Door County Celebrates National Tourism Week Refocused On The Future
This special section is brought to you by:
By Jack Moneypenny, President/CEO, Destination Door County
As Door County’s destination marketing and management organization, our strategy is to sustainably manage visitor-related development, coordinated with resident interests, to preserve our region’s unique identity. We will bring stakeholders together and work collaboratively to transform the region’s set of attractions, activities, and services into a cohesive and compelling travel experience. As we expand on our mission, our filter tests include the following five imperatives: 1) Optimize economic impact through visitor expenditures; 2) Support and empower Door County’s tourism industry; 3) Strengthen destination image; 4) Enhance the visitor experience; 5) Provide sufficient returns given available resources. The imperatives remain, but the actions guiding Destination Door County reflect new awareness, priorities, concerns, and opportunities. At the core of our plan as we move forward is the reinforcement of Destination Door County’s strategic evolution as a destination management organization which also includes destination marketing.
This progression from only marketing to inclusive management reflects the maturity of Door County’s tourism industry and is possible because of our longstanding, resolute focus on responsive marketing, innovative sales, strategic partnerships and the robust development of new tourism products and experiences. Destination management activities inspire travel to and within a destination, improve the visitor experience and enhance and protect destination assets. It’s a virtuous cycle of sustainable economic impact. It’s with success that new and dynamic challenges arise, especially in a world where minute-to-minute changes shake up consumer trends, economies, and climates. At Destination Door County, we are also caught in this interplay of opposites. On one hand, we are confident in the power and effectiveness of Door County’s tourism. On the other hand, we know the industry needs more diverse and broader roots to ensure stability and resilience. We need to concentrate on developing and protecting the places that attract visitors while giving our partners the tools they need to inspire visitors to choose their community when visiting the county. We also recognize the
power of marketing to educate our visitors on ways to travel in a sustainable way. Our sustainability plan highlights our shared awareness of the industry as stewards of the communities, the arts and culture and environmental resources that make Door County special. It’s a call for innovation, inclusion and outreach to rural, secluded destinations and marginalized communities. It’s about supporting Door County’s tourism product and experiences and ensuring their resilience, enhancement, and preservation through sharing diverse stories of all Door County’s people and places. We bring our passion for bold longterm visions and solutions while remaining nimble and focused on the priorities called out in our sustainable plan. The plan embraces new and daring ways to empower Door County’s tourism industry and addresses the need for longer, developmental, adaptive approaches to optimize the tourism industry for countywide economic impact now, and a hundred years from now. And it all begins as we move forward, out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.
Annual Recognition of Tourism Shines Light on Industry Established in 1983 by President Reagan, National Travel and Tourism Week is the annual salute to travel in America. During the first week in May communities nationwide unite around a common theme to showcase travel’s contributions to the economy, jobs and how travel shapes the opportunities and experiences available to residents. In Door County, tourism has helped shape the lives of residents since the late 1800s. Door
County’s destination marketing and management organization, Destination Door County, was first established in 1884 as the Door County Businessmen’s Association, with the goal of working together to collectively promote the area. Among the eight names the organization has had since it began, the Door County Chamber of Commerce was the longest running (1924-2004) with the most recent name being the Door County Visitor Bureau (2006-2020). The current name of Destination
Door County has been in place since January 2020 and reflects the evolving nature of the tourism industry and the organization’s willingness to change with the times to best serve the county.
DoorCounty.com
Destination Door County’s Mission Statement To inspire travel that drives community enhancement. Through innovation and partnerships, we will share stories of Door County’s people and places, deliver world-class experiences, strengthen the industry, work to ensure all travelers feel welcome and preserve Door County’s way of life and its natural resources.
INSIDE: New Care for Door County Initiative Leave No Trace 7 Principles Resident/Visitor Survey Results Take The Door County Pledge Scholarship Winners Announced Community Corner Highlights CTA Employer of the Year Award
Please join Destination Door County and everyone in hospitality and tourism this week as we celebrate our industry and recognize the important role it plays in helping support a majority of the residents that call Door County home.
Door County Tourism Industry Shows Resilience Visitor Spending Topped $300 Million in 2020 In a year many will consider one of the most challenging ever for the travel industry, tourism spending in Door County remained steadfast, totaling $304.2 million last year, according to a new economic impact report from Tourism Economics, a global research firm. The tourism economic impact study, commissioned by Destination Door County as part of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s annual economic impact research project, showed that despite widespread statewide and national economic challenges due to the pandemic and associated limitations, Door County’s tourism offerings matched what visitors who did travel were looking for in 2020. And while totals were down compared to the record-breaking year of 2019, they reflect how vitally significant tourism is to the
area’s economy in supporting local businesses, jobs for residents and revenue to local governments. Direct visitor spending of $304.2 million in Door County last year supported a total of $397 million in total business sales when indirect and induced impacts are considered. Visitor activity also supported a total of 2,743 jobs, which earned local job holders $80.4 million in wages. Door County visitor spending, visitor supported jobs, and associated business sales generated $32.5 million in state and local government tax revenues last year as well. This represents a significant contribution to help fund local and state government programs and public infrastructure projects, while reducing the tax burden on county residents.
Among key tourism business categories, lodging represented the largest share of visitor spending in Door County last year at 44%. Food and beverage had a 22% share of visitor spending, retail had an 18.2% share, recreation/ entertainment was 10.2% and transportation was 5.7%. Tourism Economics officials said it was noteworthy that lodging performed as well as it did. As the largest category both by dollars and by share of the visitor dollar, lodging revenue helped mitigate overall spending losses in 2020. Door County was able to take advantage of changes in traveler behavior as a leisure and private home destination. This helped support the lower lodging decline, especially compared with urban
COUNTY TOURISM PROCLAMATION Destination Door County (DDC) would like to thank the Door County Board of Supervisors for passing proclamation number 2021-25 at their March 23, 2021 meeting, officially denoting May 2-8, 2021 as Travel & Tourism Week in Door County. DDC appreciates the county board recognizing the importance of tourism and the opportunity this special week provides for enhancing industry awareness with residents.
Continued on page 4
Helping Connect Employers and Workers Through Jobs Site For nearly 20 years one of the tools Destination Door County has made available to area businesses to help with job recruitment, as well as people looking for seasonal or year-round jobs in Door County, is JobsInDoorCounty.com. The site remains a top resource for both employers and job seekers alike in Door County. Last year the jobs site added 299 employers and 866 job seekers for a result of 587 jobs being posted and 59,000 jobs being searched. For employers listing openings
online can provide maximum exposure to qualified candidates from a variety of educational and experiential backgrounds and skill sets. This service is free of charge for any and all Door County businesses and job seekers.
utilized online banner ads as well as ads on both Facebook and Instagram, helped generate around 14,000 click throughs to the site and garnered over 1.6 million impressions with a message that said come and work in Door County this year.
This year, an employee recruitment campaign ran in four key markets in the Midwest and targeted seasonal workers, hospitality and outdoor industries, college students and recent graduates, and job seekers in general. The campaign, which
Destination Door County continues to identify ways to improve the job site experience from both the employer and job seeker perspective. The site is very active, and the domain organically appears at the top of most job searches for Door County.
2021 DESTINATION GUIDE NOW AVAILABLE The Official Door County Destination Guide can be found throughout the county at businesses and information centers and is a great tool for planning a day, or a week, in Door County. Pick up a copy today or view it online, on your phone, or on a tablet at DoorCounty.com.