Tourism Council asks what people think of Port

Port Washington’s Tourism Council is seeking input from residents, businesses and visitors as it makes plans for the coming years.

Executive Director Wayne Chrusciel said the council is working with the State of Wisconsin to conduct a destination assessment.

“It’s a good way to look at where you’re at, the opportunities you have, what you’re facing and what people think of Port Washington, whether they’re residents, visitors or people requesting visitor guides,” he said.

The assessment process kicked off during the Dec. 3 Christmas on the Corner event, when there was information at various businesses in downtown, he said.

Since then, Chrusciel said, the assessment has been available online.

So far, roughly 260 surveys have been filled out, he said, about 60% of them by residents.

The questions, Chrusciel noted, are tailored to residents, visitors and stakeholders.

What he’s especially excited about, Chrusciel said, is that the questions don’t just ask people to rate things on a one to five or 10 scale but instead ask some open-ended questions.

For residents, those questions include listing what some of the city’s greatest challenges are, he said.

For visitors, it includes what drew them to Port and whether they plan to return.

The Tourism Council has formed a task force of business owners, Port Main Street Inc. members and officials to consider the results, Chrusciel said.

The data gathered will help them determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and so-called threats to tourism efforts, he said.

“We can look at where do we stack up against our competition,” he said, adding it will also help define what communities are competition for Port.

It will help create a list of the community’s assets, things that are interesting for people to visit and things it may want to add, Chrusciel said.

One goal is to draw people to Port for day trips that will entice them to return for longer trips, he said.

The information drawn from the assessment will help the Tourism Council as it plans its marketing campaign for next year and is the first step toward creating a strategic plan to lead the city’s tourism efforts into the future, he said.

It can also be used to help create initiatives for the city’s tourism efforts and identify development projects that could enhance the community.

But it all starts, Chrusciel said, with the survey.

“The more people we hear from, the better,” he said.

The surveys may be accessed at visitportwashington.com and clicking on the survey link.

Surveys may be taken through Christmas, Chrusciel said, adding the task force will review the results in January.