03/28/2007

Editorial

Tourism industry banking on a wider ad campaign

The tourism business is reminiscent of the myth of Sisyphus. While the industry's task doesn't include being condemned to roll a stone up a hill for eternity, it does involve another eternal struggle — convincing vacationers, skiers, golfers, fishermen, snowmobilers, hikers, leaf-peepers, fudgies and kayakers, year after year, to spend their precious time and hard-earned money here.

It's not easy. Every Great Lakes state has beaches and rivers, places to fish and hunt, lots of restaurants and charming places to stay. Standing out in the crowd is a challenge.

And if the truth be told, tourism may not be the industry we want. Every year northern Michigan residents put up with thousands of visitors clogging their highways and sidewalks, and most tourism jobs don't pay very well. But it is the industry we have, and we need it now like never before.

That's why the Michigan Tourism Strategic Plan, unveiled Monday at the Driving Tourism 2007 conference at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Acme, is so important. Not so much for what it says, perhaps, but for what it represents — a commitment by the state and the industry to spend the money that needs to be spent, spend it wisely and help grow the business.

It's not cheap. The new report calls on the state to boost promotional spending to $30 million a year to fund a national campaign, compared to $15 million being spent over two years on the current "Pure Michigan” campaign that started last June. That's a lot of money for a state gushing red ink.

But the payoff, according to the industry, is huge. The tourism industry generates $17.5 billion for Michigan businesses every year and accounts for 200,000 jobs and $900 million in state tax revenue; spending in just Grand Traverse County hits $600 million a year, local experts say.

The new strategic plan also calls for internal changes most of us will never see: creating a new organizational structure; developing a research and technical assistance system to help related businesses track data; and improving customer service.

Industry leaders (like baseball fans every spring) are optimistic and think the new plan will work if participation is broad enough.

The annual Michigan State University 2007 tourism forecast being released at the conference predicts a 1 percent to 2 percent increase in the number of tourists and a 3 percent to 4 percent hike in tourist spending. That's hardly reason to celebrate, but it is a change from last year, when the number of tourists actually dropped by a half percent.

Like Sisyphus standing at the bottom of the hill, the road to the top looks long. But right now there's no choice but to get climbing.