Years ago, when Travel Michigan was just starting to get our international travel effort off the ground, I visited hoteliers all over the state with a receptive travel operator. These are the specialists who make the deals between hoteliers and international travel operators. These operators sell hotel rooms, packages and experiences to travel agencies, which then sell them to consumers.  

I remember being asked if we were selling advertising or if we were trying to convince hotels to work with online travel agencies like Expedia. At that time, we were at the infancy of luring international travelers to Michigan and the process was sometimes difficult to explain.

Technology has advanced significantly since then, and we are now preparing to launch a new platform that will link hotels, attractions, restaurants and events across our state to international and domestic travelers like never before. This new platform is called Tourism Exchange USA and it’s sponsored by Brand USA.  

You’ll hear more about this business-to-business portal over the next year. Earlier this week, I took part in a high-level briefing on the Exchange as Pure Michigan is one of the early adopter states. Details of the rollout will be announced sometime next year. To make the process manageable, it’s likely that we’ll seek out a few initial partner destinations and business groups to get the platform up and running, then expand the effort as time allows.

Change is always challenging, but I think this digital marketplace will open Pure Michigan up to the world...and when that happens, no one will ever see our region as “fly over destination” ever again.

All best,
David Lorenz
Vice President
Travel Michigan
(517) 243-3073       

Images: Tourism Exchange USA logo & Detroit Institute of Arts

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