To say that tourism is a major driver of Michigan’s economy would be an understatement.
Michigan’s travel industry has largely recovered from a pronounced two-year dip in leisure and business in 2020-21 because of the COVID pandemic.
There were 125 million visitors to the state in 2022, about the same number as in 2019, according to Travel Michigan Media, Digital and Industry Relations Director Nick Nerbonne. Those visitors spent $27 billion to power the state’s economy, which equaled a total, trickle-down impact of more than $48 million, he added. Updated numbers for 2023 are expected soon.
The quick recovery largely proved that Michigan remains a destination area for leisure travel for tourists around the world. Yet the profile of those tourists, and what they want, continues to evolve. Generational differences in preferred travel experiences and spending habits reflect where different demographics of tourists go, how long they travel, and what they spend their money on.
“We find that many of these (younger tourists) are traveling more often,” Nerbonne said. “And when they do, they are staying longer. There’s often more frequent and longer stays.”
Tourism is the state’s third-largest industry, said Larisa Draves, president of Draves & Associates in West Michigan, who has worked in the tourism and convention industry in Michigan since the early 1990s.
One of Draves’ largest clients is the Michigan Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus. She believes the tourism industry is critical to state and local economies because it is a big part of every county, and its jobs cannot be outsourced.
“You can’t just work remotely in tourism as we saw (a few years ago during COVID closures),” she said.
Fortunately, leisure travel seems to have returned to near pre-COVID levels. Despite the impact of inflation that has followed the pandemic, people are still traveling.
“They’re making decisions on how to spend their money,” Draves said. “There are higher costs for (hospitality companies) as well. Many people forget about the transportation and shipping costs which are affecting everyone.”
Travel Michigan surveys indicate that Gen Z professionals or other young millennials are most interested in experientialtravel, where memories with family members and friends take precedent over buying things and certain activities.
Draves highlighted private campground snow show hikes by various parks, small plate and season offerings from restaurants, candle making and aquarium making activities in cities like Holland and pretzel making in Frankenmuth as examples of experiences tourists value. Guided group bike riding tours have also gained in popularity in Detroit and other cities.
“People value these types of experiences,” Draves said. “Any (business) that can brainstorm unique ideas to draw people in can grow their business.”
Drawing visitors for a variety of reasons
One of Michigan’s advantages is having four seasons, which offer an array of tourism opportunities and options, Nerbonne said. Following the COVID years, many tourists chose to spend time outdoors making memories on the ski slopes and on golf courses, or touring towns during the Fall color season away from large, indoor groups.
Even with the warm winter of 2023-24, professionals working in the hospitality sector sought to educate potential tourists of the ski industry’s vibrant snow-making capabilities. Many northern parts of the state did have natural snow for much of this past winter, extending into early April.
Michigan’s federal and state parks also saw an uptick in visits in 2022, with Travel Michigan and other organizations boasting of the more than 100 state parks and 13,000 miles of trails.
National parks like Sleeping Bear Dunes near Traverse City and Pictured Rocks near Munising in the state’s Upper Peninsula have regularly been featured in regional and national media outlets as two of the most widely acclaimed natural outdoor destinations in the U.S.
Since the COVID pandemic, residents have been increasingly exposed to outdoor recreation opportunities, especially activities that they considered “new,” Draves said. Many of those activities, such as outdoor trails and state and county parks remain busy with bikers, RV enthusiasts and more.
“Tourists have adapted and are now used to having more limited services,” said Draves, referencing daily housekeeping services often being available only upon request. “They are adjusting to the new normal.”
In recent years, the 5.5-mile-long Detroit International RiverWalk has been ranked as a “must-see” urban trail by many media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, an example of the increased interest in urban outdoor activities among many visitors.
“People are looking for city experiences whether it’s Detroit or Grand Rapids,” Nerbonne said. He referenced Conde Mast magazine’s mention of Detroit as one of its “Best Places to Go” as an example. Detroit, in particular, has been able to attract large sporting and other events in recent years, including the NFL Draft, the men’s NCAA basketball tournament, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and more. A future NCAA basketball Final Four and Big Ten football championship game is also slated for the city.
These efforts are only the beginning, says Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Claude Molinari. He expects that Detroit will host many more notable sporting and sizeable events in the coming years.
“The infrastructure is in place, and we’ve proven we can host (events) of all sizes,” Molinari said. “We’ll be actively pursuing other opportunities, as well, which will have a positive (financial) trickle-down effect to surrounding communities and the region as a whole.”
