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I hope you’re all enjoying the preview of fall weather across Pure Michigan. While there are still warm, sunny days left to enjoy, pops of red, orange and gold are starting to paint the trees throughout our peninsulas.
ESTO 2025: Michigan Honored with Prestigious Awards
In August, a team of Michigan tourism professionals and agency partners attended the annual ESTO Conference in Phoenix, AZ, to gain cutting-edge insights, learn about the future of the travel industry, and collaborate with destinations from across our nation.
 At the conference, Michigan was honored with two prestigious ESTO Awards from the U.S. Travel Association. These awards recognize excellence in destination marketing, and Travel Michigan was presented the “Digital Brilliance” Award for the “On the Clock in Detroit: Sam’s Selects” NFL Draft campaign in partnership with Visit Detroit and in collaboration with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s talent attraction campaign. The campaign ran from April 11 to May 22, 2024, and helped generate over $2.6 million in economic impact in Detroit – as well as earned media impressions, organic social impressions, and a sustained increase in searches for travel to Detroit. Learn more about this award-winning campaign here.
Destination Ann Arbor was honored with the “All Ways Welcome” ESTO Award for their holistic accessibility initiative, recognizing their industry-leading efforts in welcoming travelers of all abilities to Michigan. Learn more about this incredible achievement here.
I invite you to save the date and join us next year in Philadelphia, PA, for ESTO 2026 August 25-27.
Fall 2025 Campaign Kick Off
With our digital fall campaign starting on August 1, visitors are now getting a hint of the imminent change of seasons with michigan.org transitioning to showcasing the beautiful fall foliage of autumn. Travelers can also now order and view the digital edition of the 2025 Fall/Winter Pure Michigan Travel Guide, showcasing all of the seasonal activities, flavors and views they can enjoy throughout the end of 2025 and beyond. Keep an eye out for more information about our dynamic fall campaign coming soon.
 The hints of color across our forests also signal the return of the popular Pure Michigan Fall Color Update newsletter this month. If you have any questions about participating in the newsletter, please contact Nicole Ly at lyn@michigan.org. In the meantime, travelers can find fall color predictions on our interactive Fall Color Map page on michigan.org, as well as travel inspiration to find Michigan’s breathtaking fall foliage this season.
Reminder: Pure Michigan Partner Summit
I invite our DMO partners to join us for the annual Pure Michigan Partner Summit at the Holland Civic Center Place on October 1 to learn about our 2026 Partnership Programs. Here, Travel Michigan and our agency partners from MMGY Global, FINN Partners and Brand USA will present opportunities for 2026. Please register here by September 15, 2025. If you have any questions regarding the Partner Summit, contact Ken Yarsevich at yarsevichk@michigan.org.
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