03/27/2007

Tourism plan: Spend more

Long-term plan laid out, state eyes top-five spot

By Bill O'Brien

bobrien@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
From left, Dave Serino, founder of Gammet Interactive, and Dave Smyth, a research specialist for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

ACME — A long-range plan for the state's tourism industry — its goal vaulting Michigan into the country's top five travel destinations — centers on better organization and cooperation within the tourism trade, improved customer service and more promotional spending.

The Michigan Tourism Strategic Plan was unveiled Monday at the Driving Tourism 2007 conference at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme.

Michigan's tourism industry generates $17.5 billion annually and accounts for 200,000 jobs and more than $900 million in state tax revenue in each, according to industry estimates. Tourism is northern Michigan's bedrock industry; local experts say tourism spending in Grand Traverse County alone is pegged at $600 million per year.

The plan took 16 months to craft and calls for a new organizational structure to grow state tourism and developing a research and technical assistance system to help related businesses track data and improve customer service.

It also recommends increasing the state's annual tourism promotion spending to $30 million a year to fund a national campaign to attract visitors to Michigan.

"We all know we need to reveal to a much-wider audience these treasures (of Michigan),” said Christina MacInnes, senior vice president of Crystal Mountain Resort in Benzie County and chairwoman of the Michigan Travel Commission. "We not only need to work hard, we also need to work smart.”

The report recommends a revamped organizational structure to lobby state lawmakers and agencies and improve communications among tourism businesses.

It also calls for improved research and data collection within the industry, better marketing and media strategies and improved customer service. The report recommends a formal certification program for front-line hospitality workers and managers to improve customer service.

Greater promotional spending by the state also is a priority. State lawmakers last year approved a $15 million appropriation over a three-year period to bolster tourism promotion in markets outside of Michigan.

But the report recommends spending up to $30 million annually on a national campaign to keep pace with travel advertising in nearby states like Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Industry officials acknowledged it won't be easy, given the state's slumping economy, high unemployment rate and the ongoing budget shortfall facing state lawmakers. But widespread support from the state's tourism businesses can revive Michigan's travel industry, authors of the report said.

"The key to making it function is the same key that helped develop it, and that's broad industry participation,” said Brad Van Dommelen, president of the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau, which was among about 75 state agencies involved in writing the report.