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DNC Host City Suffers Economic Loss as Convention Turns Virtual

Kane Farabaugh

   MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - Instead of welcoming guests on one of her tour
   buses or taking convention delegates on food experiences throughout the
   city, Theresa Nemetz is frantically shifting between an outdoor table
   and a line of moving cars, boxes in her hand and a mask over her face.

   This isn't a normal workday, or for that matter, a normal work year.
   For the first time, U.S. political parties are holding their
   presidential nominating conventions remotely, canceling the multi-day
   extravaganzas'¯that'¯in past election cycles'¯have boosted the
   economies of host cities like Milwaukee. The Wisconsin city was set to
   host the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

   What was supposed to be a "phenomenal year" for her company, Milwaukee
   Food and City Tours, has turned into a complete transformation of her
   business model. "2020 was the year of Milwaukee," she said. "We were
   excited for really the best financial year that we were ever going to
   have."

   Nemetz was hoping the tens of thousands of visitors expected to flock
   to the city during the weeklong Democratic National Convention would
   boost her bottom line.

   "We immediately put 60 or 70 different public tours on the calendar
   alone, and we knew we would have requests for private tours and bus
   rentals."

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