Manitowoc and Two Rivers tourism leaders preview summer of sand-sculpting, Snowfest and more: Q&A
MANITOWOC - While many of us are just now dusting off our bikes and kayaks, the tourism departments for the cities of Manitowoc and Two Rivers have been working hard to prepare for the upcoming summer tourism season.
Courtney Hansen, director for Visit Manitowoc, and Brian Dean, director for Explore Two Rivers, took some time out of their busy days to tell the Herald Times Reporter what they are looking forward to this summer. Here's what they had to say.
Q: The cities' tourism departments are in their second year now. What are some of the things you have accomplished so far?
HANSEN: This past year has been full of milestone projects, and I couldn’t be more proud of my team for their hard work.
In October, we launched the beautiful, research-driven visual identity and logo for Visit Manitowoc.
In November, we opened our visitor center and office in the heart of downtown at 824 S. Eighth St. We now operate this visitor center year-round in addition to operating our visitor center at the SS Badger Lake Michigan Car Ferry Ticket Office during the sailing season. Both are the perfect location to meet Badger passengers, special event attendees and visitors where they’re at.
We partnered with Explore Two Rivers on a joint visitor guide that highlights both of our sister communities. This piece launched both in print and digitally in mid-January, and we’re already hard at work on 2024’s.
In March, we launched visitmanitowoc.com. With a mobile-first design and research-driven sitemap, this new visual website is Visit Manitowoc’s largest marketing tool that elevates the level with which we can promote the city of Manitowoc. The website is full of new original content and beautiful photography to inspire and aid potential visitors in planning a trip to or navigating Manitowoc. From upcoming events to blog posts to detailed business listings, there is new content and information added daily.
In April, business owners gained access to the website’s “extranet” to update their listings, submit upcoming events and, soon, will be able to view a series of reports and data.
In addition to these major projects, this past year we grew our social media audience by 550% to more than 12,300 followers, launched print and digital advertisements in statewide and regional guides as well as national publications, and staged professional photo shoots in each season to grow our photography database for marketing and advertising efforts.
We continued to grow our partnership with Travel Wisconsin and other local, statewide and national organizations, participate in countless media interviews, attend both leisure and group sales conferences and trade shows to sell our city, and produce successful special events, including the Lakeshore Holiday Parade.
DEAN: Explore Two Rivers was conceived as an organization in 2022 and formally launched on May 11.
Two Rivers demonstrated its enthusiasm for its new tourism promotion organization through a standing-room-only crowd at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum.
As director of the entity since March 20, I have worked closely with the local stakeholders in the tourism and visitor-oriented business community and learned many of their aspirations for the growth and sustainability of the industry.
Q: What are your goals for this year?
HANSEN: We’re committed to continuing to promote the city of Manitowoc statewide, nationally and beyond to attract more leisure visitors and groups to our beautiful lakeshore community than ever before.
Our tourism product is better than it’s ever been; we’ll continue to use data and strategy to guide our marketing and advertising decisions to tell Manitowoc’s story far and wide.
We’ll also continue to put a focus on meeting potential visitors and visitors here in our community where they’re at.
We’re able to do a large piece of this by continuing to grow our website, and feed our website into new technologies, like 24/7 kiosks, that we can place in prime locations across the city.
DEAN: Our goals for 2023 and beyond include the development and promotion of tourist itineraries that enable prospective visitors to “bundle” an array of diverse activities into a short or extended stay.
By coalescing our hospitality establishments, natural attractions, businesses, cultural and historical assets into an easily manageable format, electronic or otherwise, we can build tourism’s value to Two Rivers and showcase the extent of our offerings.
Explore Two Rivers is working to expand our presence in the markets that attract visitors. We are developing strategies to introduce investors to opportunities in Two Rivers to continue the development of our tourism infrastructure.
Outreach to tour groups is also a key aspect of the mission and one where we will collaborate with our neighbors in to add value to the visitor experience.
Q: What local events are you most excited about this year, and why?
HANSEN: We are especially excited about the inaugural Wisconsin Sand Sculpting Festival that Visit Manitowoc is partnering on with the Manitowoc Sunrise Rotary. Taking place July 14-16 at Red Arrow Park & Beach, this three-day festival will feature 10 competitive sand sculptors from across the country in addition to live music and entertainment, food trucks, cold drinks and more. Attendees can watch and chat with the competing sand sculptors in action, participate in hands-on amateur competitions, and watch sand sculpting demonstrations and speed sculpting shows, too! We’re excited to highlight Manitowoc’s beautiful beachfront as thousands of visitors and residents attend this brand-new event — the only one of its kind in the entire state.
