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ARCHIVES
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Special Edition 10
December 10, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 10
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Issue 9
November 26, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 9
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Issue 8
October 29, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 8
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Issue 7
October 2, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 7
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Issue 6
September 5, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 6
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Special Edition 5
August 16, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 5
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Issue 4
July 29, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 4
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Issue 3
June 28, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 3
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Issue 2
May 23, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 2
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Introductory Issue
April 17, 2002
Vol. 1
Issue 1
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A Plan for Cultural Tourism in Michigan
By Dr. William Anderson, Director of Michigan’s Department of History, Arts and Libraries
 (From remarks to Michigan’s Travel Commission - October 13, 2002)
Our new department’s success will be ultimately tied to our ability to forge new collaborative relationships and partnerships. It is and will be our modus operandi. As we prioritized our short list of essential partners, Travel Michigan was quickly identified as a critical ally.
We have all been impressed and pleased with the supportive attitude demonstrated by the staff of Travel Michigan and their readiness to work in concert. We are impressed with the research-based approach of your organization, its strong emphasis on the use of technology as an awareness and marketing tool and your emerging strategy of building marketing partners to increase the impact of limited financial resources.
We are also pleased to observe firsthand the close working and supportive relationship you have with the Michigan Museums Association as together, we elevate and enrich cultural tourism in our state.
Thank you for your leadership, support and endorsement of an aspect of tourism for which our department has a special interest.
I have served in this new role as department director just long enough to form some opinions. This afternoon, I want to focus my remarks on the opportunities that cultural tourism holds for Michigan and a vision for its future.
Cultural tourism represents an economic and community development opportunity for every Michigan community. Benton Harbor is a wonderful case study, having suffered through some very difficult times. The heart of the city, its downtown, had been all but destroyed. Many experts, developers and university scholars have proposed solutions that did not work. But miraculously it is coming back, being bootstrapped by an artists’ community that has revitalized the environment.
As a community college president in two states, I spent considerable time and years serving as part of the local economic development team. I now believe that the prospects of most small communities attracting a new industry are slim at best. If they don’t have strong natural resources, cultural tourism may represent their best opportunity for economic development.
Cultural tourism can also be a strong community revitalizing force. It is easy to discover what people disagree about in any community. However, the foundation for growth and building stronger and better communities involves discovering our common ground. The underpinning of community rests with re-discovering what we share: our heritage, our sense of place, our traditions and culture. These bonds can lead us to agreeing on our mutual purposes and can drive a new shared-enterprise.
During the closing months of this past calendar year, both George Zimmerman [Vice President of Travel Michigan] and I were invited to speak to the House Subcommittee on Travel and Tourism. I was asked to articulate a vision for cultural tourism for Michigan. I want to revisit that message this afternoon and expand upon the ideas expressed then.
Being new, young in spirit and adventuresome, I staked out a bold position proclaiming that in ten years Michigan had the potential to be among the national leaders in cultural tourism. Now, having extensively traveled the state and having met with many cultural tourism providers, I am even more convinced that we have a rich heritage, some great product and even greater potential.
Obviously, national leadership will require some significant actions. I believe we must pursue and accomplish the following goals:
We need to convincingly demonstrate the added economic value of cultural tourism through research-based studies. The already completed studies of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Michigan Historic Preservation Network are impressive. A complimentary economic impact study is also being sponsored by the Michigan Museums Association and Travel Michigan, with Michigan State University Extension completing the research. How we use the data and generate an audience that hears, reads, understands and accepts the validity of our research may be an even greater challenge.
When we succeed in making our economic value case, then we should expect to influence greater public and private investment in cultural tourism.
We must strive to present a more engaging, participatory and memorable cultural tourism experience. There is evidence that some of our more progressive cultural tourism providers are setting a new visitor experience standard that is both educational and fun. At a recent Michigan-Canadian economic summit, the Ontario Minister of Tourism stated: “I don’t think the traveler today buys a location, they buy an experience.” The movie “Field of Dreams” has given rise to an oft-repeated statement: “Build it and they will come.” Many progressive museums and historical sites are rejecting that assumption as they seek to enliven the visitor experience.
Colonial Michilimackinac’s new interpretation of the French Voyageur heritage is a classic example of this emerging emphasis on engaging the visitor in a memorable experience. The relatively passive role of the visitor has now been elevated to an opportunity of getting into the “birch bark” canoe and “Paddling with the Voyagers” and approaching the fort from the water.
We must also create destinations of national stature if Michigan is to be perceived as a national leader in cultural tourism. There are only a few places in Michigan with enough critical mass and magnitude to be independent national destinations. Most providers will need to align with others and pool their assets in order to create significant destinations. Success will demand that local pride, insecurities and competition be set aside in return for win-win partnerships. There are some exciting potential destination opportunities now in varying degrees of development. The two most advanced are the Automobile National Heritage Areas and the Keweenaw National Historical Park, focused on the Upper Peninsula’s rich mining heritage. Maritime heritage, the Underground Railroad and the War of 1812 are other major areas of opportunity.
We have some wonderful human and cultural resources in this state. Everywhere I travel leaders in our cultural tourism industry share their visions for an even more exciting visitor experience.
Beyond places already mentioned, there are big plans in the works and knowing the leadership in our state, these dreams will be realized. I reference:
- Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village - aiming toward being the national benchmark for historical attractions and living history destinations
- Detroit Historical Museum – a planned $70 million expansion, “New Streets of Detroit, Hall of Culture” and much more
- Detroit Institute of Arts – completing a $117 million upgrading of its facility
- Grand Rapids Art Museum – planning to build a new $50 million facility with a $20 million lead gift pledged
- Michigan Iron Industry Museum – planning completed and fund-raising campaign launched for a significant expansion
- Port Huron – a major benefactor and a very exciting master plan for its future development
I have observed the same level of aspiration and vision in the quality and magnitude of exhibits now being sponsored by cultural institutions. The “Summer of Sports” involving seven public museums working in concert, with each highlighting a unique aspect of Michigan’s sport heritage will be opening in 2003. Three other exhibits come to mind that represent the biggest undertaking in each institution’s history:
- Midland Center for the Arts – “Nature of Diamonds” in 2002
- Fort Miami Heritage Society of Michigan – “Shared Waters” in 2003
- Van Andel Museum – “The Dead Sea Scrolls” – 2003
It is both stimulating and rewarding to know cultural tourism leaders who have the imagination, creative genius and courage, to reach up to a whole new plateau of cultural tourism product. And the best is yet to come!
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