I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I know it is a very busy time for our tourism industry so I expect many of you spent the holiday working long hours, ensuring travelers across our state had the best possible Pure Michigan experience. Thank you for that hard work and dedication!

Even as we celebrate our nation, it is not just those of us who live here who love our great state. International travelers, particularly from Germany, the UK and China, are discovering Michigan and developing a passion for our state. A few years ago, Travel Michigan hosted a handful of international media, travel agents and tour operators on familiarization tours to our state each year. Today, the demand from these groups is so high that we are fighting to keep up. We have had eight international FAMs in the past three months, representing all three of our major international markets – Germany, the UK and China. These have included travel media from the BBC, Lonely Planet, and a number of Chinese and German media outlets as well as large travel agent groups from all three markets. Some of these have been in partnership with other Great Lakes states through Great Lakes USA and Brand USA. But many have been focused solely here in Michigan. And there are more coming!

There is no better way to highlight Michigan as a travel destination than to have the travel influencers – both in the industry and the media – see our state first hand. We work closely with our representatives in the UK, Germany and China to develop in-depth itineraries and provide this first-hand travel education. The feedback we receive after these visits is overwhelmingly positive, and we really are able to set Michigan apart as an industry leader. We could not do it without our industry partners that help us to host these groups as they visit communities all across the state. To all those communities who helped us to host this recent wave of international FAMs – Thank You! Your input, support and hospitality continue to be vital to the success of our efforts to grow international travel to the state. If you would like to learn more about our international FAM program and opportunities, please contact Michelle Grinnell at grinnellm@michigan.org.

Seeing our state through the eyes of first-time visitors often reminds me how lucky we are here in Michigan. I had an opportunity this weekend to climb to the top of the Mackinac Bridge – a first for me – and it provided a true perspective of how blessed we are to live in this beautiful state. I even had a chance to share a few thoughts from the top of the South Tower you can watch here! My knees might have been shaking just a little bit, but the rest of me was truly inspired!

Sincerely,
Dave Lorenz, Vice President
517-335-0007
lorenzd@michigan.org