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State Says Pure Michigan Campaign Drove $1.2 Billion Visitor Spending

LANSING (WWJ) - A new report on Michigan's 2013 tourism industry from the Toronto-based tourism research firm Longwoods International says the state's Pure Michigan campaign drove more than 4 million trips last year, producing $1.2 billion in economic impact.

State officials said $13 million was spent on out-of-state advertising for the Pure Michigan advertising campaign. Visitor spending influenced by the campaign generated $86.5 million in tax revenue, a return of $6.66 on every $1 spent in the campaign. That return was up from $5.76 in 2012.

The cumulative return on investment since the Pure Michigan campaign began in 2006 is now $4.50, up from $4.10.

In 2013, Pure Michigan attracted 2.4 million visitors from the Great Lakes region and 1.6 million visitors from more distant markets nationwide. That is up from the 3.8 million out-of-state trips the campaign motived in 2012 – 2.3 million from the Great Lakes region and 1.5 million from distant markets.

Last year's national advertising campaign aired more than 5,000 times on 25 cable TV channels and had a total budget of $13 million.

Pure Michigan's 2014 national advertising campaign will launch March 17.

As Pure Michigan's national advertising efforts have grown, so have efforts to increase international marketing. In 2014, Pure Michigan will advertise in the Toronto market for the first time and will increase its presence in Germany and Great Britain. Pure Michigan is also establishing a presence for the first time in China. On his recent investment mission to China, Gov. Rick Snyder participated in a tourism forum to introduce Pure Michigan to the Chinese tourism market and to encourage Chinese travelers to include Michigan in their visits to the United States.

The results of the 2013 Longwoods report were released Tuesday at the Pure Michigan Governor's Conference on Tourism being held in Traverse City. The full report is available on michiganbusiness.org.

For Michigan travel news, updates and information, visit www.michigan.org.

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