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something we'll be watching.
Thanks so much for joining

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us.
>> Thanks for having me.

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>> Wisconsin hit record
breaking tourism numbers

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for 2025. According to a
new report, it was the

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fourth year in a row that
it broke the previous high.

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But a tourism boom is often
accompanied by workforce

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challenges, with many areas
relying on seasonal workers

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visiting with temporary
visas. So far this year,

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Wisconsin has received a
fraction of the short term

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workers with an H2B visa
that it has in the past. To

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see how the industry is
faring this year, we turn

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to John Jon Jarosh, chief
communications officer for

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Destination Door County.
John, thanks for joining us.

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>> Yeah, good to be with
you. Thank you.

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>> So I think it's fair to
say that a lot of people

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will associate Door County
with rest and relaxation,

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you know, putting all your
worries behind you. I

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wonder what these staffing
shortages, how these door

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counting tourism businesses
are feeling right now.

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>> Yeah, we certainly had a
few challenges with some of

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the H-2b visas that are
work. Our workers and our

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employers have been trying
to get, because we really

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ramp up in the summertime
as, as a lot of viewers may

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know, it takes a lot more
workers than we have that

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live here to be able to, to
operate our businesses and

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to maintain a level of
service. But I think most

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people have come to expect
when they visit Door County.

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And so our business owners
have had to go to

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alternative methods to find
enough workers to fill

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those needs. And the
primary one that we use

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here is the Summer work
travel program, or a J-1

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visa. That's a fairly
common one. That program's

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been around for a long,
long time. And a more

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recent one that is used is
what you had or you

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suggested or said the H-2b
visa. The numbers that of

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H-2b workers that we've had
in the last couple of years

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pale in comparison to the
number of J-1 visas that

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are here in Door County.
And so but nevertheless,

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the the H-2b visa is an
important one for some of

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our businesses because
those folks can stay longer.

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They're not students,
unlike the J-1 students

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that are here. They have to
be a student in order to

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qualify for J-1 visa. So
that means they're here for

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only a couple of months.
And Door County sees it now

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is a good, you know, five,
six months long at that

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really that peak season.
And so some of our

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businesses have turned to
the H-2 visa option, h-2b

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visa option because they
can stay longer and they

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can stay through the entire
season to make sure that

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they're being covered. And
we have enough workforce

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through the the fall season
in October into November.

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>> Okay. So there are other
parts of the state, maybe

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where the season is shorter
and those shorter visas

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work, but the H-2b visas
are more critical in Door

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County because it has a
longer season. Is that

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right?
>> Yeah, that is that's

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correct. And our season has
expanded here in the last

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1020 years in Door County.
It really for for a long

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time, it was Memorial Day
to Labor Day. But that is

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no longer the case. And so,
you know, again, the J-1

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visas this year, we're
probably going to be in the

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neighborhood of about 560
of the summer work travel

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students. And last year, I
think we had maybe 85 to 90

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H-2b visa workers that were
in the county. So again,

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much smaller numbers. But
increasingly, businesses

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have looked to that as an
alternative to make sure

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that they have coverage
longer in the season

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instead of that three
months that those, you know,

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collegiate students that
are here on the J-1 visa

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are can can stay.
>> So why have they slowed

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down these these visas?
>> There's a couple of

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reasons. Certainly we're
unsure exactly why. I know

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there's been some
challenges with some of the

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consulates. There is
actually a cap on the H-2b

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visa. And so when that cap
is reached, a lot of times

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businesses that may have
put in a request for some

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h-2b visa holders and to
come and work, they just,

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they, you know, the cap is
hit and those are no longer

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available. There's also a
lottery system that is in

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play. And if you draw a
lottery number, I don't

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know exactly how that
system works, but your

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chances of getting an h-2b
worker are really slim, if

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not none. And so again,
it's a it's a much smaller

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percentage of our workforce
here. It's relatively new.

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And so what we're learning
this year is really what

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the needs of our
constituents are, our

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employers, the businesses
that have relied on them.

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So we can use that as to
help better advocate here

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in the next year. Moving
forward, the process to get

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either a J-1 visa student
or an H-2b is quite lengthy.

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It takes a long time, and
so it's not something that

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you can just do over the
course of a week or two.

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And so we'll start to plan
in our advocacy efforts

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will kick in later this
summer, probably going into

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the fall when those
processes need to start for

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the summer of 2027 already.
And so it, you know, we're

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learning and we're
certainly going to be

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reaching out. It's a
federal issue since those

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visas are at a federal
level, not at a state level.

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And I'm sure we will talk
amongst our tourism

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industry peers across the
state of Wisconsin to

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figure out how we can
better work together to

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advocate for the needs of
our tourism industry from

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an employee standpoint, and
particular with these visas.

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>> So real quick, as we
wrap up here with a lot of

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travelers staying closer to
home due to high gas prices,

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can local destinations like
yours handle another record

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breaking year?
>> Yes. The short answer in

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Door County, I. I'm very
confident that we can. We

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are. Because of our
seasonal nature. We are

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comprised of entrepreneurs
up and down this peninsula

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and on Washington Island,
and they always figure out

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a way to, to, to make it
work one way or another.

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You know, they may have to
reduce hours a little bit

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to accommodate maybe a
reduced workforce to some

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extent. But rest assured,
people can expect the same

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great service that they
have or that they're used

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to when they come to Door
County. And it is shaping

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up, I think, to be another
great summer. Door County

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is a great place, really
close to home, and yet it

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feels like you're a world
away when you're here. And

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we're anticipating another
good year here in Door

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County and look forward to
County and look forward to