So I think it's fair to say
that a lot of people will
associate Door County with
rest, relaxation, putting
all your worries behind you.
I wonder, with these
staffing shortages, how these
Door County tourism businesses
are feeling right now?
Yeah, we've certainly
had a few challenges with
some of the H-2B visas that
our workers and our employers
have been trying to get.
Because we really ramp up
in the summertime
as a lot of viewers may know
it takes a lot more workers
than we have that live here
to be able to operate
our businesses and to maintain
a level of service
that I think most people
have come to expect
when they visit Door County.
So our business owners have
had to go to alternative methods
to find enough workers
to fill those needs.
The primary one that
we use here is
the Summer Work Travel Program
or a J-1 visa.
That's a fairly common one.
That program has been around
for a long, long time.
A more recent one
that is used is
what you suggested
or said it
the H-2B visa.
The numbers of H-2B workers
that we've had
in the last couple of years
pale in comparison
to the number of J-1 visas
that are here in Door County.
But nevertheless, the H-2B visa
is an important one for
some of our businesses because
those folks can stay longer.
They're not students
unlike the J-1 students
that are here.
They have to be a student
in order to qualify
for a J-1 visa.
So that means they're here
for only a couple of months.