evidence: MADISON—Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary-designee Anne Sayers celebrated news in Wisconsin's tourism industry as national travel spending data for September reveals Wisconsin's first growth in monthly year-over-year tourism spending compared to 2019, while the national average continues to lag at a 9 percent drop. The growth signals a strong economic rebound for the industry as overtaking tourism spending in Wisconsin’s record-setting 2019 has long been the Department of Tourism’s goal for the industry’s recovery, which was one of the industries hit first and hardest by the pandemic. Wisconsin was one of only 13 states to post positive growth over 2019, according to the United States Travel Association’s monthly tourism spending data. [...] According to the report, both Illinois and Minnesota lagged the national average at 21 percent and 20 percent spending declines while Iowa and Michigan exceeded the national average, losing five percent and three percent traveler spending compared to 2019. Wisconsin at one percent growth was the only state in our Midwest competitive set to exceed spending for any month compared to 2019 since the beginning of the pandemic. [...] In 2020, Wisconsin tourism’s $17.3 billion industry saw a 22 percent decline compared to 2019, the state's best year on record. While September is just a snapshot of one month and the Department of Tourism anticipates 2021 to still be down compared to 2019, the shift to increased spending is another indicator of Wisconsin tourism’s strong recovery.