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November 27, 2005
Barbara Garol, of Reno, Nev., waits to cross the intersection of Cass and Front streets while enjoying an afternoon of shopping in downtown Traverse City. "I love the small-town feel," Garol said. State was down, but region thrivesTourists flock to beach townsTRAVERSE CITY - There was good news and bad news in the state's summer tourism season.The good news is the Traverse City area was among the state's top tourism destinations this year, thanks to a warm, dry summer. The bad news is the state's total travel activity continues to lag. The state's "travel business barometer" released last month by the Travel Michigan tourism agency showed more tourists by percentage of regional visits came to the Traverse City area this year than any other city in Michigan during an otherwise "soft" tourism season. The report is based on September e-mail surveys of hundreds of tourism business owners and travelers around Michigan. "When we see hot, gorgeous, sunny days, people want to get to beach communities, and Traverse City is certainly one of them," said Travel Michigan spokeswoman Kirsten Borgstrom. Statewide tourism was a different story. Tourism analysts predicted a modest 2-3 percent increase in tourism spending heading into this year but now expect the industry will fall short of those projections. The state estimates tourism is a $16 billion a year industry in Michigan and generates more than 180,000 jobs. "I would expect we're not going to see what we thought we'd see," said Don Holecek, director of the Tourism Resource Center at Michigan State University. The center looks at various tourism data including traffic counts and room occupancy rates and Holecek said both of those areas limped along in 2005. "When you look at the traffic data, we're down a percent or so statewide," he said. Room occupancy rates in Michigan have been "pathetic" this year, he said. First quarter occupancy rates were below 50 percent - the national average was 64 percent - and the state has been ranked near the bottom for room occupancy rates among the 50 states throughout the year. Analysts say high gas prices for much of the summer likely contributed to the downturn. But Holecek said the tourism business also suffers from the problems in Michigan's auto industry. "We've had a structural change in the market, primarily because of what's gone on in the auto industry," he said. Job losses, salary and benefit cuts and other uncertainties mean Michigan autoworkers are traveling and spending less. Local tourism interests agreed it was a decent tourism year in northwest Michigan, even with the problems encountered in other parts of the state. "Overall, Traverse City had a pretty successful summer," said Robert Gattin, general manager of the Holiday Inn in Traverse City and president of the Traverse City Convention and Visitor Bureau board. He also pointed to excellent summer weather as a primary factor. "In the hotel management business, you're either a hero or a goat depending on the weather," he said. But Gattin didn't experience the same level of activity when he traveled to and spoke with colleagues in other parts of the state. "Everything I heard all summer long was the state hasn't had a particularly good year," he said. [an error occurred while processing this directive] |