Published: May 11, 2008 09:37 am         

More out-of-state tourists visiting

LELAND -- Business remains brisk at the charter fishing operation Bill Crandall runs out of Fishtown in Leland, even though his customer base is changing.

Crandall, a retired school administrator from Suttons Bay, has taken folks out on Lake Michigan trolls for 28 years. Salmon fishing remains strong, he said, and it still generates plenty of clients. But Crandall is seeing more of his customers come in from places like Chicago, Cincinnati and other locales throughout the Midwest, and fewer people from southeast Michigan -- historically a cornerstone for the tourism industry in northern Michigan.

"We have seen many of the blue collar people we've taken out in the past aren't coming anymore," Crandall said.

Crandall's experience as captain of the C-Worthy charter boat is reflected in statewide tourism statistics, where travel spending by Michigan residents is sinking while spending is up among non-Michigan residents. Tourism revenues in Michigan total about $18 billion a year, now split about half-and-half between Michigan residents and travelers from out of state.

Tourism officials said those trends are quickly shifting.

Travel spending by Michigan residents fell more than 10 percent last year, while expenditures by non-Michigan residents went up about 2.3 percent last year, according to statistics compiled by Travel Michigan, the state's tourism arm.

"From everything we've seen, the growth is going to be in the out-of-state markets," said George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan.

Some area businesses are attempting to stay ahead of that trend.

Officials from the Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor said they've completed more than $15 million in upgrades in recent years, part of an attempt to build a national customer base in response to Michigan's wobbly economy.

The Homestead used to get around 80 percent of its guests from within Michigan, but the current number is less than 50 percent, resort senior manager Jamie Jewell said. Last year the resort attracted visitors from 48 states.

State tourism officials hope to continue cultivating the out-of-state travel base. Travel Michigan will expand its award-winning "Pure Michigan" promotional campaign into three new Midwest markets this spring in Dayton and Columbus in southern Ohio and the St. Louis area. That expands the campaign to nine major Midwest cities, including Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis, compared to just three out-of-state markets in 2005.

"We do offer a lot of destination options that are just a tank of gas away," Zimmermann said.

Spending on travel promotion by the state has more than tripled since 2005, totaling $17.5 million this year. That amount will balloon to $30 million next year amid state plans for a national cable television advertising campaign.

"We've got a national quality product," Zimmermann said. "But we've never marketed it outside of the Midwest."