Milwaukee Biz Blog

With the recent "demonization" of legitimate business travel and hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake, the nationwide hospitality and tourism industry - an economic juggernaut - is working in a unified lobbying effort to promote business travel in the United States.

In fact, key leaders of the national travel industry met recently with President Barack Obama to discuss the unique role that travel can play in strengthening the American economy. Participants at the meeting discussed the need to maximize the benefits of business meetings and events, which generate more than $100 billion in spending and create more than 1 million jobs that are the lifeblood of local communities, including Milwaukee.

The travel industry employs 7.7 million Americans and generates more than $740 billion in spending annually. Closer to home, tourism in the greater Milwaukee area generates $2.6 billion annually, employs 65,000 people and contributes more than $400 million in state and local taxes.

Important business is still conducted at face-to-face meetings, and useful information is learned and imparted at industry conventions and tradeshows. It's important that we work as a community to protect beneficial meetings, conventions and incentive travel.

Our message is simple: don't cancel your meeting or convention because of the recession or concern that your event might become the lead story on the evening news. Meeting in Milwaukee is good for the bottom line! You can get down to business in Milwaukee and still enjoy the many amenities visitors expect in a first-class destination - a safe, walkable downtown, friendly people, first-class hotels, fine restaurants and a vibrant arts and cultural scene.

Milwaukee was, is and always will be a value destination where visitors can convene productively. In fact, Runzheimer International, the national consulting firm specializing in transportation, travel and living costs, ranked Milwaukee the most affordable city for food and lodging when compared with its competitive set of cities it competes with for visitors. Milwaukee ranked 60th-least expensive major city out of 69 cities on the Runzheimer Meal and Lodging index report. Hotwire, the travel website, ranked Milwaukee in its top 10 "2008 Best Places for Value Vacations."

Many of our local community and business leaders have long been champions of keeping their meetings in Milwaukee - they are to be applauded. Let's work together to keep more of our meetings in Milwaukee and leverage our affiliations with professional and charitable organizations to bring more national and regional meetings and conventions to our city. Taking these steps is an easy way to grow our local economy and keep people working.

And for those cynics that insist on high-end "resort" cities, remind them that Milwaukee has golf, gaming and beaches too!

For help in scheduling a meeting in Milwaukee, go to www.visitmilwaukee.org and for more information on the importance of the meeting industry, go to www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com.

 

Doug Neilson is president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee.

If you had any doubt why recent descriptions of Milwaukee include the words "sexy" and "cool," all you had to do was hang around Milwaukee last weekend.

No one knows how to throw a party better then Harley-Davidson and no one serves as better hosts then the people of Milwaukee. There are events and then there are the Harley-Davidson anniversary celebrations. And the 105th Anniversary celebration proved that the company and the celebration just get better with age.

Thank you Harley-Davidson Motor Co. for your commitment to Milwaukee, for being the tremendous corporate citizen you are, for the great product you have created and for going way beyond the norm in helping make Milwaukee a pretty cool place.

To put on an event of this enormity, takes commitment, organization, time, resources, passion, and, of course, a one-of-a-kind product. Harley-Davidson accomplished all of this and more. That "more" can be simply described as the Harley-Davidson Museum.  The museum pays tribute to this iconic brand and let's people celebrate and experience Harley-Davidson 365 days a year. It's an attraction that will bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors (and their dollars) for years to come.

The short-term benefits of the event are apparent - well over 40,000 hotel room nights consumed and business swelling at area restaurants and attractions. When you factor all of this in and the approximately 125,000 to 150,000 visitors that participated in the event, we estimate that some $40 million was poured into the local economy.

The bikers may have left, but their impact will be felt long-term. We now have tens of thousands of new goodwill ambassadors singing our praises with the potential for them to return as visitors, bring business to the city or perhaps even relocate as new residents.

And to the people of Milwaukee, the great law enforcement personnel that supported this event and our hospitality and tourism industry, Visit Milwaukee extends a huge thank you as well. You captured the spirit of hospitality for the 105th like you have done for the past anniversaries.

To see those Harley riders in the parade down Wisconsin Avenue with their flags waving from so many different countries, all yelling "thank you Milwaukee," is truly a tribute to the warmth of our people. This hospitality is also an attribute that differentiates us from all other communities.

Congratulations to Harley-Davidson for helping us put Milwaukee on the map and making us just a little bit cooler and sexier!

Doug Neilson is president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee.

All this week, we're celebrating National Tourism Week with the theme "Discovering Great American traditions." Certainly the Milwaukee area has more than its fair share of traditions from the State Fair and the Milwaukee Mile to Summerfest, the Brewers and Bucks and local companies such as Harley-Davidson and Usinger's Famous Sausage.

