Wisconsin Department of Tourism Research Report

In 2010, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism embarked on an ongoing study to track traveler perceptions and behaviors over time. Qualitative research was conducted during January in Chicago and Minneapolis. During the month of May, travelers who live in Chicago, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities and Iowa then took an online survey. Only those respondents who had spent one overnight involving vacation travel in the past year and – at a minimum – shared in the responsibility for making travel or vacation plans for their household were included. More than 1,600 travelers’ responses were included in this research.

The research report is prefaced as being a beginning, and additional data will be shared as it becomes available. The report highlights travel habits, planning tools and motivators for leisure travel. A few interesting statistics from the report include:

- “Having Fun” is the number one motivator for embarking on leisure travel in Wisconsin.

- 73% of respondents selected a hotel or place to stay online, compared with 45% of respondents in a national sample reported in a similar study called “The State of the American Traveler” in January 2010.

- 69% of respondents reported booking a hotel or other lodging online, compared to 43% of respondents in the “American Traveler” poll.

The full two-page report, complete with handy charts and graphs, can be downloaded here.