— Tourism officials in the La Crosse region will use a “geo-tracking” application to analyze trends as they look to improve digital marketing and boost visitor spending.
Haleigh Doyle, director of media and marketing at Explore La Crosse, said the Zartico analytics tool is “a really cool asset” that will help guide digital marketing efforts and cross-promotion between event venues and other tourism destinations.
“When people come to the area, through their cell phone tracking, we can see where they go and spend most of their time, and therefore some of their dollars, when they come to the area,” she said. “We can track some of that, and really make sure that when we target certain areas of future travelers … we are hitting the right geographics.”
Doyle spoke yesterday during a webinar hosted by the La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau, which brands itself as Explore La Crosse. Executive Director A.J. Frels said he’s “extremely excited” about the possibilities presented by the platform.
“We can see what communities [visitors] are coming from — and more importantly for us, what communities people are not coming from, why we’re not reaching them, and how we can tap into that resource to get in front of those folks,” he said yesterday. “It’s a really neat tool.”
Doyle explained the platform identifies people who travel into the La Crosse region using cell phone location data and flags them as a potential visitor. It can then track where they went in the area, including stops at points of interest defined by the visitors bureau.
That helps officials identify where visitors are going after attending major events, as well as which businesses and natural landmarks are attracting the most attention. She said this information can also be shared with hotel and lodging groups, event organizers, venues and others to help with targeted messaging.
“We can start to see how people are interacting with our region when they come and identify different types of travelers,” she said. “It will really help us hone in on the data and analytics we have, and how to invest moving forward.”
Anyone who doesn’t want to be tracked and included in their analytics can simply turn off location tracking in their smartphone, she added.
— Also during yesterday’s Explore La Crosse webinar, Frels noted the county saw $262 million in tourism spending last year.
That’s well above the $197 million in spending from 2020, when tourism was stifled by the COVID-19 pandemic. But it remains below the total of $281 million from 2019, Frels noted.
“But if we reflect back on 2021, you’ll remember that for the first half of the year, tourism was basically nonexistent,” he said. “We were still in COVID, people were still not traveling and so forth. So to think that our tourism partners were able to accomplish this number — that $262 million — in basically half a year, is just tremendous.”
Data released earlier in the month by the state Department of Tourism show total related business sales for the county increased 23.5 percent between 2020 and 2021, rising from $350 million to $433 million. Of the 169,000 Wisconsin jobs supported by tourism, over 3,800 are located in La Crosse County, Frels said.
He also said convention-related sales this year are on track to exceed 2021 numbers. Last year, sales accounted for 46,709 rooms and about $40.5 million in estimated economic impact. So far this year, those numbers are 22,295 rooms and about $23 million in economic impact.
“We’re about halfway there already, and we’re well on our way … closing in on that $40 million, and we will exceed that, I have no doubt,” he said.
Frels and Doyle explained leisure travel has been coming back organically, so tourism officials are focusing their efforts on conventions and other business travel. The bureau updated its website during the pandemic slowdown, and is working with social media influencers to drum up interest for the area. It’s also running digital and print advertisements throughout the year to reach other potential visitors.
See a recent story on the statewide impact of tourism in 2021: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2022/tourism-impact-in-wisconsin-up-21-percent-in-2021-report-shows/
See more tourism figures from state officials: https://www.industry.travelwisconsin.com/research/economic-impact/
— The Department of Health Services is encouraging emergency medical service providers to apply for up to $12 million in new funding.
The agency yesterday announced it’s taking application requests for $12 million in EMS Flex Grant funding. According to a DHS release, the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The release shows funds will be available for “reasonable operating expenses.” Uses can include: medical and personal protective equipment and supplies; emergency operations such as certification training; response equipment and related training; emergency response vehicles; equipment for emergency medical devices, trauma stabilization and pediatric and neonatal transport; as well as staff recruitment and retention.
Applications for this funding are due July 11, with grant awards expected to be announced in August.
According to DHS, Wisconsin has 791 EMS services with over 16,000 licensed EMS providers operating in the state. The agency’s site shows these providers have been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic by greater demand for services, higher related costs and “limitations on public funding” for these services.
“For too long, local communities have been doing more with less, especially in our rural communities who’ve had to cut critical public safety services due to lack of resources,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. “These investments will help support EMS and health care access across our state by providing EMS providers the support they need to be there when folks need them.”
