>> FROM THE WISCONSIN DELLS, WE
% HEAD UP NORTH, WHERE TOURISM
% MEANS FISHING, BOATING AND CABIN
% SEASON.
% ALONG WITH THOSE TOURISM DOLLARS
% ALSO COMES AN INCREASED RISK FOR
% A COVID-19 OUTBREAK IN AN AREA
% LARGELY SPARED SO FAR.
% IN THE NORTHWOODS, MEDICAL
% FACILITIES ARE NOT AS
% WELL-EQUIPPED TO HANDLE THE
% SURGE WHILE ALSO DEALING WITH
% THE NEEDS OF ITS ELDERLY
% POPULATION.
% WITH THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND IN
% THE REAR VIEW MIRROR, WHAT WAS
% LEARNED MOVING FORWARD?
% KRYSTAL WESTFAHL IS THE DIRECTOR
% OF THE MINOCQUA CHAMBER OF
% COMMERCE.
% >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
% >> SO WHAT WAS MEMORIAL WEEKEND
% LIKE?
% WAS IT BUSY?
% >> SURPRISINGLY, YES.
% WE ACTUALLY WERE A LITTLE TAKEN
% ABACK BY HOW BUSY IT ACTUALLY
% WAS.
% WE KNEW THAT FOLKS WERE LOOKING
% TO COME HERE EARLY ON WHEN THE
% "SAFER AT HOME" ORDERS WERE PUT
% IN PLACE FROM ILLINOIS AND
% WISCONSIN.
% WE HAD SEEN A RUSH OF FOLKS
% COMING UP, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE
% SECOND HOME OWNERS.
% WE WERE NOT TRACKING LEISURE
% TRAVEL QUITE AS CLOSELY.
% WE KNEW WE WERE HAVING SECOND
% HOME OWNERS COMING UP.
% RESORTS, THEY WERE STILL GOING
% STRONG.
% THEY COULD SOCIALLY DISTANCE.
% BUT LEISURE TRAVEL ACTUALLY
% SPIKED.
% AND WE HAD ON AVERAGE PRETTY
% CLOSE TO A NORMAL MEMORIAL DAY
% WEEKEND UP HERE.
% >> WOW.
% THAT IS AMAZING TO HEAR.
% WHAT STEPS ARE BUSINESS DOING TO
% STAY SAFE FOR EMPLOYEES AND
% CUSTOMERS AS WELL?
% >> WELL, WE CERTAINLY HAVE A
% MIXED BAG UP HERE.
% WITH THE SUPREME COURT RULING
% COMING SO CLOSE TO MEMORIAL DAY
% WEEKEND, SOME OF OUR BUSINESSES
% WERE COMPLETELY UNPREPARED FOR
% OPENING AS THEY NEEDED TO BE.
% PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
% FOR THEMSELVES, EMPLOYEES,
% VISITORS WERE A SCARCITY WITHIN
% OUR SMALL BUSINESSES.
% YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING TWO OR
% THREE EMPLOYEES PER RETAIL SHOP,
% YOU KNOW, AND SMALL, TIGHT
% QUARTERS.
% THESE ARE OLD BUSINESSES THAT
% HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG
% TIME, OLD BUILDING STRUCTURES.
% SO SOCIAL DISTANCING WAS
% SOMETHING THAT WE WERE ALL
% WORKING THROUGH KIND OF ON THE
% FLY.
% I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT
% WAS SPLIT ALMOST BY THIRDS WITH
% PEOPLE THAT WERE NOT OPENING
% BECAUSE THEY JUST WEREN'T READY.
% THOSE THAT WERE GOING TO BE
% OPEN, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY
% HAD ALREADY SORT OF BEEN
% PREPARING FOR THIS.
% AND THEN, THIRDLY, WE HAD SOME
% BUSINESSES THAT WERE JUST ABLE
% TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MAKE IT
% WORK.
% SO IT WAS ALL ACROSS THE BOARD.
% WE WERE JUST REALLY ENCOURAGING
% FOLKS TO CALL AHEAD, MAKE SURE
% THAT THE BUSINESS THEY WERE
% GOING TO BE GOING TO WAS OPEN
% AND ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE WHAT
% THEY NEEDED.
% >> HOW WERE ANY OF THE
% RESTRICTIONS BEING MET BY THE
% VISITORS WHO WERE COMING INTO
% TOWN?
% >> THAT IS ALSO A MIXED BAG.
% WE NOTICED ON AVERAGE IN THE
% NORTHWOODS AS A WHOLE, NOT JUST
% IN THE MINOCQUA-ARBOR
% VITA-WOODRUFF AREA I SUPPORT,
% BUT BOULDER JUNCTION,
% PRESQUE ISLE, YOU A THE WAY UP
% TO THE BORDER, WE WERE SEEING
% BUSINESSES REPORTING, YOU KNOW,
% FOLKS NOT SOCIAL DISTANCING, NO
% MASKS BEING WORN TO THE OTHER
% EXTREME, WHERE PEOPLE WERE JUST
% COMING UP AND STAYING IN THEIR
% RESORT, NOT LEAVING THE PLACE
% THAT THEY WERE COMING TO VISIT.
% SO, AGAIN, IT WAS A MATTER OF
% EXTREMES THROUGH THE WEEKEND
% BETWEEN BUSINESSES AND VISITORS.
