July 4, 2006
Section: Business
Page: 10A
By Sarah Ryley
The Detroit News
Long operating on what many in the tourism industry considered to be a shoestring budget, Michigan's tourism agency now ranks No. 1 nationally in the amount of money it spends on advertising to lure U.S. travelers to the state.
Michigan's spending on U.S. advertising and promotions went from $4.7 million in 2004-05 to $12.7 million in 2005-06, ranking it tops in the nation, according to the Travel Industry Association of America's 2005-2006 Survey of U.S. State & Territory Tourism Office Budgets.
Providing the big boost was a $15 million grant to be spent over the next two years from the 21st Century Jobs Fund, a $2 billion public-private investment intended to create jobs, develop new technologies and diversify the state's economy.
The grant nearly doubled the state tourism office's overall operating budget, and Travel Michigan decided to spend the entire amount on radio, television and print ads to encourage travelers to spend money in the state.
Kirsten Borgstrom, a representative for Travel Michigan, said she was "pleasantly surprised" by the ranking, but pointed out that it was because of a one-time grant from the jobs fund. "Our goal is to be able to maintain at least that level (of funding), and really create a brand for the state," she said.
That is money well spent, according to George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan. For every dollar the state spends promoting tourism, it gets back $3.43, generally within the same year, he said.
"We are a destination state, no question, but we are a state that has failed to promote the great attributes that we do have to offer," said Brad Van Dommelen, president of Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau. "People just have no idea what we have."
Tourism ties with agriculture as the second-largest industry in Michigan, responsible for $17.5 billion in revenue and 193,000 jobs last year, according to Travel Michigan. Manufacturing is still the state's largest industry.
"Tourism is here, the jobs are here and they are not going to be exported. We don't have a product problem, we have a promotion problem," said Van Dommelen, referring to Michigan's dismal hotel occupancy ranking, 45th nationally, according to a Smith Travel Research report.
Travel Michigan used its bigger budget to kick off an advertise campaign in three new markets -- Milwaukee, Cincinnati and southern Ontario -- last month, and continues to advertise in Michigan, Cleveland, Indiana and Chicago.
Also in the tourism survey, Michigan ranked 14th nationally in its total operating budget of $15.7 million, up from 31st last year. Hawaii has the highest overall tourism office budget, at $69.2 million.
Many in the tourism industry said Michigan was being out-spent by neighboring states in its effort to attract tourists. Here's how Michigan measures up now (in millions) in advertising spending on domestic advertising and promotions:
Michigan: $12.7
Texas: $11.9
Florida: $11.7
Arizona: $10
Utah: $9.6
New Jersey: $9.6
Illinois: $9.1
California: $8.9
Virginia: $7.2
Missouri: $7.2
Source: 2005-2006 Survey of U.S. State &Territory Tourism Office Budgets, Travel Industry Association of America