We also use National Tourism Week as the time to hold the Visit Milwaukee annual luncheon meeting report on the "State of Tourism" in the Milwaukee area (on Wednesday).

Let's take a quick look at the numbers for 2007. Total traveler expenditures: $2.579 billion (includes four counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington). This is up slightly from the $2.578 billion recorded in 2006. Tourism employment increased from 64,020 jobs in 2006 to 64,854 in 2007. Tourism contributed $410 million in local and state taxes, down slightly from the previous year's total of $415 million.

The story behind the numbers is that traveler expenditures remained strong despite higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. These challenges aren't likely to go away anytime soon. Looking ahead, we have several reasons to be optimistic about the future prospects of this industry, among them:

• Milwaukee remains a value destination. For cash-strapped consumers, Milwaukee when compared with other urban destinations offers travelers value in "core" expenditures such as lodging, food and entertainment.
• We're not resting on our laurels. The community continues to evolve and invest in new tourism amenities. From recent additions such as Discovery World to coming attractions such as the Harley-Davidson Museum, the Potawatomi Bingo Casino expansion and the fun bronze Fonz project, Milwaukee will soon provide travelers with even more reasons to visit.
• Continued promotion of our tourism assets, including sports, arts and culture, urban outdoors and culinary.
• Collaborating with the Milwaukee 7, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee and Film Wisconsin (both housed in the VISIT Milwaukee offices) and other organizations, we're working to better leverage our region as a place to live, work, play and visit. And this includes developing strategies to promote our fresh water asset – Lake Michigan.

All of this is not without its challenges. When courting large convention groups we're still challenged by image issues of the past when smokestacks dotted our skyline. We must continue to expose people to "new" Milwaukee and our warm brand of hospitality to secure more visitors, both convention and leisure travelers, into the city. The more the business community works together to brand the region the more successful we are going to be in changing the image of the Milwaukee region.

 

Lastly, it's our 64,000-plus hospitality workforce that serves as our secret weapon. Our Certified Tourism Ambassador program, which we launched late last year, will count some 500 graduates by year-end. This army of trained tourism concierges has the tools and desire to exceed visitor expectations.

Tourism is economic development. It's about convincing the traveling public that they will have a better time visiting Milwaukee and receive more value for their dollar versus other competitive urban destinations. It's about growing the tourism economy and improving the quality of life for all of us who call this region home.

Doug Neilson is president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee.

It's not a national holiday, but Sept. 27 is World Tourism Day, an annual event sanctioned by the U.N. World Tourism Organization, which deserves to be celebrated.

With tension in the world at a historic high, it's important to look beyond borders and celebrate the opportunities travel and tourism provides for world peace and the greater understanding of diverse peoples and cultures.

World Tourism Day acknowledges the positive impact of travel. Nationwide, the industry directly employees 7.5 million Americans and generates about $109 billion in tax revenues. Tourism expenditures within the U.S. total $700 billion.

Locally, we welcomed more than 6 million visitors in 2006, who contributed about $2.6 billion to the area economy. Our local tourism industry employs about 64,000 people and contributes $415 million in taxes.

World Tourism Day provides a platform that looks beyond borders and focuses on the common

interests and benefits that travel provides. According to the Travel Industry Association, those who have visited the U.S. are 74 percent more likely to have a favorable impression of our country. Travel creates a strong opportunity to strengthen America's image abroad. And beyond the benefits of jobs and tax revenues, travel creates added benefits for local communities such as urban revitalization, historic preservation, protection of natural resources and an improved quality of life for all residents.

From a tourism standpoint, it's best to ignore the cynics who are bearish on the future of Milwaukee.

The reality is that the Milwaukee area is steadily improving its reputation as a tourism destination, from a regional, national, and yes, even international level. Billions of dollars have been invested in the past decade in our tourism infrastructure from the "big ticket" items such as Miller Park, the Midwest Airlines Center, the Calatrava addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Potawatomi Bingo Casino expansion and Discovery World to other important developments with smaller price tags such as the Riverwalk, the Milwaukee Public Market, renovations of hotels and local attractions and new and exciting dining options.

And we're not resting on our laurels - next year we'll also have the world's only Harley-Davidson Museum, a new attraction that is already creating significant buzz in the tourism industry.

Local tourism provides us an opportunity to show people from near and far what defines Milwaukee and what makes our destination unique. We enhance Milwaukee's image by bringing convention delegates and leisure travelers to our city.

