Here & Now

Adjusting to Commerce Amid Pandemic

Frederica Freyberg:

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 larger COVID-19 outbreak in an area largely spared so far. In the Northwoods and other rural areas, medical facilities are not as well-equipped to handle a surge while also dealing with the needs of its elderly population. The Minocqua Chamber of Commerce is keeping a watchful eye on the impact of COVID-19. With the Memorial Day weekend in the rear view mirror, what was learned to move forward for the rest of this summer season? Krystal Westfahl is the executive director of the Minocqua Chamber of Commerce. We spoke with her earlier this week and Krystal, thank you very much for being with us.

Krystal Westfahl:

Thank you for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what was Memorial Day weekend like? Was it busy?

Krystal Westfahl:

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 both in 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.

Frederica Freyberg:

Wow. That is actually amazing to hear. What steps are business taking to stay safe both for their employees but for their customers as well?

Krystal Westfahl:

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 just completely unprepared for opening as quickly as they needed to be. Personal protective equipment for themselves, their employees and 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 sort of already 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.

Frederica Freyberg:

How were any of the restrictions being met by the visitors who were coming into town?

Krystal Westfahl:

That is also a mixed bag. We noticed on average in the Northwoods as a whole, not just in the Minocqua-Arbor Vitae-Woodruff area which I support, but all the way up through Boulder Junction, Sayner-Star Lake, Presque Isle. All 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.

Frederica Freyberg:

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?

Krystal Westfahl:

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 experience that same vacation, that same experience. From Oneida County standpoint, I’m part of a tourism council. Multiple chambers of commerce, prior to Memorial Day 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.

Frederica Freyberg:

In the absence of statewide “safer at home” rules, you 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?

Krystal Westfahl:

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.

Frederica Freyberg:

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.

Krystal Westfahl:

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 Day really kicks it off. I would even 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 always have all of the answers right now, either. We’re all in this together, right? We’ve heard that enough and it’s very true. So we’re looking to learn from one another and make those best practices.

Frederica Freyberg:

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.

Krystal Westfahl:

Thank you so much.