Our office works directly with all of the city’s special event organizers, and I’m so excited to say, this is going to be the biggest and best summer of events yet. Events like Lakeshore Balloon Glow, Malt City Brewfest and the Maritime Bay Bike Classic continue to grow and expand. There are going to be so many can’t-miss weekends along the lakeshore this summer.
DEAN: Of course, a key component of (our mission) is to promote our many events — from Snowfest, Ethnic Fest, to the Bands on the Beach or the concerts in our beautiful Central Park.
The city has invested to upgrade and renew the west side of Central Park with a new bandshell, pavilion and other facilities that will engage visitors and locals alike.
This summer, visitors will see plenty of sandy beach at Neshotah Park. The “Best Beach in Wisconsin” will host live concerts, sports events and all the amenities for a perfect family experience.
Explore Two Rivers is working with local businesses to improve the connectivity between our merchants and the beach community. A major emphasis of our work is the promotion of outdoor activities. Two Rivers sits astride a network of trails with dramatic landscapes and lake views. From Mariners Trail to Rawley’s Point and Point Beach, visitors can enjoy various ecological zones while riding a bike or hiking.
Trail and nature lovers need to witness the Woodland Dunes as an essential part of the local ecological experience. It has become easy to rent a canoe or a kayak to paddle our rivers or waterfront — activities we will work to see expand.
Indeed, a local entrepreneur is preparing to rent stationary houseboats for activities and fun on the rivers and pontoon boats to cruise or relax.
Q: How much did the city make in room taxes from 2022? How much was allotted to your department, and what is it being used for?
HANSEN: The city collected $736,816 in 2022 and 30% is allotted to fund the city’s Tourism Department.
DEAN: The total room tax receipts in 2022 were $291,713.71. From that, $218,015.78 was transferred to Fund 258 (your Tourism Fund). Also, $13,761.34 went to the Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau because it was collections of room taxes for a period still covered under the contract. Also, $22,204.70 was transferred to the General Fund for administrative expenses. Finally, $36,316.17 was transferred to the General Fund to aid in bike trail maintenance.
Q: What can people expect to see locally this summer for tourism?
HANSEN: It’s going to be another big summer for tourism across the Manitowoc area. Annual events continue to return and grow, brand-new ones are launching, more live music can be heard across the city and amenities are being added to enjoy outdoor recreation.
In recent months, and even weeks, we’ve welcomed new businesses to the city, many of which are downtown in close proximity to the Badger.
This is the 70th anniversary sailing season of the Badger, so we’ll be celebrating her all summer long.
This is also the first summer two pedal pubs are operating in downtown; you can catch a ride aboard either Manitour Pedalers or Manitowoc Tavern on Wheels, rain or shine.
DEAN: We will draw out our fascinating history by promoting our maritime heritage through Rogers Street and direct travelers to Washington House, where they can enjoy the original ice cream sundae while learning about the city’s heritage.
The future holds exciting prospects of building on Two Rivers as the centerpiece of the “Shipwreck Coast,” drawing visitors and researchers interested in witnessing these sunken artifacts and the stories they tell.
Every day, we encounter individuals who happened upon Two Rivers by chance, fell in love with our city, and decided to make it their vacation or permanent home, place of business, or a destination to frequent for recreation and leisure.
By capitalizing on our natural and man-made endowments, we can build a tourism industry that helps to grow and sustain our community, while protecting its unique natural and cultural blessings.
Q: What are the plans for your department moving forward past 2023, particularly in light of the Circuit Court ruling that the City of Manitowoc is obligated to contract with the Manitowoc Area Visitor and Convention Bureau?
HANSEN: Our department will continue to serve as the destination marketing organization for the City of Manitowoc, promoting the Manitowoc area as a premier tourist destination statewide, nationally and beyond.
DEAN: With respect to the circumstances surrounding the City of Manitowoc and the ongoing litigation, Two Rivers is not a party to those proceedings. We will continue to work with our friends and counterparts throughout the county and state. Cooperation and collaboration add value, and when we work together, we optimize the benefits of our mutual tourist industries.
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Contact reporter Alisa Schafer at aschafer@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc, Two Rivers summer tourism brings sand sculpting, Snowfest