Transportation is key
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport’s expansion has been widely covered in recent years. The Romulus-based airport has undergone significant renovations, including a new terminal, runway, access road, parking facilities, and other capital improvement projects. New hotels have sprung up around the airport, as well.
Yet Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport is also growing at a rapid pace, supporting the state’s thriving tourism industry in the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula.
Cherry Capital Airport CEO Kevin Klein said there are now 20 non-stop routes with six airlines at the Traverse City site, including three discount airlines and American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines.
During the busy summer months, there are more than 70 daily flights to 16 cities ranging from Atlanta, Dallas and Houston to Boston, New York City and Philadelphia. Western U.S. travelers can visit or arrive from Phoenix. That number of summertime flights is about 50 percent above where the airport was just over a decade ago, Klein said.
“We do see more travel seasonally during (the summer) tourism season,” Klein said. Events like the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City and the Traverse City Horse Shows in the summer months help. That equestrian event alone brings in an estimated 50,000 spectators by plane, he added.
Recent surveys conducted on behalf of the airport indicate that about 70 percent of its tourists travel for leisure with 30 percent traveling for business. Klein said that nearly one-in-five leisure travelers are visiting property they own within the region.
“Keep in mind that we’re not just (drawing) passengers for Traverse City but they’re visiting the entire region for such destinations as the sand dunes, golf, wineries and more,” Klein said.
Even in the winter, the Cherry Capital Airport offers nearly 25 flights per day. This relatively consistent year-round demand is why the airport expects to add another four to five jet bridges to its existing five gates starting in 2026, Klein said. That should help to grow the terminal from its current 121,000 square feet to well over 200,000 square feet.
“On a typical busy day, we have more than 2,000 badged personnel who work at the airport,” Klein said. “That includes vendors and contractors and anyone who is working onsite, regardless of who they work for.”
Longer distance travel and the role of online influencers
Nerbonne highlighted two other tourism trends impacting Michigan. One is the fact that more visitors seem to be traveling to the state by car, even if they have to drive longer distances. This is particularly true if they are bringing some of their own gear for outdoor activities like boating, fishing, hiking, golfing and more.
Discover Kalamazoo Director of Marketing Communications Dana Wagner said her organization has seen travelers visiting from other countries and states all around the U.S. The majority of its travelers come to the area from approximately a four-hour drive from Kalamazoo.
“We primarily see visitors from the Midwest, especially Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the rest of the state of Michigan,” Wagner said.
As one of West Michigan’s destination marketing organizations, Discover Kalamazoo draws tourists to Kalamazoo and surrounding communities to visit friends and family and for weekend getaways or short “staycations,” Wagner said. Many families visit because of sporting events that their children may be participating in like hockey tournaments, skating, wrestling, soccer, tennis and more.
“The majority of visitors we see are staying one to three nights, with those coming from further away staying longer,” Wagner said.
The organization promotes its tourism partners around the county, focusing on leisure marketing, and advertising year-round with seasonal messages to potential visitors digitally.
“We also have team members that focus on our meetings, groups, and sports events business,” Wagner said. “They work with our area partners on attracting groups and events to the area and providing services to those planners and attendees.”
Travel Michigan has recognized the value that online travel and destination influencers have on consumers. While the organization markets the state through digital marketing, social media and traditional advertising efforts, it also has a budget to compensate those influencers with large followings to promote the state’s many unique destinations. That can be through direct compensation or in the form of paid travel to the state for the influencers themselves.
Nerbonne said that younger generations will even get their vacation ideas from TikTok where other users share their likes and dislikes with short videos.
“That peer-to-peer promotion online is very powerful, and we recognize the value (that influencers) have,” Nerbonne said.
Golf and northern resorts remain a draw
Michigan offers more than 650 public golf courses to enthusiasts, signifying its status as a global destination for scratch golfers and weekend hackers alike.
“We’re fortunate to have world-class courses that are affordable and on par, no pun intended, with the best golf courses in the country,” Nerbonne said.
Treetops Resort General Manager Barry Owens has experienced this firsthand. The Gaylord-based resort had a record year in 2019 and 2020 advanced bookings were even stronger before COVID happened. Once it became clear golf was one of the perceived safer events during the early days of COVID, golf experienced a dramatic boom.
“Unprecedented,” is the term that Ownes used. “Any type of outdoor activities became popular with a new audience and (golf) was at the top of that list,” he said.
In 2020-21, Owens witnessed a large influx of new players. As a result, 2022 and 2023 set revenue and round records for Treetops. Owens believes 2024 could be even busier.
