A decrease in occupancy and sales tax from January to August 2026 has Door County Tourism Zone finance committee members concerned about the proposed 2027 budget for Destination Door County.
While presenting the proposed 2027 DDC budget at a joint DCTZ/DDC finance committee meeting last week, Thursday, Sept. 17, the organization’s President and CEO Jon Jarosh said occupancy rates are down five percent year-to-date over 2025 numbers, and sales tax collections are down 0.15% through August 2026. Collections in 2025 January-August totaled $4,038,599, while 2026 collections of the same timeframe total $4,032,695, a difference of $5,904.
However as of Sept. 24, revenue is up, a fluctuation DDC said depends on when revenue reports are turned in from lodging properties. However, room occupancy, and availability are still down from this time last year.
He talked about other economic factors impacting the number of visitors staying overnight in Door County, transportation being a significant factor in visitors choosing to vacation closer to home. Historically, Door County has either seen a bump in visitors when gas prices increase, or has stayed flat, Jarosh explained, and DDC is waiting until the end of the busy tourist season for final reports.
While talking about the 2026 tourism impact thus far, Jarosh mentioned restaurant owners have been “up and down” all year, the Piggly Wiggly in Sister Bay has reported an increase in liquor sales, and hotels are reporting an increase in garbage left at their establishments, in levels similar to 2020 when visitors couldn’t dine in at restaurants, or would choose to eat in their lodging accommodations after picking up to-go food.
The decrease in occupancy means less room tax dollars collected, which means less money for DDC to market the county to potential visitors, and less money for the municipalities and community business associations.
DCTZ Commissioner, and Chairman for the Town of Baileys Harbor, David Eliot, questioned how much each community is spending on infrastructure that supports tourism, such as refuse collection in parks, utility usage for public spaces, and emergency response services. He referenced that the Town of Baileys Harbor has added a whole new public works crew, but hasn’t seen an increase in taxes to cover the costs. The purpose of room taxes, Eliot said, is to support infrastructure impacted by tourism.
Jarosh responded to the DCTZ committee members that DDC plans to increase its investment in marketing and promotion to attempt to drive additional room nights. The plan announced Thursday included a projected increase of $1M for marketing the county, in hopes of keeping the County’s market share of room tax revenue increasing, or at least not decreasing.
Considerable time was spent by the commissioners discussing money planned for spending on the multimodal trail being planned in the Town of Gibraltar. They questioned the fairness of allocating Community Improvement Fund grant money to the Town for this portion of the trail, looking ahead at funding applications from other municipalities and their potential qualifications. Commissioners requested DDC return to the Joint Finance Committee with a detailed budget, including numbers on the return on investment for the trail.
