As of January 31st, the majority of snowmobile trails in the Northwoods have yet to open this season.
It’s the latest trails in Oneida County have gone without opening since at least 1999.
The lack of snow right now isn’t just bad for recreation. It’s bad for business.
“We've had late winters, and we've had early springs, but we've never had something that's looking this dire. We're looking at revenues anywhere from 40% to 80% down, some of them are 100% down. If you're a rental business, you have got no income coming in,” said Krystal Westfahl, President and CEO of the Let’s Minocqua Visitor’s Bureau and Chair of the Oneida County Tourism Council. “Just the fact that this is hitting every single facet of our tourism industry from folks that that clean rooms, to restauranteurs, to rental industries to you name it, this is impacting every single business type.”
Westfahl says it’s estimated that several Northwoods counties have lost roughly $6.5 million in revenue between December and January because of lack of snow.
In additional rental businesses, restaurants off the beaten path are some of the hardest hit places.
“Snowmobiling is what really pushes the economy in the Northwoods. So many of those bars and restaurants that are on the outskirts that really, that is where they're making their money is in the wintertime because they're on these snowmobile trails. Those are the ones are really becoming impacted by this, said Westfahl.
She says some businesses are choosing to close for the remainder of the winter to cut down on expenses.
“It's a long time to get to May. That's really when we see the uptick again in the economy. We have a ways to go yet, so we're really getting scared on what's going to happen with our businesses,” said Westfahl.
One of her biggest concerns is new business owners.
Established businesses may be able to weather this, but new businesses or people that recently took over a legacy business may not have the capital to survive this winter.
More than a dozen chambers of commerce and tourism offices in seven Northwoods counties are calling on the state to help support businesses.
“We're not looking to say, ‘You need to give us money or in this format,’ but is there a creative solution that we can come up with to help support the second largest industry in the state of Wisconsin?” said Westfahl. “We know that we've got opportunities to help farmers when crops turn or if there's too much rain or not enough rain, and there's some financial assistance that they can seek out. We don't really have something like that built into the economy of tourism.”
The organizations in support of this initiative include: Oneida County Tourism, Vilas County Tourism, Let’s Minocqua Visitors Bureau, Eagle River Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, Hurley Chamber of Commerce, Phillips Area Chamber of Commerce, Price County Tourism, Three Lakes Area Visitors Bureau, Land O' Lakes Chamber of Commerce, Phelps Chamber of Commerce, Antigo/Langlade County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center, Sayner - Star Lake Chamber of Commerce, Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce, Winchester Chamber of Commerce/Town of Winchester, Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce.
There have been calls out on social media for people who live locally to support and visit as many local businesses as they’re able.
Westfahl says it’s a good message, but it can be a challenge.
The population doubles in some places during high tourism periods and many people who live locally also depend on the tourism industry for their income.
“All of our businesses are not going to be sustained by just our locals,” said Westfahl. “While our locals are absolutely supporting our businesses, and we know that because they're going out in droves as much as they possibly can. They're also not making a lot of money either because they are also stuck in the tourism economy cycle. They're also having to watch their pennies, right? We can't rely just on our local population, because they are the ones that are suffering with their local businesses or maybe their wages are being decreased.”
In 2022, tourism accounted for over 6,000 jobs in the seven Northwoods of Wisconsin counties, with visitor spending bringing in more than $747 million to the area.
