadium marketing and operations, and event bidding and management. He was Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Sports & Events Commission, and was responsible for obtaining events such as the 1996 NCAA Hockey Championship, 1997 Women’s Final Four, and 1998 conference USA Basketball Tournament.

“We are very excited to have him speak to our industry,” said Kari Sliva, President of the Packer Country Regional Tourism Organization. “Tourists flock to the Green Bay area for all kinds of sports, from amateur athletics like the recent Green Bay Marathon to the Packers to the Gamblers. And, we want to attract more sporting events to our market,” Sliva said.

The Packer Country RTO released results of a visitor survey conducted earlier this year, which identifies travel trends. Statewide tourism figures from the Wis. Dept. of Tourism were available.

Last year, visitors to Packer Country spent $614 million on lodging, shopping, dining and recreation in the counties of Brown, Kewaunee and Manitowoc.

A total of 48 percent visited a attractions, while 34 percent visited sports-related attractions, including Packers-related activities. The majority of visitors stayed at least two nights in a hotel or motel.

The Green Bay area remains a family destination, with 44 percent of visitors indicating they traveled in groups of three or more.