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Wisconsin Outdoor Recreation Spending Sets New Record

December 15, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry contributed a record breaking $9.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2022.

Wisconsin Outdoor Recreation Spending Sets New Record

According to data released from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry contributed a record breaking $9.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product in 2022, which is good news for tourism related small and independent business. The report also showed travel and tourism associated with outdoor recreation grew to nearly $3 billion in 2022, an increase of 14.2 percent while local outdoor related travel grew by 8.7 percent. “The outdoors is consistently cited as a top reason visitors choose Wisconsin,” said Anne Sayers, Secretary of the Department of Tourism, “we’re incredibly proud of the work of the Office of Outdoor Recreation and their partners that enhances one of our top tourism products and drives the economic impact for the state.” The Bureau of Economic Analysis said the increases in outdoor spending in 2022 were the highest on record and noted the outdoor recreation industry supports 94,042 jobs (up 4.8 percent), represents 3.1 percent of all state private sector employment, and is responsible for $4.7 in employee compensation. “Our industry continues to provide benefits to communities across the country – big, small, urban and rural alike,” said Outdoor Recreation Roundtable President Jessica Turner, “we are thrilled to once again see the data reflect what we hear every day, that outdoor recreation is not a nice to have – but a necessity for healthy people, places, and economies.” Nationally, the data also shows a record breaking year with numbers that show for the first time the outdoor industry contributed more than $1 trillion in gross output to the U.S. economy, and employed nearly 5 million people. NFIB is a member of the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin, and strongly supports an agenda of public policies that promote and strengthen the state’s tourism industry.

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