Summerfest kicked off its 50th year Wednesday in Milwaukee. More than 800,000 people attended the festival last year.
Kristin Settle, with Visit Milwaukee, said the city has hosted big events already this year but Summerfest’s impact will outweigh them.
“With Summerfest’s $200 million economic impact, it is definitely the largest event that we host each and every year in Milwaukee,” Settle said. “It is certainly the one, I would say, that brings in the most people from out of the area.”
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She said hosting the U.S. Open earlier in June and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in March are important events but they don’t have the same international draw. Those events brought in $130 million and $6 million, respectively.
Settle said hosting a wide range of events brings people to the city outside of the typical tourist season during the summer months.
“Milwaukee is a year-round tourism destination,” she said. “I know that living here we may think that’s odd because of our winters but the truth is, people visit Milwaukee year round for leisure travel, family vacations, and meetings and conventions.”
The Summerfest music festival run 11 days and takes place Wednesday, June 28 to Sunday, July 2 and Tuesday, July 4 to Sunday, July 9.
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