Governor Walker Discusses Wisconsin Tourism Growth During Conference

Hotel and restaurant owners are at the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino this week for the 30th annual Wisconsin Governor's Conference on Tourism.

Governor Scott Walker kicked off the event this morning. CBS 58's Julie Parise joins us live with more.

Today, the governor said over the last few years Wisconsin has seen a 30% growth in tourism -- and they are expecting to see even bigger numbers this year.

About 900 people showed up at today's event. Tourism secretary Stephanie Klett gave the opening remarks. Then, Governor Scott Walker spoke for about 20 minutes. He was wearing a Bucks jersey to emphasize the importance of local sports teams to bring people to Milwaukee and show them the "cool" parts of the city.

He also talked about the importance of the NCAA games the city is hosting this week.

"It's huge - it's one of the, it's a twofer. We get People to come in and they spend money here and they do things. But every time someone comes to the city and comes to the state, they get to see how amazing it is."

The Department of Tourism is also launching a new series of campaign ads to highlight Midwestern hospitality and fun as a draw for people to visit Wisconsin.