MADISON, Wis. (August 12, 2022) – Travel Wisconsin announced it received a prestigious national award recognizing the excellence and creativity of its reinvented and reimagined annual travel guide. The Mercury Awards, presented by the U.S. Travel Association at the Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO), honor state and territory destination marketing and promotion.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the incredibly talented Travel Wisconsin team and our collaborative approach when putting together an award-winning travel guide that serves as an invaluable resource for travelers,” said Secretary-designee Anne Sayers. “The Mercury Award is a recognition of our fresh spin on the travel guide and everything that makes Wisconsin so wonderful to visit.”
Travel Wisconsin’s signature travel guide won the Mercury Award in the “Printed Collateral Materials” category. A panel of judges composed of marketing, design, advertising and tourism experts selected Travel Wisconsin’s guide over other finalists for the award. The award was presented Aug. 9 to Travel Wisconsin’s representatives at the ESTO conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Immersive and compelling, the 100-page travel guide contains recommendations for year-round entertainment to enjoy, awe-inspiring beaches to visit, out-of-the-ordinary accommodations to stay, heritage-filled sites to experience and much more. The guide also includes listings of must-see events, parks, museums, cultural centers and attractions from every corner of Wisconsin.
This annual publication focuses on reaching not only those already considering Wisconsin as a travel destination, but also emerging audiences by offering inspiring content and ideas for making shared moments of joy. The guide illustrates the state’s diversity of attractions and visitors, while the imagery, colors and copy were intentionally crafted to highlight Wisconsin’s welcoming and spirited reputation.
Travel Wisconsin began distributing 125,000 guides in April. Engagement data for April and May shows strong year-over-year increases in the number of users, pageviews and sessions on the digital version of the guide. To illustrate, pageviews between April 1 and May 22 were up 36.4% compared with the same period last year.
“We set out to create a distinctive resource for residents and visitors to return to for travel inspiration season after season,” Sayers said. “The 2022 travel guide was undoubtedly a tremendous success, and we are committed to building from this work and continuing to innovate.”
To order a physical copy of the signature travel guide, visit this link.
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About Travel Wisconsin
Travel Wisconsin is the official destination marketing organization for the State of Wisconsin operating under the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. We work to market the state as a premier travel destination while generating greater economic impact for Wisconsin through tourism. Learn more at TravelWisconsin.com.