“We’re in the middle of this (growth phase) that is very positive,” Owens said. “Tourism is robust. More people continue to discover Michigan and everything that we have to offer – not just golf. It’s a great location because we’re away from the heat, away from the oceans and the (abundance) of fresh water is a major benefit.”
Owens acknowledged the importance of Cherry Capital Airport’s impact in transporting more golfers to the state. Owens anticipates that about 25 percent of Treetops’ clientele comes from outside of Michigan with many coming from surrounding states and Canada. A high percentage of those are increasingly traveling by air.
“When you heat map where our guests are coming from, you see that where direct flights (into Traverse City) are a big thing,” Owens said.
Cooperative marketing efforts help, as well, Owens said. The Pure Michigan campaign has shined a bright light on the state’s many virtues. Golf in general has benefited from the interest in experiential travel, Owens added. Now, tourists are planning their golf trips years in advance.
“A guy I knew was a customer who planned golf outings and he ran events where the people who went on them may only see each other once a year,” Owens said. “People plan trips father and farther out. We have a significant number of bookings in 2025 and many in 2026.”
Impact of seasonal and business-only travel
Discover Kalamazoo markets Kalamazoo County and the general West Michigan region as a four-season destination. But the reality is the warm weather months attract more tourists.
“We have a pretty steady influx of visitors year-round, however more visits take place between April through September,” Wagner said.
This is particularly true for business travel, where conference bookings are much higher in spring, summer and fall. While outdoor tourism activities grew in 2020-21, COVID did largely obliterate the meeting business for a period of time.
Fortunately, that’s all returned in the last 18 months as professional trade associations, government agencies, and other entities returned to state.
“We have a great location in the center of the country which is an advantage for us,” Owens said. He added that while conferences are held in the winter, those options are more limited because of winter travel concerns. Many of the winter conferences Treetops hosts are for state-based organizations and employers where attendees are most familiar with the potential hazards of winter travel.
Downhill skiing does remain a draw for winter sports fans. The past winter was a unique one because of seasonably warm temperatures. Even with that, 2022 and 2023 were extremely busy years for the downhill skiing industry in America, Owens said, as Treetops was even forced to limit the number of lift tickets it made available on certain days.
“The seasons have buffered out more,” Owens said. “Summer is extremely busy but fall and spring have periods of opportunity that seem to grow every year.” Owens added that winter is “100% all about family,” saying there is less group travel during the off-season.
“We have more young kids here on a weekend in the winter compared to any month in the summer,” he said.
Countless weddings were also delayed by COVID, but they returned quickly as restrictions were removed in parts of 2022 and in 2023. Some couples have had to wait 2-3 years to get married at their preferred location because there was such a backlog of weddings. “It’s another busy year for weddings for us,” Owens said.
Keeping costs competitive
Klein says that Cherry Capital Airport works closely with regional tourism organizations like Traverse City Tourism, Discover Northern Michigan and the Gaylord Golf Mecca to support branding and communications efforts for tourists.
Recent studies have shown the airport has more than $1 billion economic impact on the region, which is supported by its aggressive efforts to develop new co-ops and partnerships to bring in tourism groups and business travel.
Its relationship with such discount carriers as Allegient and Sun Country has helped to maintain affordable rates as well, Klein said.
Our average ticket prices are competitive even though in the summer we have a bit of a Caribbean feel to this area,” Klein said. He pointed out the specialty in fresh fruit that draws in tourists as well as the growth in agritourism.
Inflation in general is an issue for those businesses in the hospitality sector. Food costs are a hassle for Owens and his team at Treetops, who have no choice but to pass some of those costs to guests. Owens said he has never been forced to make as many in-season price adjustments as he has the last few years.
“Our labor costs have skyrocketed in the last 3-4 years,” Owens said. “It does affect some people’s buying habits, but we haven’t seen a drop-off in demand.” Owens is worried, though, that a higher percentage of the population may be getting priced out of visiting Michigan resorts.
One of the most noticeable inflationary impacts is with labor costs. So, Treetops, and many of the state’s other resorts, recruit workers internationally who are more affordable. Even then, the resorts are forced to find places for those international workers to stay, because traditional rentals are unaffordable on their salaries. As a result, Treetops has purchased four homes in the Gaylord area that it uses for temporary employee housing.
“So many rentals have been converted to (online rental units),” Owens said. “We can’t afford people from around here. Labor is a constant challenge.” He estimates needing up to 70 international workers this calendar year.
