Visit Eau Claire, UWEC Join Forces to Boost Tourism

Tom Giffey |

UW-Eau Claire and Visit Eau Claire have built a partnership, a bridgge, if you will ...
UW-Eau Claire and Visit Eau Claire have built a partnership, a bridge, if you will ...

UW-Eau Claire and Visit Eau Claire, the local tourism promotion agency, inked a deal May 17 they say could bring millions of new visitor dollars to the region. The agreement gives Visit Eau Claire “preferred scheduling” for use of UWEC facilities during off-peak times – such as during the summer and semester breaks – allowing Visit Eau Claire to market the venues to groups that need space for conventions, sports tournaments, and other events. Under the agreement, Visit Eau Claire will have access to as many as 30 dates annually and as far as 36 months in advance. Linda John, executive director of Visit Eau Claire, says the region misses out on millions of dollars in spending annually because outside event organizers can’t find the facilities they need in the Chippewa Valley. The partnership could bring as much as $5 million in additional visitor spending here annually, John said. Gilles Bousquet, UWEC’s interim chancellor, said the agreement could help the university step into the field of international educational tourism – i.e., welcoming the families of international students who want to check out the college and community. A day before the UWEC announcement, the region received other positive tourism news: Two local groups received state Department of Tourism marketing grants. Visit Eau Claire got $20,000 to continue its mobile marketing campaign, the Fun Patrol – which pops up at events in a 100-mile radius of Eau Claire and also includes social media and Web marketing – while the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp Museum got an $18,000 grant to market the U.S. Open Chainsaw Sculpture Championship, which will be at the museum Aug. 8-11.