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 Record Level of Travel Projected in Michigan Over the Upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend
By the MSU Tourism Resource Center
Travel activity in Michigan over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend this year is projected to far exceed the record levels set in 2001, according to survey results released today by Michigan State University’s Tourism Resource Center. Results of the annual survey conducted of about 1,000 randomly selected households in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin in cooperation with Travel Michigan indicate that while Michigan residents plan to take about 2% more in-state trips over the Thanksgiving weekend this year, incoming numbers of visitors from other states in the region will boost overall travel activity in Michigan by almost 9% over last year level.
Thanksgiving is traditionally the fifth busiest holiday travel weekend in Michigan. Visiting friends and relatives is the dominant purpose for traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend, but many residents take advantage of the long weekend to make Christmas holiday shopping trips or trips in pursuit of the wily white tail deer that eluded them earlier in the season.
MSU and Travel Michigan travel experts attribute the strong increase in expected travel in Michigan over Thanksgiving to several factors. First, the terrorism attacks on 9/11/01 have had lasting impacts on people’s travel behaviors. Family-related travel has become a higher priority, and safety and security concerns have reduced interest in travel to distant locations, especially by air. Second, economic conditions have led many households to reduce their travel-related expenditures to balance family budgets. Michigan’s travel product offering is well suited to families, in the state and region, seeking a safe, convenient, and relatively inexpensive destination to enjoy the long Thanksgiving weekend.
For more information, contact: Don Holecek at 517-353-0793.
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