Visits to Port skyrocket but not to downtown

Port Washington has been a busy place this summer, and the city’s Tourism Council has the numbers to prove it.

Kristina Tadeo, executive director of the Tourism Council, said that there were 208,200 visits to the city during the past year, using statistics from a Pacer AI Travel and Tourism report that looked at trips from people who came from 50 miles or farther to Port.

That is a 70.4% increase from the previous year, she said, when there were 122,200 visits.

“There’s a clear uptick,” Tadeo said, adding that the statistics don’t include city residents or people working in the city. “They really hone in on that.”

Of those visits, there were 118,000 day trips reported and 88,500 longer trips, she said, and the majority of visitors came from the Green Bay-Appleton area, Chicago and Milwaukee.

In August alone, she noted, there were almost 35,000 trips recorded.

But there’s no way to tell how much of the increase in visits is due to tourism and how much is due to other factors, such as the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus being constructed on the city’s north side, Tadeo said.

“There’s really no way to parse that out,” she said.

Port Washington hotels averaged approximately 88% occupancy in May and June, she noted.

“That’s a very strong number. Obviously, this is not all tourists who are taking up the hotel rooms,” Tadeo said.

While more people are visiting Port, Tadeo added, that hasn’t necessarily translated into an increase in downtown traffic.

Tadeo said visits to downtown were down 1.1%. Considering many communities are experiencing a downturn in visits, she said the number is encouraging — but it doesn’t line up with what the overall community is experiencing.

“It don’t know what to make of that,” Tadeo said. “We’re working through to try and figure it out.”

But, she said, even with a slight downturn, Port’s doing better than many communities throughout the state that are experiencing significant downturns.

Downtown merchants have expressed mixed feelings about business this year, Tadeo said.

“I talk to many people who are happy, who tell me, ‘My foot traffic is up. Sales are up,’” she said. “There are other businesses I talk to who report the exact opposite. There are definitely businesses who have mentioned to me their sales numbers are low. I heard from some businesses that foot traffic increased substantially but sales were stagnant.”

Tadeo said she attributes the increased visits to Port to several things, including the fact Port was featured in the final episode of “John McGivern’s Main Streets,” which aired on PBS in May.

“I heard about it a lot from downtown businesses. They called it the McGivern effect,” she said. “Many people reported seeing Port Washington on McGivern’s show.”

The increased numbers also reflect the continued emphasis on marketing the city to neighboring portions of the state, she said.

“I think we’ve hit a good stride marketing Port as the southeastern Wisconsin coastal destination,” Tadeo said. “I do think the word is getting out. People are more aware we exist and we’re a good destination. It makes sense that if what you’re looking for is that coastal feeling, we’re a natural place to stop.”