On August 30, 2019, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced new appointments to the Michigan Travel Commission. As such, I’d like to welcome and congratulate our industry’s new appointees, Carol Kendra from the Henry Ford, Jim MacInnes of Crystal Mountain Resort and Dale Robertson from the Grand Rapids Public Museum. I have greatly appreciated the work of the Commission and want to thank our outgoing commissioners—Mike Busley, Jon Nunn and Barry Owens—for their contributions and service to the industry.

The Michigan Travel Commission was established in 1945 to promote, maintain and develop the orderly growth of the Michigan travel industry. Their role is to assist our office in the development of a comprehensive long-range master plan, to assess our ongoing activities and accomplishments and to hold public hearings to obtain input from the travel industry regarding policy development.

Over the last two years, Travel Commission has worked with tourism industry representatives throughout the state to develop the Michigan Travel Strategic Plan and Dashboard. This plan plays a vital role in the overall economic development of Michigan. It is intended that the plan will be revised as necessary to provide the most updated direction to the Commission’s mission and purpose.

Today, the Commission’s Tourism Industry Funding Resources Taskforce will continue their discussion on Public Policy and Funding. Tomorrow, September 6, the Commission will hold their quarterly meeting.  Both meetings will take place at Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay. Michigan Travel Commission meetings are open to the public and I encourage you to attend.

With subtle splashes of color beginning to appear in trees throughout the state, it’s time to finalize plans for fall weekend getaways and more lengthy autumn explorations. The Pure Michigan digital media team hosts its quarterly “Pure Michigan Chat” Thursday, September 12 from 12 to 1 pm to discuss fall deals, destinations, activities and hidden gems. Search #PureMichiganChat on Twitter to follow the conversation, and add the hashtag to your tweets to share your fall travel suggestions with the Pure Michigan Twitter community of nearly 500,000.

Speaking of fall… you should have received a supply of the 2019 Pure Michigan Fall Travel Guide, which is also available online in a universally-accessible, digital format. Please feel free to contact, Amanda Munson at (munsona@michigan.org) if you need additional copies.

All best,
Dave Lorenz
Vice President
Travel Michigan
517-335-0007
lorenzd@michigan.org

Photo: 2019 Pure Michigan Fall Travel Guide cover.