% A LOT OF FOLKS DIDN'T KNOW QUITE
% WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE
% DOING AT THIS POINT, I THINK.
% >> SO IS THERE A CERTAIN AMOUNT
% OF TREPIDATION ON THE PART OF
% THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AS TOURISTS
% FLOCK BACK INTO THE AREA OR IS
% THIS EXACTLY WHAT BUSINESSES
% HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR?
% >> AGAIN, IT'S A MATTER OF
% EXTREMES.
% WE DO HAVE A LOT OF LOCALS THAT
% ARE LETTING US KNOW DAILY THAT
% THEY ARE NERVOUS ABOUT THIS.
% WE DO HAVE A RURAL HOSPITAL
% SYSTEM, AND WE KNOW CERTAINLY AN
% OLDER POPULATION, YOU KNOW, PER
% CAPITA.
% SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT WITH
% WORRIED EYES.
% BUT I'M THINKING THAT THE PEOPLE
% THAT ARE ABLE TO TAKE THE STEPS
% TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE SAFE
% ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE
% SAFE.
% SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HAD A
% LITTLE BIT OF A-- YOU KNOW,
% A CLASH, I WOULD SAY, BETWEEN
% LOCALS AND TOURISM AND WHAT
% THEY'RE LOOKING TO THE TOURISTS
% TO DO ON A LOCAL STANDPOINT AND
% THE TOURISTS THINKING THAT THIS
% IS THE SAME VACATION THEY'VE
% ALWAYS EXPERIENCED AND THEY WANT
% TO CONTINUE TO COME UP TO THE
% NORTHWOODS AND CONTINUE THAT
% SAME EXPERIENCE.
% FROM ONEIDA COUNTY STANDPOINT,
% MULTIPLE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE,
% PRIOR TO MEMORIAL WEEKEND WE
% ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER A PR PIECE
% TO BE PLAYED ON THE LOCAL NEWS
% TO TALK ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT
% EVERYBODY IS PERSONALLY
% RESPONSIBLE AND TO BE NICE.
% THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT
% ARE AFRAID RIGHT NOW.
% AND WE WANT EVERYONE TO BE NICE
% TO ONE ANOTHER.
% THAT'S WHAT WE PRIDE OURSELVES
% ON HERE IN THE NORTHWOODS.
% >> IN THE ABSENCE OF STATEWIDE
% "SAFER AT HOME" RULES, SPOKE
% ABOUT BUSINESSES HAVING TO KIND
% OF SCRAMBLE WHEN THAT ENDED SO
% SOON BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY.
% DO YOU WISH THERE WERE FIRM KIND
% OF LOCAL ORDERS THAT WOULD GIVE
% GUIDANCE?
% >> I THINK WE DO HAVE LOCAL
% ORDERS THAT GIVE GUIDANCE.
% I THINK THE BIGGER ISSUE IS THAT
% IF PEOPLE AREN'T FOLLOWING THOSE
% GUIDELINES, THERE ARE NO
% REPERCUSSIONS.
% SO THEY ARE JUST GUIDELINES.
% SO BUSINESSES CAN FOLLOW THOSE
% OR THEY MAY NOT.
% >> WHAT LESSONS WERE LEARNED
% FROM THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND?
% I KNOW THAT SOME TOURIST SPOTS
% IN THE STATE ARE KIND OF
% RETHINKING SOME OF THEIR
% DISTANCING METHODS.
% >> YEAH.
% THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE
% ACTUALLY DISCUSSING TODAY
% THROUGH A COUNTY-WIDE PHONE CALL
% WITH OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO
% FIND ARE OUT WHAT WERE THE
% THINGS THAT THEY LEARNED FROM
% THEIR EXPERIENCE AND HOW THEY'RE
% GOING TO DO BETTER WITH THE NEXT
% BIG RUSH.
% OF COURSE, THAT WILL BE COMING
% UP FAIRLY SOON WITH 4TH OF
% JULY HOLIDAY WEEKEND AND WEEK.
% THAT IS REALLY KIND OF OUR NEXT
% BIG BENCHMARK.
% WE CERTAINLY SEE TOURISM
% THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COURSE OF
% THE SUMMER.
% MEMORIAL REALLY KICKS IT OFF.
% I WOULD SAY THE OPENING FISHING
% WEEKEND REALLY KICKS OFF TOURISM
% IN THE NORTHWOODS.
% BUT WE'RE WANTING TO MAKE SURE
% WE HAVE THE STEPS IN PLACE AND
% THE GUIDANCE TO GIVE TO OUR
% BUSINESSES.
% BUT IT'S ALL OF US WORKING
% TOGETHER.
% WE AS CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND
% AS LEADERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES,
% WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THE ANSWERS
% NOW, EITHER.
% WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
% WE'VE HEARD THAT ENOUGH AND IT'S
% VERY TRUE.
% SO WE'RE LOOKING TO LEARN FROM
% ONE ANOTHER AND MAKE THOSE BEST
% PRACTICES.
% >> ALL RIGHT.
% WELL, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR
% TIME ON THIS AND WE HOPE THAT
% YOU HAVE A SUCCESSFUL AND SAFE
% SUMMER.
% KRYSTAL WESTFAHL, THANKS VERY
% MUCH.
% >> THANK YOU SO MUCH.