While World Tourism Day encourages us all to explore and "hit the road," Milwaukee provides a friendly, affordable and accessible urban experience. If you don't believe me, book your "world" tour right here in Milwaukee with these travel tips:

• Experience a bit of old Bavaria right here on Old World Third Street. Sample a sausage at Usinger's, enjoy a cold one at the Old German Beer Hall or fill up on some traditional Teutonic fare at Mader's.
• Sun, sand and surf? Carve out a little piece of paradise on some of our Lake Michigan beaches.
• South of the border flavor can be enjoyed by a short jog to our Fifth Ward, home to some of the area's finest Latin cuisine.
• Rome, the Eternal City, has St. Peter's, but Milwaukee has an architectural jewel in St. Josaphat's and other houses of worship.
• The romance of the Venice canals can be experienced on a cruise on the Milwaukee River.
• Paris may have the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, but it doesn't have a museum designed by Santiago Calatrava.
• An African Safari is an unforgettable experience, but a trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo is an affordable excursion for the entire family.
• Viewing Big Ben and afternoon tea time is an English time-honored tradition. But how about a spot of tea at George Watts in the shadows of the Allen-Bradley clocktower, the largest four-faced clock in the world.

You get the idea! So hit the road, whether it's exploring attractions in our own back yard or satisfying your own wanderlust to travel stateside or abroad and spread the message of goodwill wherever your journeys take you. Safe travels.

Doug Neilson is the president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee.

“We're going to have to do a whole lot more, and give nature at least a chance to repair some of the damage we've done.”
- The late Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day.

 

It was a Wisconsinite who gave birth to Earth Day, and it's important that we continue his legacy through our everyday practices.

It's called ecotourism, and putting its practices to use is the right thing to do. Ecotourism, as defined by the International Ecotourism Society, is the "responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environment and improves the well-being of local people."

The "go green" movement is no passing fad. In fact, in the convention and meeting business, more and more planners are making their site selection decisions on a city's commitment to green meetings. VISIT Milwaukee is about to introduce a marketing piece for the meeting planners outlining our commitment to holding sustainable, environmentally friendly meetings in Milwaukee.

Fortunately, Milwaukee and the entire state are ahead of the curve in this area.

The Milwaukee Office of Sustainability was created by Mayor Tom Barrett to position Milwaukee as a leader in the environmental sustainability and performance in the 21st century. The office emerged from input from the Milwaukee Green Team, commissioned by the mayor in 2004 and is charged with coordinating efforts to improve Milwaukee's water quality, reduce energy consumption and stimulate economic development in the green technology sector. To further his commitment to this effort, the mayor named Ann Beier to a cabinet-level position as environmental sustainability director.

Visit Milwaukee is working closely with city officials and partners throughout the community on several comprehensive initiatives designed to minimize the footprint on the environment and make our destination a showplace for green visitors and those with an environmentally friendly approach to travel.

The state is also playing a proactive role in going green with its Travel Green Wisconsin program. As of last month, 87 businesses have received certification through the program. Travel Green Wisconsin is a voluntary, affordable program that reviews, certifies and recognizes tourism businesses that have made a commitment to continuously improve their operations in order to reduce their environmental impact.

Milwaukee is well-positioned to take a leadership role in this effort. With more parkland per capita than any other city in the nation (according to Rand McNally Places Rated Almanac) and one of the world's largest bodies of freshwater hugging our eastern border, it only makes sense that we market Milwaukee as a destination of choice for ecotourism.

Combine these natural resources with the city's commitment to environmental stewardship, all help give Milwaukee a competitive edge.

We're making progress, as Milwaukee currently ranks No. 16 on the list of "Green Cities," according to SustainLane, an organizing tracking the greening efforts of cities. In 2006, Milwaukee was name fifth on the Conservation Fund's list of "America's Top 10 Places with Potential to Advance Smart Conversation."

Milwaukee is rapidly becoming an active participant in the carbon-neutral meetings arena. We support the concept of meetings that leave no footprint on the environment, and we're developing a local carbon credit program as well as working with the established national programs that work on a global level.

A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon emissions generated by what an entity consumes. Carbon offsets, or the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions equal to your carbon emissions, can be more cost effective and practical than many other measures an individual can take.

Going green doesn't mean that you have to spend more green (an often held belief). What makes a green meeting? It means that the gathering from start to finish incorporates environmentally sound practices into all facets of the event. By establishing some eco-friendly practices such using high-efficient lighting, establishing recycling procedures, eliminating Styrofoam and paper and plastic materials when possible from meetings, the payback should result in a cost-savings. Conducting green meetings has other intangible benefits.

