Building Tourism in
BROWN COUNTY M AY 2018
New ‘Front Door’ Coming to Brown County T
he Green Bay community has never had a visitor center. With over 5.7 million people visiting every year, the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau thought the time was right to engage in a $7 million capital campaign to build a place to welcome and inspire visitors. “Our vision is big picture,” says Brad Toll, president and CEO of the Bureau. “This is something our destination is missing. Our job is to engage visitors. The more they know about our attractions, restaurants and events, the more likely they are to stay longer. Tourism is an economic driver for our community, and a visitor center is needed to propel spending and make a greater impact on the community,” he added. The Greater Green Bay CVB plans to build a 14,000-square foot center that represents Greater Green Bay in a high-tech, progressive way, telling success stories of the community. It will have hands-on experiences for young visitors to explore. The CVB works with hospitality businesses like hotels, museums and breweries, but they also work with realtors, corporate human resource departments and the Greater Green Bay Chamber. Most wouldn’t guess that recruitment and relocation would even be on the radar of a tourism office. “While we won’t shift our focus from welcoming travelers to our front door, we’re a team player in workforce development efforts. We think a good first impression could lead to new residents,” says Toll. “We work very hard to attract visitors to our community, it only makes sense that we talk to them when they arrive.”
In the United States, 8 out of 10 tourism destinations have an “official” visitor information center. Regionally, visitor centers are operated in Door County, Appleton, Manitowoc, Algoma, Oshkosh, Marinette and Fond du Lac.
Donor opportunities for the project can be found at www. experiencegreenbaywi.org. Groundbreaking is expected in early Fall 2018. Regionally, visitor centers are operated in Door County, Appleton, Manitowoc, Algoma, Oshkosh and Marinette.
What is a Convention and Visitors Bureau? T
he Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the community’s destination marketing organization and is the local expert on all things tourism. A CVB exists to bring visitors – both leisure and business travelers – to Greater Green Bay. Visitors are great for the local economy because they bring money into our community by eating at our restaurants, shopping in our stores, staying in
our hotels and exploring local attractions. Without the dollars visitors bring to our community, each household would need to pay an additional $850 in taxes annually to maintain the same level of services provided by local government. The CVB is a sales and marketing organization who promotes Brown County businesses to travelers like
families, empty nesters, convention attendees and traveling youth sports teams. The sales team showcases meeting and convention space around Greater Green Bay to planners from across the country who will be hosting an event, conference or tradeshow. Sports facilities are a big draw to bring in athleticrelated visitors for tournaments and other sporting events. The marketing team reaches potential visitors through visitor guide mailings, promotional materials, social media and email marketing campaigns. Once the visitors arrive, we assist them while they are here to help find their way around the community and answer any questions they may have. A Mobile Visitor Center is stationed at large events around Brown County to be available to offer tourism help. Have you seen us at National Railroad Museum’s Day Out With Thomas, Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic or Green Bay Packers Training Camp? Behind the scenes, a CVB also lobbies legislators on behalf of tourism businesses. We share the importance of tourism with decision-makers to ensure a successful tourism industry. The Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau has been around since 1969 and is an internationally accredited destination marketing organization. We are made up of an award-winning staff and have been recognized for outstanding marketing efforts from the Wisconsin Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, the Greater Green Bay Chamber, the National Association of Sports Commissions and the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. The CVB is a not-for-profit organization largely funded by tax collected when a visitor stays in a hotel room.