TRAVERSE CITY -- Buzz generated by this summer's National Governors Association meeting far overshadowed any immediate economic impact to the area, local business leaders and state officials agree.
Deborah Brown, general manager of the Holiday Inn West Bay, said the hotel didn't track rooms booked for the NGA event. And because the hotel already was in the midst of a busy tourism season, she was unsure if the conference created a substantial boost for business.
"We were already at 98 percent. So we didn't notice the impact as much as we would have if it happened at a different time of year," Brown said, though she believes the city's exposure to influential leaders will have future benefits.
Dozens of governors, business leaders, media, lobbyists and others converged on Acme's Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in July to focus on innovation in a series of forums on economic growth, health care, Internet safety and climate change.
Chateau Chantal winery on Old Mission Peninsula hosted a dinner party for governors that closed out the four-day meeting, something manager Liz Berger thinks may already be paying off.
"We have had people mention that they were interested in hosting an event because the governors were here," she said.
Traverse City Convention and Visitors Bureau President Brad Van Dommelen said meeting organizers contracted with numerous local catering, transportation and entertainment providers, but income generated from the conference wasn't tracked.
"It was just very positive for our community. These people just had no idea places like this existed in Michigan," he said. "It wasn't just the governors; corporate fellows and top business officials from across the country participated. To be able to say we have hosted the National Governors Association gives credibility to our destination and our ability to host major events," he said.
Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, described the conference as a successful event that benefited the state through improved public policy and national exposure.
"Pictures and news accounts can tell a story, but first-hand experience of being in a place like Traverse City has great value in promoting a location as a destination," she said.
The NGA meeting was funded entirely by donations to a Michigan host committee and NGA attendance fees paid for by the governors and special interests.
Boyd was unsure how much was raised by the host committee or who donated it. Attendance fees ranged between $350 and $900 based on the category participants registered under, said NGA spokeswoman Jodi Omear, who would not disclose who attended the meetings.
All of the $314,000 in fees went to fund NGA business sessions, she said.
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