By Audrey Seilheimer
At this year’s Governor’s Conference on Tourism with Pure Michigan, the future of global tourism and how it may impact the state’s economy was part of the focus.
Sharpening that focus aimed some of the potential impact on the state’s small towns. South County, anyone?
The event was hosted in Kalamazoo this year from April 9-11, a three day convergence of hundreds of travel, hospitality and tourism-related business professionals. The sessions covered a wide range, from innovative approaches to wheelchair accessibility to how artificial intelligence is being rolled out and implemented right now in travel bookings.
As the State of Michigan’s tourism, hospitality, event and “placemakers” gathered from every corner of the state in a packed ballroom of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, a sort of pep rally occurred. It encouraged everyone championing their cities, towns and venues to think forward to what’s coming next for Michigan’s $14 billion per year travel and tourism industry.
Exactly when “the future” will arrive is anyone’s guess, but like the saying goes, “the only constant is change.”
In quiet, agriculture-based communities like those in South County, residents may think less of tourism being a driver for their local economy.
But state leaders and global tourism professionals who presented at the conference say that the future of travel very much includes small rural towns and Main Street communities.
In a Pure Michigan update presentation by Kelly Wolgamott, interim vice president of Travel Michigan, and Nate Huff, president of Tourism Exchange USA, they explained that their research shows more travelers have their eyes on small towns and main street communities they’ve yet to explore – just like the ones in this region.
According to the Pure Michigan travel statistics, people who came to visit Michigan the most over the past 24 months from out of country were mostly from the UK, Germany, India, South Korea and Canada. Travel has bounced back from Covid and then some. The travel industry is doing well, but travelers are looking to have their events, business travel and relaxation in places outside of crowded, urban city centers.
Travelers, the experts are telling us, want to see something they know nothing about. They want a place with local culture and good beer and authentic community businesses, with a sense of history that they haven’t experienced elsewhere. They want to take a picture no one else has and make a new type of memory.
Travel Michigan is a division of Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) which runs the Pure Michigan campaign. The MEDC is the business engine of the State of Michigan that invested in The Mill at Vicksburg project as a site worth redeveloping.
The project was highlighted at the 2024 conference.
MEDC’s CEO, Quinton Messer Jr., said plainly at the beginning of the conference kick-off, “Michigan is in a competition” and that competition involves proving our value to the rest of the country and the world, so that they move here, travel here, and do business here. “That’s why they’ve partnered with a company called Brand USA to invest in a Global Tourism Exchange to develop travel infrastructure with hopes to connect to the hotels, event venues, entertainment districts and other travel attractions.”
Dana Wagner works for the Kalamazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau “Discover Kalamazoo” and is a Vicksburg resident. Her husband, Ryan, is a village council member. “Discover Kalamazoo is excited for future developments of venues in our community like The Mill in Vicksburg,” she said. “These places will help attract more events, meetings, and conferences to Kalamazoo County providing positive economic impact that will ultimately benefit our residents.”
“This was a special opportunity to showcase the hospitality industry in our community in front of 500+ tourism professionals from around the state. Tourism supports nearly 9% of the jobs in Kalamazoo County and Discover Kalamazoo is grateful for all who help welcome visitors to our area and leave them with a fantastic experience,” she added.
Area residents know their communities are valuable and worth treasuring.
Now the rest of the world is figuring it out.The land, the sky, the schools, but most of all the people, are in high demand in a global economy, the travel and tourism experts were telling the gathering.
And they were talking to southwest Michigan. As the future of tourism turns to new places to explore, and more people prefer the countryside to the city, they’re telling Michiganders to expect to see more visitors looking to experience and explore this part of the Mitten state, to spend their money here and experience some unique beauty worth writing home about.