See the release: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/news/releases/061322.htm
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
Sign up here: http://forms.gle/o8FtqTLviGJPja8C9
— A representative for the American Society of Civil Engineers in Wisconsin is applauding the $149 million in state road funding announced by Gov. Tony Evers.
Ken Mika is ASCE Region 3 director and co-chair for the Wisconsin Section’s infrastructure advocacy committee. In a statement, he notes Wisconsin’s roads were rated D+ in the group’s 2020 Wisconsin Section Report Card due to aging infrastructure.
“While this funding is another great step forward to improving Wisconsin’s roads, a long-term funding solution must be found for Wisconsin’s aging infrastructure,” he said.
In a release earlier this month, Evers announced the funding for 342 road projects that will be completed over the next five years.
“Towns, villages, cities, and counties across Wisconsin worked closely with WisDOT to plan these projects, and we are confident they will make a real difference for Wisconsinites in communities across the state,” Evers said.
See the ASCE report card here: https://infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/wisconsin
See Mika’s statement: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2022/american-society-of-civil-engineers-wisconsin-civil-engineers-new-state-funding-a-good-step-toward-improving-wisconsins-roads/
See the Evers release: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/31a4ec3
— Benny, a Madison-based startup that aims to help consumers build wealth with their benefits, recently announced the close of a $1 million pre-seed funding round.
According to a release, the round was led by national venture capital firm Matchstick Ventures, and the funds will support Benny’s customer acquisition, product development and recruiting efforts.
“I believe there is a massive opportunity in the employee benefits space, specifically wealth-building benefits, like employee stock purchase plans,” CEO Andy Kalmon said in a statement. “I’m not just talking about education but actual financial products that are built for the people who are experiencing this pain. That’s what we’re building at Benny.”
Benny provides customers cash so that they can take advantage of their company’s employee stock purchase plans. The company’s customers include employees at Microsoft, Salesforce, Alaska Airlines and T-Mobile.
See more at Madison Startups: https://www.madisonstartups.com/benny-closes-1m-pre-seed-funding-round/
#TOP STORIES#
# Eau Claire City Council set to vote on $65M bottled water proposal
# Iron Horse Hotel files to reorganize finances under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its debts include a $2 million federal loan.
# Wisconsin Republicans allow PFAS standards to take effect
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Leder unseated from DFW board
– Walworth County to host 2023 Alice finals
# CONSTRUCTION
– Downtown Milwaukee firm that makes models of molecules expanding with NIH grant
– Dane County Jail project could land on a referendum
# ECONOMY
– Supply chain woes add to challenges as demand for new homes remains high in Madison area
# EDUCATION
– Wisconsin FFA to honor adult supporters at convention
# ENVIRONMENT
– EPA to give $60M to Wisconsin, 11 other states to help curb water pollution
– Volunteers learn to map Lake Eau Claire to investigate sedimentation
# FOXCONN REPORTS
– Foxconn critic files ethics complaint against Mount Pleasant village attorney who sued her
# HEALTH CARE
– Crisp family foundation donates $1 million towards new Mayo hospital
# MANUFACTURING
– Leinenkugel leaders share what it is like running a family business that’s no longer family-owned
# POLITICS
– Dane County executive cautions departments on 2023 budget expectations
# REAL ESTATE
– The luxury home market is dipping, report shows. Here’s how Milwaukee is faring.
– Supply chain woes add to challenges as demand for new homes remains high in Madison area
– Nebraska investor buys string of low-income Racine apartment buildings for $24.8 million
# REGULATION
– Republican lawmakers to let weakened PFAS regulations take effect
# SMALL BUSINESS
– Jump start: Collector’s card startup launched by Wisconsin legislator aims to remember, honor veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice
# SPORTS
– Valley Sports Academy opens $10 million facility in Lake Hallie
# TECHNOLOGY
– Marquette receives $1 million donation to create new advanced automation lab
# TRANSPORTATION
– Gas prices are at a record high. Should you try to find an electric vehicle to replace your gas-powered car?
# UTILITIES
– Energy grid operator alerts about possible summer blackouts
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
UW-River Falls: UW-River Falls to hold Juneteenth lunch and learn
Wisconsin DATCP: Spongy moth aerial treatments to resume in late June
