Tourism and the RNC: Impacts on Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- Visit Milwaukee prepared for the Republican National Convention for years, not only to draw people to the city, but also the state.

Fifty-thousand people are expected to attend the RNC. The event is expected to raise roughly $200 million for Milwaukee this year.

In 2020, Milwaukee was set to host the Democratic National Convention before it was moved online due to the pandemic. CEO of Visit Milwaukee Peggy Williams-Smith said they've been preparing since 2019.

“The goal that we put in place was $68 million," she said. "The host committee ended up raising 85 million. Things have gotten more expensive since the last convention took place in 2016, so more funds had to be raised to cover some of those increasing costs."

Williams-Smith said that the state provided $1 million for the RNC through Visit Milwaukee. The department is also working with other cities throughout Wisconsin.

“We are very much focused on using the entire state of Wisconsin. So we have hotels as far down as Kenosha, Lake Geneva, Madison. People are being bused in from all from all different cities throughout the state," Williams-Smith said.

​COPYRIGHT 2024 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.