MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin Department of Tourism says leisure travelers spent slightly less in the state last year while there was a slight gain in business travel and a larger increase in convention spending.

The study conducted for the agency by Davidson-Peterson Associates, a marketing research firm based in Kennebunk, Maine, says travelers spent an estimated $12.78 billion statewide in 2007, down from $12.83 billion in 2006.
Business travel spending totaled $2.43 billion, up 0.4 percent from $2.42 billion. Travel expenses related to meetings and conventions totaled $1.36 billion, up 6.3 percent from $1.28 billion.

But the report says spending by vacationers, which accounts for 70 percent of Wisconsin travel expenditures, declined 1.4 percent from $9.12 billion to $8.99 billion.

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