We're also working with our partners at the Wisconsin Center District and the hotel and restaurant community to incorporate more green practices into their facilities and businesses in order to attract more conventions and meetings.

With our abundant fresh water assets, we also participated in a recent Milwaukee 7 Water Summit at Discovery World.  From a convention and meeting standpoint, we believe we can leverage this fresh water asset to play host to companies, conventions and seminars that have a vested interest in the preservation of this natural resource.

Remember the old Grape Nuts commercial in which the late environmentalist Euell Gibbons said, "Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." At the time, poor Euell became the butt of lot of jokes.

Gibbons also said, "We live in a vastly complex society which has been able to provide us with a multitude of material things, and this is good, but people are beginning to suspect we have paid a high spiritual price for our plenty."

Those prophetic words are more relevant today than when he spoke them more than a quarter century ago. We look forward to working with the community and our tourism and hospitality partners in turning Milwaukee into a green haven.

 

Doug Neilson is president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee.

 

It seems like hunting season is now a year-round sport in Wisconsin. Instead of going for the four-legged variety, people are taking aim at something far more endangered – the elusive greenback.

You don't need to buy a license to pursue the greenbacks. It's obviously open season on people floating ideas to raise additional revenue for needed projects from public safety, transportation, parks, etc. While it's politically unpopular to touch the sales and property taxes, some of these proposals have set their sights on some of the more "vulnerable" tax targets such as the car rental and hotel tax.

There's no denying that we have quality-of-life issues in our community that need addressing. However, we believe these projects should be reviewed on a coordinated basis at the city, county and even regional level. Where are our priorities and which projects represent the best return on our tax dollar?
It's disappointing that nowhere in any of these discussions is there talk or serious consideration about our local $2.4 billion tourism industry (one of the three-legs of our state economic stool), the 60,000-plus jobs this industry maintains in the greater Milwaukee area and the $390 million it generates in annual state and local taxes. 

High-profile projects such as the Harley-Davidson Museum and the Potawatomi Bingo Casino expansion will pump hundreds of millions more into our local economy, and create thousands of construction and permanent jobs. These venues are examples of community assets and attractions that bring millions of visitors and new dollars into our community and will help to improve the quality of life for all of us who call this region home.

In this race for these precious dollars, the expansion of the Midwest Airlines Center should also receive its due consideration. A feasibility study will soon determine if a larger convention center (we're now the smallest among all major cities in the Midwest) will expand our tax base and create more jobs by bringing more visitors to Milwaukee.

Car rental and hotel taxes may seem "easy picking" for some of the initiatives recently being tossed around, but these taxes should be the funding sources earmarked for expanding our tourism base, creating jobs and new tax revenues. Raising our hotel tax to 17.6 percent, as suggested, to fund the county bus system would make us among the highest-taxed among U.S. cities and not generate any new tourism dollars.

If all of these proposed taxes on rental cars and hotels were enacted, there would be no room to raise taxes further in support of a convention center expansion, which could prove to be one of the most logical and impactful investments we could make for our future.

If the convention center feasibility study supports an expansion as another tool to grow our local economy, the tourism-related taxes should continue to be allocated for these purposes. Investing in our tourism infrastructure and remaining price competitive to the traveling public will create new jobs, expand our tax base and have the net benefit of improving the quality of life for all residents.

In the governor's new budget, he proposed the establishment of a "premier resort area." This funding mechanism, if approved by the state legislature, would give the mayor and the common council the authority to designate a four-square-mile section of the city as a tourism zone and enact a .5 percent sales tax on goods and services sold in that area.

"We must continue to look for new ways to grow tourism in Milwaukee," Gov. Jim Doyle said when introducing this measure.

We can't agree with him more. But we need more information to determine if this new tax mechanism would actually grow our local tourism economy or create a "tax island" that, along with the other proposed taxes, could ultimately impede our efforts to attract more visitors to the area. We'll continue to monitor this proposal as it moves through the legislature and work with our elected officials to thoroughly study the ramifications of this in the event that this initiative moves forward.

A lot of ideas. A lot of new taxes. Instead of "cherry picking" individual pet projects, the public and private sector need to put all of these needs on the table (perhaps through some unified vs. fractured initiatives) and come up with some fair, equitable and "creative" funding solutions based upon their importance in moving Milwaukee forward.

Before we're so quick to pull the trigger, let's just make sure we're taking careful aim at the right targets.

Doug Neilson is president and chief executive officer of Visit Milwaukee. Additional information is available at www.visitmilwaukee.org.