WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:24.360 Wisconsin hit record-breaking tourism numbers for 2025 according to a new report. 00:24.360 --> 00:28.200 It was the fourth year in a row that it broke the previous high. 00:28.200 --> 00:33.240 But a tourism boom is often accompanied by workforce challenges, with many areas relying 00:33.240 --> 00:36.960 on seasonal workers visiting with temporary visas. 00:36.960 --> 00:40.960 So far this year, Wisconsin has received a fraction of the short-term workers with an 00:40.960 --> 00:44.600 H-2B visa that it has in the past. 00:44.600 --> 00:48.760 To see how the industry is faring this year, we turn to John Jarsh, Chief Communications 00:48.760 --> 00:50.960 Officer for Destination Door County. 00:50.960 --> 00:52.600 John, thanks for joining us. 00:52.600 --> 00:54.400 Good to be with you. 00:54.400 --> 00:55.400 Thank you. 00:55.400 --> 01:02.440 I think it's fair to say that a lot of people will associate door county with rest, relaxation, 01:02.440 --> 01:04.480 putting all your worries behind you. 01:04.480 --> 01:09.360 I wonder what these staffing shortages, how these door-counting tourism businesses are 01:09.360 --> 01:11.360 feeling right now. 01:11.360 --> 01:18.480 Yeah, we've certainly had a few challenges with some of the H-2B visas that our workers 01:18.480 --> 01:21.880 and our employers have been trying to get. 01:21.880 --> 01:27.120 Because we really ramp up in the summertime, as a lot of viewers may know, it takes a 01:27.120 --> 01:32.400 lot more workers than we have that live here to be able to operate our businesses and to 01:32.400 --> 01:36.800 maintain a level of service that I think most people have come to expect when they visit 01:36.800 --> 01:38.040 door county. 01:38.040 --> 01:43.240 And so our business owners have had to go to alternative methods to find enough workers 01:43.240 --> 01:44.360 to fill those needs. 01:44.360 --> 01:50.840 And the primary one that we use here is the Summer Work Travel Program, or a J-1 visa. 01:50.840 --> 01:54.680 That's a fairly common one that programs have been around for a long, long time. 01:54.680 --> 02:01.400 And a more recent one that is used is what you suggested or said is the H-2B visa. 02:01.400 --> 02:07.320 The numbers of H-2B workers that we've had in the last couple of years, pale in comparison 02:07.320 --> 02:11.800 to the number of J-1 visas that are here in door county. 02:11.800 --> 02:17.640 And so, but nevertheless, the H-2B visa is an important one for some of our businesses 02:17.640 --> 02:20.040 because those folks can stay longer. 02:20.040 --> 02:23.480 They're not students, unlike the J-1 students that are here. 02:23.480 --> 02:26.760 They have to be a student in order to qualify for a J-1 visa. 02:26.760 --> 02:29.640 So that means they're here for only a couple of months. 02:29.640 --> 02:35.960 And door county season now is a good five, six months line at that peak season. 02:35.960 --> 02:42.840 And so, some of our businesses have turned to the H-2B visa option, H-2B visa option, 02:42.840 --> 02:46.760 because they can stay longer and they can stay through the entire season to make sure 02:46.760 --> 02:47.720 that they're being covered. 02:47.720 --> 02:52.920 And we have enough workforce through the fall season in October and in November. 02:52.920 --> 02:56.760 Okay, so there are other parts of the state maybe where the season is shorter 02:56.760 --> 02:58.680 and the shorter visas work. 02:58.680 --> 03:04.280 But the H-2B visas are more critical in door county because it has a longer season. 03:04.280 --> 03:04.760 Is that right? 03:05.720 --> 03:07.240 Yeah, that's correct. 03:07.240 --> 03:11.320 And our season has expanded here in the last 10, 20 years in door county. 03:11.320 --> 03:15.160 Really, for a long time, it was Memorial Day to Labor Day. 03:15.160 --> 03:16.840 But that is no longer the case. 03:16.840 --> 03:22.120 And so, you know, again, the J-1 visas this year were probably going to be 03:22.120 --> 03:26.440 in the neighborhood of about 560 of the summer work travel students. 03:27.080 --> 03:36.200 And last year, I think we had maybe 85 to 90 H-2B visa workers that were in the county. 