It may not be 2021, but you will still see plenty of foot and vehicular traffic traveling through Door County this year. Occupancy rates have dipped across the county compared to 2021 when tourists enthusiastically hopped into their cars and went anywhere they could after COVID-19 locked down travel for much of 2020 and early 2021. Using Sturgeon Bay as an example, the occupancy rate for lodging between January and August dipped in 2022 compared to 2021 in five of the eight months reported. Those same occupancy rates in 2022 are higher every month compared to 2019, the last reportable year before the pandemic struck. Destination Sturgeon Bay Executive Director Cameryn Ehlers-Kwaterski says visitors still kept area businesses and events like their Saturday farm market busy.
Just because the unofficial end of the tourism season has come and gone does not mean Sturgeon Bay is packing it in for the winter. Destination Sturgeon Bay will host its annual Thrills and Chills on October 29th, its Sturgeon Bay Unwrapping car parade on November 18th, and its Christmas by the Bay Parade on November 19th. You can listen to our interview with Cameryn Ehlers-Kwaterski by clicking this link.
