Kevin Hardman, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation was kind enough to share the following information with us today:

“A report released today by the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that bicycling tourism combined with Wisconsin’s world-class bicycle industry contributes $1.5 billion to our state’s economy every year! To put this in perspective, the report compares bicycling to deer hunting which contributes $926 million and snowmobiling which contributes $250 million.

The report also states:

• Bicycling creates 13,000 Wisconsin jobs
• Non-residents spend $535 million on bike-related events, food, and lodging
• 49% of Wisconsinites participate in recreational biking
• A 20% increase in biking could increase economic activity by $107 million and create 1500 more jobs”