In a late change of plans, President Obama and his family are scheduled to arrive on Martha’s Vineyard Friday evening for a 16-day vacation, the sixth time the first family has chosen the Island for a summer break. Until this week, the White House was planning for a Saturday arrival.

The White House confirmed that Mr. Obama will arrive at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod in Bourne aboard Air Force One in the early evening, then board Marine One for the short helicopter flight to the Island. Both the arrival of Air Force One, and the arrival of Marine One at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport are closed to the public.

Local police departments began working with the White House advance team and the U.S. Secret Service early in the summer, to ensure the President has safe and secure passage around the Island. While security plans are a closely-held secret, it is a fair assumption that routes to the Island’s golf courses will be well guarded. Last year the President played nine rounds of golf while on vacation, though sometimes he plays shortened rounds in order to fit in evening dinners with friends, beach days with family, bike rides in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, and date nights with First Lady Michelle Obama.

Again this year, the President and his family will stay in Chilmark, at a home off North Road with sweeping views of Vineyard Sound and the Elizabeth islands. The home, owned by Joanne Hubschman, has seven bedrooms, a pool, workout room, basketball court and tennis court.

While official word from the White House is there are no public events scheduled during Mr. Obama’s Vineyard stay, Islanders have grown accustomed to occasional presidential forays into the public arena for fried seafood at Nancy’s in Oak Bluffs, snacks and drinks at Alley’s General Store in West Tisbury, excursions to the Bunch of Grapes bookstore in Vineyard Haven to stock up on summer reading, and in recent years, to view the annual fireworks display in Oak Bluffs.

There is always debate about whether the President’s visits, at the very peak of the summer season, are positive, neutral or negative for local business. John Tiernan, who co-owns and manages the Dockside Inn in Oak Bluffs, puts himself firmly in the positive camp. “How cool is that, he comes to our Island,” Mr. Tiernan said. He is certain the Dockside Inn would sell out even if the President was not on Martha’s Vineyard, but he says most of his guests are excited about it. “It’s quite neat from the perspective of a guest, being able to see the President. I got to meet him. He spends time on the North Bluff, so he’s around here. He seems to come to Oak Bluffs more, and people know that.”

Mr. Tiernan said the wild card for the business community is the number of day-trippers who may boost spending.

The President’s movements around the Island cause some grumbling, when local police stop traffic at turns and intersections to allow the White House motorcade to zip through at speeds residents and tourists can only envy. When the motorcade is on the move, small crowds often gather at the intersections to wave, display a sign, or simply gawk at the spectacle.

Airspace over Martha’s Vineyard and the surrounding waters is heavily restricted during the presidential visit. Private pilots are prohibited from flying inside a 10-mile circle surrounding the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, unless they first land in Hyannis, Providence, or White Plains, N.Y., for an extensive security screening. That means a big rush of noncommercial flights in the days before the restrictions take effect, and then a sharp reduction in private aircraft arriving on the Island.

“It’s an increase in the amount of activity here,” said airport manager Sean Flynn. “The amount the staff has to do goes up exponentially, even though the number of flights goes down exponentially.”

The restrictions do not affect most commercial passenger and cargo flights, or approved air ambulance flights. Pilots departing the Nantucket airport are required to change normal flight patterns to avoid the restricted zone.

World affairs often intrude on the President’s Island vacation. In 2009, Mr. Obama took time out of his vacation schedule to speak on the death of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, and later to attend his funeral. In 2011, with Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, Mr. Obama urged people to take precautions and evacuate if necessary, just before cutting his own vacation short and heading back to Washington, D.C.

Last year, civil unrest following the shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., U.S. military strikes in Iraq, and the gruesome killing of war correspondent James Foley all drew remarks from the President while on vacation.

Key members of the White House staff, often including his national security advisor, accompany the President to Martha’s Vineyard to oversee a reduced work schedule. The President receives briefings every morning and often deals with political and diplomatic matters before the recreation of the day. The White House brings communications gear to the Island that allows the president to handle any developments, in the same way he would at the White House.