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Four years after pandemic, employment in tourism industry has bounced back to 2019 levels

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Four years after pandemic, employment in tourism industry has bounced back to 2019 levels

In the summer of 2020, the tourism industry took a giant blow because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the resulting travel restrictions and some businesses having limited capacity.  

Four years later, as many families, residents and visitors are planning what to do with their time off, businesses in key tourism areas hiring workers are back to pre-2020 job numbers or close to it. 

Tourism generated $23.7 billion in total economic impact in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available from the state Department of Tourism. That total topped the previous record of $22.2 billion set in 2019.

Employment took a little longer to recover, but in April the hospitality and leisure sector employed roughly 282,000 workers statewide, the highest it has been in that month since 2019, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

In March, roughly 285,800 people worked in hospitality and leisure, matching March 2019.  

In the greater Milwaukee area, employment in hospitality and leisure is up 1% from last year to about 77,100 jobs. It’s still down 2% compared to 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

Wisconsin Dells tourism economy is ‘extremely strong’

Andy Larsen, executive vice president of Boelter and Lincoln Marketing Communications, which works with the Wisconsin Dells, said just under 15,000 people worked in the tourism jobs in the Dells.  

“We certainly expect this year to be every bit as strong as last year was,” Larsen said. “The tourism economy there is extremely strong and does not slow down at all. In fact, it’s picking up as we get further and further away from COVID.” 

Many of the jobs are filled by foreign students here on a J-1 visa, which is given to people who are part of a work-study program.  

In Wisconsin Dells, it’s estimated that roughly 5,000 J-1 visa workers will fill openings, which was roughly where the region was before the pandemic. 

“They’re filling an important role,” Larsen said. “We have jobs available, and the majority of workers in the tourism industry are born-in-the-US citizens, but the J-1 workers really help us fill out all the available jobs.” 

With the advent of indoor waterpark resorts, the city has become more of a year-round destination.  

“The tourism sector in the Dells is continuing to expand,” Larsen said. “And that is due to the businesses themselves.” 

People interested in working in Wisconsin Dells can find an opening on at wisdells.com/wisconsin-dells-employment.  

Door County seeing similar rebound 

In Door County, about 500 J-1 visa employees will find work at nearly 80 businesses this summer.  

“We do that because we can’t get enough United States students or residents to fill all the jobs that we have,” said Jon Jarosh, chief communications officer for Destination Door County. “It’s a bit like putting a puzzle together for our business owners because different countries have different summer break times, and so businesses in Door County will try to find students from different countries to cover them and their workforce needs.” 

Businesses often fill out paperwork with the Social Security Administration in the fall of the previous year to make sure the workers, and businesses, have the proper documentation.  

“It’s a great program, but there’s a considerable amount of work involved,” Jarosh said. “It’s been a great exchange program. It’s been great to get other cultures over to Door County, and those students are always super eager to work and are really excited to be in the United States and see what it’s really like, not just what they see in the movies.” 

While international workers do help fill positions, there are always openings.  

“Any seasonal destination like Door County or the Dells or anywhere else would say they’re seldom fully staffed, especially post-pandemic,” Jarosh said. “It seems like there’s never enough workers to meet our seasonal workforce needs, especially with the number of visitors that we get every year.” 

Anyone interested in working in Door County can visit Jobsindoorcounty.com. 

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