NEWLY-RELEASED DATA FROM THE
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
SHOWS VISITOR SPENDING AND TAXES
WERE DOWN NEARLY 30% IN 2020.
DESPITE THIS HIT, THE TOURISM
INDUSTRY IS OPTIMISTIC THAT THE
2021 SEASON WILL LOOK BETTER
WITH MORE PEOPLE VACCINATED
EVERY DAY AND MANY ANXIOUS TO
TAKE VACATIONS THAT WERE
POSTPONED LAST YEAR.
TO TALK ABOUT THIS, WE ARE
JOINED BY THE PRESIDENT AND CEO
OF THE WISCONSIN DELLS VISITOR
AND CONVENTION CENTER BUREAU,
ROMY SNYDER, AND THANKS VERY
MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> IT'S MY PLEASURE.
>> SO THE GOVERNOR JUST
DESCRIBED WISCONSIN AND ITS
TOURISM INDUSTRY AS RESILIENT.
HOW HARD, THOUGH, WAS THE LAST
YEAR FOR TOP-TIER TRAVEL SITES
LIKE THE WISCONSIN DELLS?
>> THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, AND
CERTAINLY STATEWIDE, BUT
NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY,
PROBABLY TOOK THE BIGGEST HIT
FROM THE RESULTS OF THE
PANDEMIC.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE -- WHEN
WISCONSIN WENT TO THE "SAFER AT
HOME" ORDERS, OUR BUSINESSES
WERE SHUT DOWN, THE NONESSENTIAL
ONES.
SO SOME HOTELS WERE ABLE TO STAY
OPEN, BUT RESTAURANTS, RETAIL
WERE ASKED TO SHUT DOWN.
SO THEY USED THAT TIME TO REALLY
LOOK AT THEIR SAFETY PROTOCOLS,
THEIR MEASURES AND WERE ALREADY
THINKING WHEN WE CAN OPEN AGAIN,
HOW WILL WE DO IT SO THAT WE CAN
ENSURE A SAFE EXPERIENCE FOR
BOTH OUR GUESTS AND OUR
VISITORS.
AND THAT'S BASICALLY THE FRAME
OF MIND THEY'VE HAD NOW FOR THE
PAST YEAR, IS CONSTANTLY
ASSESSING, PIVOTING AND
RETOOLING THEIR OPERATIONS.
BUT THEY ARE VERY RESILIENT AND
WE'RE READY TO GO THIS YEAR.
>> NOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT
SURVEYS SHOW THAT 87% OF PEOPLE
PLAN TO TRAVEL IN THE NEXT SIX
MONTHS.
ARE YOU SEEING EVIDENCE OF THAT
WITH BOOKINGS AND INTEREST?
>> SO WE ACTUALLY SURVEYED OUR
OWN DATABASE.
SO THESE ARE VISITORS WHO EITHER
ORDERED LITERATURE FROM US OR
WHO ASKED TO BE ON OUR RESEARCH
DATABASE.
AND WE KNOW THAT 84% OF OUR
DATABASE WILL BE TRAVELING
BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF
AUGUST.
SO THAT'S AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER,
VERY OPTIMISTIC FOR US.
BUT ABSOLUTELY.
WE HAD A RECORD SPRING BREAK
THIS YEAR.
FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF
2021, WE'RE ALREADY UP 9% FROM
2019.
SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO COMPARE
MONTH-TO-MONTH OVER LAST YEAR,
BUT THE LAST NORMAL YEAR WE HAD
WE'RE ALREADY ALMOST 10% AHEAD
OF LAST YEAR.
>> PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO GET
OUT.
WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK AN UPTICK
IN VACCINES PLAYS IN GETTING
PEOPLE OUT AND SPENDING THEIR
MONEY?
>> NO QUESTION.
I THINK AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE
THE PERCENTAGES OF INDIVIDUALS
WHO HAVE HAD THE FIRST VACCINE
AND THEN THE SECOND VACCINE, I
THINK THAT WILL PLAY A HUGE PART
IN PEOPLE FEELING COMFORTABLE
AND GETTING OUT TO TRAVEL.
NO DOUBT.
>> I UNDERSTAND THAT ONE MAJOR
STICKING POINT, THOUGH, IS THAT
IT IS HARD TO FIND EMPLOYEES.
WHAT IS THAT SITUATION IN THE
DELLS?
>> SO THIS YEAR, BECAUSE THE
DEMAND FOR TRAVEL WILL BE SO
HIGH, WE WOULD ALREADY FEEL SOME
SORT OF A PINCH TO GET AN
ADEQUATE NUMBER OF LABOR, WHICH
IN PAST YEARS HASN'T BEEN AN
ISSUE.
THIS YEAR WE HAVE THE ADDED
SITUATION WHERE OUR J1 VISA
CULTURAL EXCHANGE STUDENTS,
THERE'S A VARIETY OF WAYS THAT
DIFFERENT -- THE COUNTRIES AND
THE EMBASSIES ARE HANDLING THE
ISSUING OF THE VISAS.
SO WE ARE OPTIMISTIC THAT WE ARE
SEEING MORE AND MORE EMBASSIES
ISSUE VISAS.
BUT WE ABSOLUTELY ARE DOING AN
EXTRA PUSH TO RECRUIT SEASONAL
STAFF FOR THE WISCONSIN DELLS
SUMMER SEASON, JUNE, JULY AND
AUGUST.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE JOB FAIRS
AND WE HAVE A WEBSITE THAT
PEOPLE CAN GO TO TO APPLY FOR
JOBS RIGHT ONLINE.
SO THERE WILL BE A LOT OF JOB
OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE FOR
ANYONE WHO WANTS ONE.
>> AT THIS POINT, DOES A LACK OF
WORKERS MEAN SOME RESERVATIONS
NEED TO BE TURNED AWAY AT ALL?
>> NOT THAT I'VE HEARD OF.
HOTELS PROBABLY HAVE THE MOST
FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF HOW THEY
MANAGE THEIR OPERATIONS WITH
GUESTS.
CERTAINLY IN THE CASE OF
RESTAURANTS, WHERE THERE ARE
CAPACITY LIMITS, WE ARE HOPEFUL
THAT THAT WILL NOT BE THE CASE.
BUT THEY MAY -- I KNOW IN THE
EARLY YEAR WE'VE SEEN
RESTAURANTS THAT HAD MAYBE ONE
SECTION CLOSED.
AGAIN, WE ARE HOPING THAT THAT
IS NOT THE SITUATION.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO ACTIVELY
RECRUIT WORKERS.
AND OUR GOAL, OF COURSE, IS TO
HAVE A SUFFICIENT SUPPLY SO THAT
WE CAN ENSURE A REALLY HIGH
LEVEL OF GUEST EXPERIENCE.
>> WELL, GOOD LUCK AS THE SUMMER
CRUSH COMES YOUR WAY.
ROMY