Destinations Wisconsin Advocates for Pro-Tourism Policies at State Capitol
On January 28th, Dozens of Destinations Wisconsin members representing 19 Wisconsin destinations headed to Madison for the Destinations Wisconsin Advocacy Day . They met with legislators to promote the importance of Wisconsin's tourism industry and to ask for their support of specific tourism related legislation.
The group asked for support of AB 813/SB 809, authored by Rep. Kurtz and Sen. Testin, which will enhance the Opportunity Attraction Fund. The proposed improvements will empowerthe Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to operate with greater agilityand effectiveness, enabling our member organizations to secure exclusive,large-scale events in an increasingly competitive environment.
Members also requested support for recently introduced AB 1009, authored by Rep. Armstrong and Sen. James. This bill would enable municipalities or counties toestablish Tourism Promotion Improvement Districts (TPIDs) at the request of thelocal lodging community. TPIDs offer a powerful, voluntary, and locally tailored tool forcommunities that want to invest more strategically in tourism promotion anddevelopment.
Similar to Business Improvement Districts, TPIDs levy a specialbenefit assessment on the participating local lodging community. These fundsare not taxes and are not controlled by the local government. Instead, they aremanaged by a dedicated nonprofit tasked with promoting tourism — often a destinationmarketing organization (DMO) and district advisory board — used exclusively for tourism marketing anddestination development to attract new visitors.