This year the Wyoming Office of Tourism expects to meet or exceed last summer’s record-setting visitation numbers.
Diane Shober, the state travel and tourism director, says her data comes from national park visitation numbers, and from how many people stop at welcome centers along the state's boundaries. She says the number of visitors to the new welcome center south of Cheyenne has been up 80 percent some weeks from last year. “I am really optimistic that we're going to have an equally good summer in 2013 as we did in 2012,” she says.
Shober attributes the increase in tourist traffic to strong marketing campaigns such as the “Roam Free” television ads that have been airing nationally for several months, which depict Wyoming as a place where you can still bring your family to experience wilderness and solitude.
Shober says the exact figures of this year's tourist season won't be officially calculated until the end of the year.