Most of the state will get a taste of winter over the next few days from colder, windier conditions to some snow fall in the north. That has the state tourism folks gearing up for the winter season.
They would love nothing more than to have it snow early and often. The Department of Tourism's Jerry Huffman says a great deal of what the state counts on during the winter happens outdoors.
But he says if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, Wisconsin has a lot of great indoor winter activities to keep tourists busy. Water Parks, restaurants, museums and the like.
Huffman's not too worried about those gas prices creeping up either. He says even in those high priced periods tourist spending kept going up because most tourists come from inside the state or close by in Chicago or Minnesota.
Winter tourists spent two-point two billion dollars last year even though that's only twenty percent of total tourist spending in a year Huffman it's still something that has to be considered in the final equation.