The annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh fly-in convention, one of Wisconsin’s crown jewels of tourism, has a $257 million total economic impact for the Fox Valley region each year, according to an independent study compiled by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
The total is based on EAA AirVenture 2024 totals, which included a record total attendance of 686,000. As the 72nd edition of the Experimental Aircraft Association gathering prepares to begin on July 21, the world’s largest fly-in convention is also an annual economic powerhouse for the region and for Wisconsin.
“The growth of AirVenture since our last economic impact study in 2017 made it essential that it reflect the current environment,” said, Jack J. Pelton, EAA’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. “It was very important to have an independent study that looked at the value of the event for our region, as those benefits ripple across nearly every local business sector during AirVenture week while the world literally comes to Oshkosh and Wisconsin.”
The UW Oshkosh study, using the same methodology as the 2017 study to ensure consistency, showed direct spending of $171 million in the five-county Fox Valley region (Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Outagamie, Calumet, and Brown), with an additional $86 million of “ripple effect” impact as that spending passed through the community. In addition, the study showed that $117 million of economic impact, including $95 million of direct spending, took place in the Oshkosh community alone. AirVenture also directly created 2,092 full- and part-time jobs in the region, with 815 of those in Oshkosh.
“While the initial numbers are very impressive as far as economic impact, given the growth of the event and inflation since 2017, digging below the surface provides further indication of the benefits of EAA AirVenture,” said Dr. David Fuller of the UW Oshkosh economics department, who compiled both the 2017 and 2024 studies. “The increased earnings and community value during AirVenture alone means an additional $328,000 in property tax revenue for the Oshkosh-area economy, which does not include EAA’s annual property tax payments. This also does not include local revenue from areas such as room taxes, sales taxes where applicable, and other sources.”
The benefit to the region and state is magnified as more than 70 percent of AirVenture’s visitors come from outside Wisconsin, bringing “new money” into the state and in some cases, into the U.S. overall as in 2024, visitors came from 94 countries. As in 2017, lodging and camping accounted for 35 percent of the average daily spending of $300 per day per visitor, as people stayed in hotels, campgrounds, college dormitories, and private housing. Food, entertainment, and clothing/retail are also major benefactors, along with unexpected areas such as event staffing, landscaping, and other associated industries.
“The success of EAA AirVenture helps promote our community in many ways, but most importantly in the visibility that occurs worldwide as fly-in visitors ‘Discover Oshkosh,’” said Amy Albright, executive director of the Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Furthermore, the revenue that funds our operations allows us to promote the community and all the other features and activities that make Oshkosh such a great place to live and visit.”
Although the independent study tracked only economic impact for the five-county Fox Valley region and the Oshkosh community itself, cities and counties throughout Wisconsin benefit from the event, as visitors arrive and stay in communities throughout the state.
“Wisconsin has seen many wonderful events in recent years that boost our state’s economy, from sporting events to political conventions, which are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities,” Pelton said. “EAA AirVenture is Wisconsin-born and raised and is welcoming the world to the state every year. The vast majority of the annual economic impact from AirVenture comes not on the event grounds itself, but in the businesses and communities within Oshkosh, the Fox Valley, and Wisconsin.”
