A. J. Frels, Executive Director, Explore La Crosse
A. J. Frels, executive director of Explore La Crosse, says La Crosse County is a unique region. Destination Marketing organizations like Explore La Crosse exist to promote tourism and boost the economic growth for their regions. The organization is already showing real results. “We saw over $300 million in direct visitor spending last year, and $500 million – a half a billion dollars – in economic impact from tourism,” Frels told Invest:.
What were the main highlights or key milestones for Explore La Crosse in the last 12 months?
Along with our partners, Explore La Crosse supports tourism in this unique region, which means we support nearly 4,000 jobs in our county alone, and we generate over $35 million in state and local taxes. We saw over $300 million in direct visitor spending last year, and $500 million – a half a billion dollars – in economic impact from tourism for La Crosse County.
What are the main attractions and things to do in La Crosse in terms of attracting tourism?
As far as attractions go, one of the must-stops is Grandad Bluff. We are called the Driftless region because the glaciers never touched our area. It’s a special, unique area when it comes to our topography and what we have to offer compared to most of the Midwest. We have sandstone buttes and bluffs that rise up to 800 feet. It gives you an opportunity to get a beautiful view of the area.
Hiking, mountain biking and road cycling are popular activities for visitors and residents, and we also are a destination for those motorcycle riders who want to go along the Great River Road that winds through our area. The Great River Road was designated just a few years ago as an All-American Road, of which there are only 14 in the United States.
We offer natural beauty and vibrant, historic downtowns. La Crosse, especially, is a special town because of its access to the river. You can pull up with a boat, walk up into the downtown area, and enjoy a night out. Hotels are accessible there as well. Just across the Mississippi Rivers from La Crosse, Wisconsin is La Crescent, Minnesota, the apple capital of Minnesota. Be sure to experience the Apple Blossom Drive, where you can pull over to get a view of the Mississippi Valley.
What makes the region an ideal place to live or do business?
It goes back to natural beauty, and the plentiful ability to be active. You have easy access to trails, waterways, and incredible views. If you’re at the top of Grandad Bluff, you can see Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa from this vantage point.
A lot of people also love fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. The abundant waters we have are just incredible. I think many people don’t realize just how many waterways we have to offer. The Black River, the La Crosse River, and the Mississippi River all converge at the banks of downtown La Crosse’s Riverside Park. Fishing is a major activity in our area. Pools 7, 8 and 9 of the Mississippi offer 119 different species of fish, an angler’s paradise. It is a marvel to have such a rich ecosystem, both in terms of climate, topography and wildlife. If birding is someone’s fancy, La Crosse is a major migratory flyway.
How do you keep a consistent interest in the region and not depend so much on peak seasons?
It’s all about transitioning through the four seasons. Year round, visitors can enjoy our historic downtowns, art museums, history museums and shopping. Our strongest tourism season is April through October when visitors not only enjoy our natural beauty, but also our many festivals and concerts. In the winter months we offer activities like ice fishing, skiing, snowshoeing, skating and other winter activities. We promote our region through a multi-pronged approach. We have an online presence via our website and social media efforts which include managing five social media platforms as well as working with a variety of content creators. We have an e-newsletter, with a subscription base of nearly 50,000 people. We also believe that print is still important and produce a visitor’s guide, with 75,000 copies distributed in a variety of different ways, and also produce direct mail pieces. In addition to other promotions, we offer a digital map to help people plan their trip or find their way around when they are here.
How does Explore La Crosse work with the local hotel and lodging industry to promote interest in the region?
We maintain a strong relationship with our lodging properties and find that close communication is vital to our success. We hold regular, scheduled meetings with them and have several lodging properties on our board of directors. We also utilize a software program to enhance communication with the lodging properties regarding bookings and overall general information for conventions, meetings, events, or festivals.
With over 25 years of experience in my career, I can truly say that the lodging properties here are managed better than anywhere I’ve ever worked. It is their work that helps us to be successful.
How do you work with the city, county, and state officials to promote the region’s tourism and visitor interests?
Communication is key. With regards to city officials, we represent six municipalities each of which has at least one seat on our board, so they’re engaged in what’s happening at all times. I hold one-on-one quarterly meetings with each community leader of those six municipalities to keep them up to speed on what’s happening as well as providing quarterly reports. With regards to county and state officials, we stay in close contact and engage where applicable. I file a monthly update report with the county and attend advocacy day at the capital for both the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as statewide conventions for both states.
What are the primary challenges to attracting visitors to the region?
The main challenge is ensuring the overall funding for an organization like ours continues and grows. Without funding we cannot achieve the numbers mentioned in the opening paragraph. Tourism has an enormous impact on just about any community and is one of the quickest ways to inject money into the local economy supporting jobs, enhancing quality of life for residents, and increasing state and local taxes. To put this in perspective, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism reports that each household in the state would need to pay an additional $660.00 in taxes yearly to maintain the same level of government we have if it was not for tourism revenue. Obviously, funding for destination marketing organizations is vital and impacts us all.
