TRAVEL FORWARD

Continued from page 1 and connecting the community to its regenerative capabilities.

#2 – Foster our local spirit, our values, our sense of place and the wellbeing of our community – residents, employees, and visitors alike.

Our objectives are:

Invest in unified community messaging to highlight demands and opportunities of the visitor economy.

Increase residential awareness on the benefits of tourism.

Amplify community and industry partnerships to strengthen destination product offerings.

Collaborate with local stakeholders and organizations to align mutual interests and harness the passion people have for Door County to help make it an even better place.

Our second pillar is Sustainable Development. We define that as: By supporting the development of a more sustainable and equitable visitor economy, we can prioritize sustainable development that includes environment, sociocultural and economic resilience.

Our goals are:

#1 – Nurture social, cultural and economic resilience for a more sustainable, balanced and equitable visitor economy.

#2 – Advocate for the preservation and protection of our environment and natural resources.

Our objectives are:

Work with groups, organizations and local government to advocate for investments which preserve the shore, and forests and encourage responsible development.

Maximize environmental resources to help maintain essential ecosystems and conserve biodiversity.

Accentuate tourism’s benefits and pursue the reduction of tourism’s negative impacts.

Support the wellbeing of our people and local culture.

Our third pillar is Values Based Marketing. We define that as: The overall quality of a destination’s visitor experience includes what local communities value and how our residents are striving to achieve their collective goals. Repeat visitors return to the same destinations because they want to be part of a community where the local cultural DNA aligns with their own identity and priorities. Communicating that subjective quality represents the next evolution of destination marketing. And all of our decisions are made based on actionable data and insights, with intent.

Our goals are:

#1 – Be bold, creative, and actionfocused supporting transparency and measurable outcomes.

#2 – Encourage stewardship by elevating Door County and its communities’ authentic character, creative energy and brand.

Our objectives are: on electric vehicle infrastructure. We installed the first publicly available electric vehicle charging stations in Door County back in 2014 at our Door County Welcome Center, 1015 Green Bay Road, in Sturgeon Bay. They remain operational and are now part of a larger network of more than 50 EV charging stations which can be found throughout the county.

Create incremental growth for the local economy by promoting, developing, and expanding a united visitor industry.

We have two more open application periods scheduled for this new mini-grant program this year. 8 grant awards will be available beginning July 1, and 8 more will be available beginning October 1. Please reach out to me with any questions, morgan@doorcounty.com, and you can find our online grant application and more EV resources at DoorCounty.com/EV-Resources.

Initiate flexible targeted promotions that address visitor capacity, dispersing visitation and economic impact while focusing on visitor passions and market research/trends.

Develop and execute integrated marketing, communications, sales, and research efforts that will generate revenues and economic benefits for Door County. Tell authentic, honest stories that accurately reflect both the past and present, intersecting our community’s identities, cultures, and shared values.

Destination Door County recognizes the value of maintaining and preserving the natural heritage of our community. We know that the increase in visitor numbers in the past few years has helped grow our local economy and provide more opportunities for residents, but it has also put stress on our fragile natural ecosystem and stretched our local resources. We understand the importance of investing in our destination and our communities. The organizational commitment to programs that include the new Community Investment Fund and providing expanded funding to community business associations through our Strategic Partnership Program reflect the shift that we have a community shared values focus. We will continue to launch new programs as we listen and learn from all of you and will never stop growing and evolving along with all of our communities.

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