2006 Michigan Tourism Legislative Conference
May 17, 2006, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Downtown Lansing Radisson and the State of Michigan Capitol

Since 1998 Travel Michigan’s promotional funding has remained the same or decreased.  While we applaud the one time$15 million allocation from the 21^st Century Jobs Fundto be used for Travel Michigan’s promotional budget within the next two years, this is a short-term solution to a long-term problem in Michigan.  The goal of this year’s legislative conference is to fight to increase Travel Michigan’s promotional budget to $30 million annually, without tax, fee or surcharge increases.

The 2006 Michigan Tourism Legislative Conference is your chance to help fight for a better future for your business, our industry and our state!  Click here for registration information.
 

Save the Date for the Driving Tourism 2007 Conference.  Mark your calendar for the 2nd annual Driving Tourism Conference, March 26-27, 2007, at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Traverse City, Michigan.  Next year’s session will include an impressive selection of speakers, an outstanding line up of educational workshops, and a presentation of tourism industry awards.  The 2007 event will be sponsored by the Michigan Hotel, Motel and Resort Association (MHMRA), in conjunction with Travel Michigan and Michigan State University.  For more information, contact Steve Yencich, Michigan Hotel, Motel and Resort Association at (517) 267-8989.
 

To view a couple of the presentations from the Driving Tourism 2006 conference, click the links below.

Michigan Tourism Outlook 2006
Smith Travel Research Presentation
 

Michigan Tourism Industry Conferences
National Tourism Industry Conferences

Information About Michigan
Information for Michigan Tourists

Resources for the Michigan Tourism Industry
Miscellaneous Tourism Resources

Michigan Tourism Trade Associations
National Tourism Trade Associations
 

Do you want to learn more about maximizing your online travel marketing opportunities?   If so, don’t miss the e-Marketing Insight Conference: Travel and Tourism Trends, August 24 and 25, 2006 in Chicago, IL. 

For the third consecutive year, Dave Serino, e-Strategist of Michigan-based, Gammet Interactive presents the only innovative and affordable internet marketing educational opportunity designed specifically for the travel and tourism industry.  This year Dave will be joined by renowned tourism industry consultant, author and speaker, Bill Geist and award winning destination electronic marketer and researcher, David Bratton. 

e-Marketing Insight 2006 will feature sessions on e-mail marketing, web site design, organic and paid search engine marketing, blogging and RSS, online ad networks, and proprietary consumer data that includes opinions, attitudes and effectiveness of online travel marketing programs.  For additional information and registration details, visit the conference web site at www.emarketinginsightconference.com or call 1-866-878-8824.
 

Thank you to all of the supporters of this project!

Learn more at www.tourismcenter.msu.edu/Plan, including:

Complete contributors list UPDATED!
Sponsor pledge form
Frequently asked questions
One-page project summary
Proposed project timeline and budget
Industry Planning Council member list  NEW!

Please direct any questions you may have about this planning project to dholecek@msu.edu.
 

On May 4th at the Sheraton Lansing Hotel, the 79-member Tourism Industry Planning Council met for the first time to discuss and examine the opportunities and challenges facing the industry and to identify the top priority issues that need to be addressed in the planning process.  Over the next several months, work teams will form around these issues to examine each more closely and to make recommendations on appropriate solutions and action plans.  More details will be posted to the planning project web site as they become available.  Click here to view a few photos from the council meeting.
 

Michigan faces some significant challenges as a result of the long-term decline of the auto industry, slow population growth, and a sluggish overall economy.  Yet, Michigan has some of the best tourism assets in our nation including: resorts, attractions, and natural resources.  However, there is no plan to guide the tourism industry’s development and growth into the future to maximize its economic impact.  To address this issue, a team of experts from Michigan State University and Travel Michigan, along with a 75-member Tourism Industry Planning Council, have come together to develop the necessary framework for the first-ever plan for this important part of Michigan’s economy.

Want to know more?  Opportunities for you to hear about the process, the issues that will be addressed in the plan, and to provide your input and feedback will occur on the following dates.

Western U.P. Listening Session - May 12, 2006
(This listening session is targeted to Upper Peninsula Tourism Conference attendees.  Others are welcome to come for the listening session portion of the program, but lunch will only be provided to registered conference participants.)
Location:  Pine Mountain Resort in Iron Mountain, Michigan
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM CST

Eastern U.P. Listening Session – June 1, 2006
Location: Kewadin Casino Hotel in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST

A schedule of down-state listening sessions is pending and will follow at www.tourismcenter.msu.edu/plan in the near future.
 

May 13-21, 2006 is See America Week/National Tourism Week  Help to spread the word about the impact that travel and tourism has on communities across the nation and on the U.S. economy as a whole!  Click the link below to view an enlarged version of the graphic image to the left, as well as a list of facts about tourism in the United States.
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