Governor Walker Re-Opens Beloit Travel Wisconsin Welcome Center
Announces plan to keep welcome center open and staffed

MADISON, Wis. (July 18, 2011) – Governor Scott Walker, Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Mark Gottlieb and Visit Beloit Executive Director Deb Frederiksen today officially re-opened the welcome center located at the Beloit Rest Area. A plan was announced that keeps the travel information center open and staffed at the rest area located on northbound I-39/90 at the Illinois border. The location was the state's busiest welcome center serving over 270,000 people annually.

"The Beloit Welcome Center is a gateway for hundreds of thousands of motorists coming into the state from Illinois," said Governor Walker. "The public-private partnership established between Visit Beloit, and the Departments of Tourism and Transportation is a best practice model that provides friendly and knowledgeable front-line customer service and again shows why 'Wisconsin is open for business.'"

The new arrangement is the result of a public-private partnership between Tourism, DOT and Visit Beloit. The agreement creates a branded presence for TravelWisconsin.com in three key visitor information centers -- La Crosse, Kenosha and Beloit, which are operated and staffed by the local Convention and Visitors Bureau. In addition, the three co-branded centers will distribute travel brochures at no charge to the state's travel and hospitality industry. This represents a change to previous operations and makes it easier for the tourism industry– mostly small businesses – to have a no-cost presence at the highest traffic rest areas, which together serve over 500,000 travelers per year.

"A Welcome Center should be more than a rack with literature," said Secretary Klett. "By working with our tourism and state agency partners we've reopened Beloit in time for the busy summer tourist season. We continue to work with our tourism partners throughout the state to see how we can assist the welcome centers by providing the resources needed to better serve the customer through personalized service."

According to the U.S. Travel Association's 2009 annual Survey of State Tourism Office Budgets, 31 states cut funding for tourism advertising and marketing by 13 percent, or $52.7 million, between 2008 and 2009. Governor Walker's new budget signed into law on June 26, recognizes the power of tourism to grow jobs and improve the image of the state, increases the Department of Tourism's marketing budget by $2.54 million per year, or nearly 20 percent.

Visit Beloit staff and volunteers began providing travel information over the July 4th weekend, serving 4,000 customers and handing out 800 Wisconsin Dells travel guides over the three-day weekend.

The Beloit Travel Wisconsin Welcome Center hours of operation are Monday-Thursday 9-5 Friday 9-6 p.m., Saturday 9-5 p.m. and Sunday 10-3 p.m. Regional travel information will continue to be available at Cornellier's Superstore located off I-39/90 at 2970 Milwaukee Road.

The mission of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism is to market the state as the Midwest's premier travel destination by executing industry-leading marketing programs and establishing strategic partnerships. The Department plays a significant role in generating greater economic impact and jobs for Wisconsin. For more Wisconsin travel information, visit www.travelwisconsin.com.