RNC expected to bring $200 million economic boost to Milwaukee
More than 50,000 people are expected to descend on Milwaukee during this week's Republican National Convention, bringing an expected $200 million economic boost.
Hosting the Republican National Convention (RNC) is expected to pay off big for Milwaukee.
The visitor's bureau for the Wisconsin city says the convention is expected to bring an estimated $200 million economic boost to the area, based on studies of previous conventions in other cities, and the final figure for Milwaukee could be even higher given the high inflation the country has seen since 2020.
The RNC said ahead of the convention that upwards of 50,000 guests from across the country would flock to the gathering, including delegates, who officially nominated former President Trump as the GOP's 2024 nominee for president, with Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.
And it's not just Republican diehards who came for the event.
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Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith told FOX Business in an interview Wednesday that reporters are everywhere, spending money just like other visitors.
"I would say for every regular attendee wanting to go to the convention, there are two journalists, and I think that number has spiked after the events of Saturday," Williams-Smith said, referring to the assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend. She reiterated, "You can't go anywhere without running into someone with a press badge."
Protesters have also flocked to demonstrate outside the RNC, and some 4,000 law enforcement from around the country have poured into the city to assist with security – and all of them need to stay somewhere and eat and drink.
The Milwaukee tourism chief said the hotels and restaurants in the area are packed, and the uptick in business for the region began last week when the Republican National Committee held its summer meeting in the city.
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Many attendees stayed over the weekend and explored the city, and some plan on sticking around a few days after the convention wraps up. Others will leave Milwaukee but check out other parts of the state, like Lake Geneva or Madison.
Milwaukee is no stranger to big events, but the RNC is the largest convention it has ever held, and just the news that the brewing town would be handling the GOP's election-year get-together boosted its convention business.
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Williams-Smith said that from the time Milwaukee first announced in 2022 that it would be hosting the 2024 RNC, the city's event leads doubled over the next year. So far in 2024, leads are pacing 23% ahead of last year.