What Explore La Crosse does

Explore La Crosse is the official La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau, a non-profit destination marketing organization (DMO) headquartered at 123 7th Street S., La Crosse, Wisconsin. It operates as the statutory tourism promotion entity for the La Crosse region, serving individual tourists, families, meeting planners, outdoor recreation enthusiasts, and food and beverage travelers seeking information on attractions, events, dining, and lodging across the tri-state area spanning Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Driftless Region.

The organization's core product is a multi-section digital tourism portal at explorelacrosse.com, built on a standard web CMS. Key platform components include an Events Calendar featuring 298+ events, a Places to Stay directory (50+ lodging options), a Food & Drink directory (128+ restaurants, wineries, breweries), a Things to Do directory (62 attractions), a Member Business Directory, a Live Rivercam streaming feed, blog content, and trip planning tools. Supporting assets include four YouTube video series, active Facebook/Instagram/X social channels, an email newsletter, and a complimentary Visitor's Guide. The organization integrates third-party hotel booking via PlayEasy and maintains cross-promotional partnerships with Explore Minnesota and the Between the Bluffs festival brand. Leadership comprises President Daniel Wick, Vice President Valerie Erickson, and Executive Director A.J. Frels.

Revenue is derived from La Crosse County tourism taxes and membership fees from local businesses listed in the member directory; all consumer-facing resources are provided free of charge. The organization has 1-10 employees, no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, and no parent company. It operates as a publicly-funded entity under county governance rather than a privately-held commercial business.

Name

Explore La Crosse

Legal name

La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Website

https://explorelacrosse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Explore La Crosse is the official La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau, a non-profit destination marketing organization promoting tourism across the Wisconsin-Minnesota-Driftless Region via a digital portal aggregating 298+ events, 128+ dining options, 62 attractions, and 50+ lodging partners for visitors and meeting planners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) / Convention and Visitors Bureau

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neighborhood & Local Life Tours (Communities & Hidden Gems) (THAJAAAJ), Recreation & Activity Services (Hiking, Boating, Climbing, Fishing—Guided/Authorized) (THAAAGAF)

Keywords

• Destination marketing organization
• Convention visitors bureau
• Tourism promotion services
• Visitor information portal
• Travel planning resources

Headquarters

HQ city

La Crosse

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tourism Marketing Services: Funded through La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau, supported by local tourism taxes and membership fees from local businesses in the member directory.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Explore La Crosse operates as the official La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau, providing a comprehensive digital destination marketing platform for the tri-state La Crosse Region (Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Driftless Region). The organization promotes tourism through an extensive website featuring an Events Calendar with 298+ listings, a Things to Do directory with 62 attractions, a Food & Drink directory with 128+ dining options, and a Places to Stay directory with 50+ lodging options. It also distributes free Visitor's Guides, runs content marketing via blog and video series, and supports a member business directory of local tourism partners.

Product overview

Explore La Crosse is the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for the La Crosse Region, operating a comprehensive tourism marketing platform. The core offering is a multi-section website featuring: the main Explore La Crosse portal with trip planning resources and the Live Rivercam; a Places to Stay directory for lodging; a Food & Drink directory for dining; an Events Calendar with 298 listings; a Things to Do directory covering 62 attractions; and a Member Business Directory. Supporting content includes digital Visitor's Guides, blog articles on local experiences, and the Win A Trip sweepstakes program. The platform serves as the primary digital presence for tourism promotion in the tri-state La Crosse region encompassing Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Driftless Area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Explore La Crosse Website

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 130,000 annual visitors to featured Rotary Holiday Lights event
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Explore MinnesotacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCross-promotional partnership with Explore Minnesota for tri-state regional tourism marketing, acknowledging shared Mississippi River corridor attractions and coordinated visitor experiences across state lines.
• Between the BluffscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Between the Bluffs beverages and bites festival brand, a signature culinary event promoting local food and beverage vendors in the La Crosse region.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit Milwaukee: Official Wisconsin DMO operating as a convention and visitors bureau with a content-driven website, event calendar, member directory, and trip-planning resources — directly comparable structure and GTM to Explore La Crosse at a larger city scale.
• Explore Minnesota: Minnesota's official tourism office and an existing cross-promotional partner of Explore La Crosse; runs an event calendar, lodging directory, and content marketing program along the Mississippi River corridor with directly comparable product surface area.
• Destination Madison: Convention and visitors bureau serving Wisconsin's capital region with an event calendar, lodging directory, and content-led destination marketing — a close mid-sized Wisconsin CVB peer to Explore La Crosse.
• Visit Quad Cities: Regional DMO covering the bi-state Quad Cities area along the Mississippi River, with shared tri-state Mississippi River corridor identity, event-driven GTM, and comparable member directory / content marketing approach.
• Visit Duluth: Minnesota-based tourism bureau promoting an outdoor, lake-and-river destination with similar content marketing, lodging directory, and event calendar structure to Explore La Crosse.
• Travel Dubuque: Driftless Region-adjacent CVB in Iowa with similar river/bluff geography, content-led destination marketing, and member-based lodging and dining directories — a close geographic and structural peer.

Broad incumbents

• Travel Wisconsin: Statewide DMO overseeing Wisconsin tourism marketing; same CVB-style operating model but broader geography, larger content budget, and statewide event/attraction curation that overlaps Explore La Crosse's La Crosse County listings.
• Brand USA: National destination marketing organization for the United States; operates at a vastly larger scale but shares the DMO mission, content-led inspiration strategy, and partner/membership model that defines Explore La Crosse's operating approach.
• Tripadvisor: Global OTA and travel content platform that aggregates attractions, dining, lodging, and events — competes for the same visitor planning attention as Explore La Crosse's directory but at much greater scale and with transactional booking capability.

Regional players

• La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce: Local chamber organization for the La Crosse area operating a member directory and business-promotion platform that overlaps with Explore La Crosse's member directory and event promotion in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/explorelacrosse
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqRXfQnkacfxN9TboeUW7Iw
• Facebookfacebook.com/explorelacrosse
• Instagraminstagram.com/explorelacrosse

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Explore La Crosse