After 18 months of extensive reorganization, Real Racine, the County’s Convention and Visitor Bureau, is happy to announce their new name, branding and strategic plan.
Effective immediately, Real Racine will become Visit Racine County.
The new name is much more reflective of the purpose of a county-wide tourism bureau- to attract visitors and encourage them to experience tourism in all its forms in the entire County. The announcement comes just after the completion of National Travel and Tourism Week, the annual time period when tourism organizations share the power of travel and showcase the positive impacts, both economic and quality of life, that tourism brings to local communities.
This new name comes with a new logo, marketing efforts and a three-year Strategic Plan that is wholly unlike anything Real Racine has created previously. These changes were led by two respected consulting firms- Development Counsellors International (DCI), who focused on the rebranding portion, and Destination Consultancy Group (DCG) who managed the Strategic Plan. Both of these organizations were integral in collecting data, leading local focus groups, and gathering the necessary feedback to create the Visit Racine County brand.
"It is wild how invigorating a fresh start can be! While Real Racine served a purpose over the past years, it was very obvious that our municipalities and hospitality partners wanted a big change," says Cari Greving, Interim CEO of Real Racine and Tourism Director for Enjoy Mount Pleasant. "We knew that tourism needed to be a collaborative effort that made all of our communities feel special. We needed transparency in our organization. We needed to ask the right questions to all our stakeholders and create a tourism organization that is authentic. Bottom line, Real Racine hadn’t been listening very well, and now, we are. The future of tourism in Racine County has never been so bright."
Speaking of that collaboration, the Mount Pleasant Tourism Commission played a highly important part in these changes for Real Racine. They approved funding as a partner in the Strategic Plan at the end of 2022 and have been supportive in all efforts to increase tourism for Racine County. The Tourism Commission has been partnering with Real Racine on many projects, including the 2023 Activities Guide, a Live Music Stage sponsorship at the Franksville Craft Beer Garden, and numerous advertising campaigns in both print and digitally.
Tourism leaders here will continue to focus on making Racine County a true destination for vacationers, business travelers, sports groups, and special event attendees- just with a new name.
"Just like we needed to simplify our purpose, we needed a clear name that expressed our mission. Racine County tourism is wholly dependent upon the strength of each community working together for the common tourism goal," says Greving. "We have so much to showcase here. Every attraction, every restaurant, every business, every hotel property in EVERY SINGLE COMMUNITY is meaningful. The economic impact of tourism in Racine County in 2021 was $427 million dollars! We can grow that. We can create tourism we never imagined before."
This is just the first tourism announcement regarding Visit Racine County. More information and directives will be released weekly.