03:36.200 --> 03:41.960 So again, much smaller numbers, but increasingly businesses have looked to that as an alternative 03:41.960 --> 03:45.880 to make sure that they have coverage longer in the season instead of that 03:45.880 --> 03:51.400 three months that those collegiate students that are here on the J-1 visa can stay. 03:51.960 --> 03:54.360 So why have they slowed down these visas? 03:55.800 --> 03:57.080 There's a couple of reasons. 03:57.640 --> 04:01.000 Certainly, we're unsure exactly why. 04:01.000 --> 04:03.720 I know there's been some challenges with some of the consulates. 04:03.720 --> 04:06.680 There is actually a cap on the H-2B visa. 04:07.480 --> 04:12.680 And so when that cap has reached a lot of times businesses that may have put in 04:13.320 --> 04:20.120 a request for some H-2B visa holders and to come and work, the cap has hit. 04:20.120 --> 04:21.480 And those are no longer available. 04:21.480 --> 04:24.840 There's also a lottery system that is in play. 04:24.840 --> 04:30.600 And if you draw a poor lottery number, I don't know exactly how that system works, 04:30.600 --> 04:36.040 but your chances of getting an H-2B worker are really slim, if not none. 04:36.680 --> 04:41.000 And so again, it's a much smaller percentage of our workforce here. 04:41.000 --> 04:42.520 It's relatively new. 04:42.520 --> 04:47.560 And so what we're learning this year is really what the needs of our constituents, 04:47.560 --> 04:50.920 our employers, the businesses that have relied on them. 04:50.920 --> 04:56.760 So we can use that to help better advocate here in the next year moving forward. 04:56.760 --> 05:01.960 The process to get either a J-1 visa student or an H-2B is quite lengthy. 05:01.960 --> 05:03.240 It takes a long time. 05:03.240 --> 05:06.760 And so it's not something that you can just do over the course of a week or two. 05:07.400 --> 05:11.320 And so we'll start to plan and our advocacy efforts we'll cook in later this summer, 05:11.320 --> 05:17.400 probably going into the fall when those processes need to start for the summer of 2027 already. 05:17.400 --> 05:20.840 And so we're learning and we're certainly going to be reaching out. 05:20.840 --> 05:25.960 It's a federal issue since those visas are at a federal level, not at a state level. 05:25.960 --> 05:31.400 And I'm sure we will talk amongst our tourism industry peers across the state of Wisconsin 05:31.400 --> 05:36.920 to figure out how we can better work together to advocate for the needs of our tourism industry 05:37.720 --> 05:41.560 from an employee standpoint, in particular with these visas. 05:41.560 --> 05:46.120 So real quick, as we wrap up here with a lot of travelers staying closer to home 05:46.120 --> 05:52.840 due to high gas prices, can local destinations like yours handle another record-breaking year? 05:54.520 --> 05:55.720 Yes, the short answer. 05:55.720 --> 05:59.160 And in Door County, I'm very confident that we can. 05:59.800 --> 06:05.720 Because of our seasonal nature, we are comprised of entrepreneurs up and down this peninsula 06:05.720 --> 06:10.440 and on Washington Island. And they always figure out a way to make it work one way or another. 06:11.320 --> 06:17.080 They may have to reduce ours a little bit to accommodate maybe a reduced workforce to some extent, 06:17.080 --> 06:21.880 but rest assured, people can expect the same great service that they have or that they're used to 06:21.880 --> 06:26.200 when they come to Door County. And it is shaping up, I think, to be another great summer. 06:26.200 --> 06:30.200 Door County is a great place, really close to home, and yet it feels like you're a world 06:30.200 --> 06:34.520 away when you're here. And we're anticipating another good year here in Door County, 06:34.520 --> 06:36.280 and look forward to welcoming everyone. 06:36.280 --> 06:38.440 All right, we'll leave it there. Thanks so much for joining us. 06:39.560 --> 06:42.120 My pleasure. 06:46.760 --> 06:48.120 All right, thank you. 06:50.760 --> 06:53.960 Yeah, you're very welcome. I'm sorry I didn't get a few more 06:53.960 --> 06:58.040 expletives in my comments. I should have. I'll have to work on that for next time. 07:00.040 --> 07:05.080 It's good for the internet shorts. I'm teasing. I'm teasing. All right, thanks so much, 07:05.080 --> 07:08.520 you guys. I appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of your day and have a good weekend. 07:08.520 --> 07:09.480 All right, thanks. You too.