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Tourism
Matters
Serving the Tourism Industry of Michigan
 Winter
1999 |
Sally J.
Carpenter - editor |
Are you doing the WAVE? I’m not talking about the weaving and swaying done in athletic stadiums by sports fans. I’m talking about the "wave" as in hello and goodbye. Ed Grobe, Economic Development Specialist says the Wave is not a new concept, he describes it this way. "In the morning when local people are going to work the shopkeeper waves good morning to them as he/she unlocks their business door and in the evening when local people are going home from work, the shopkeeper waves goodnight to them as he/she is turning off the light and locking their business door." The moral to this story is that businesses are open when local people are at work, and businesses are closed when local people are off work and have time to shop. Be kind to your local customers and look at your hours not only on weekdays, but on weekends.
Large chain stores have, realizing the "wave" concept, opened early and stayed open late or in some cases twenty-four hours a day. Chain stores are now moving into our rural communities. If local shops are to compete, the key to success is to learn what the customer wants and select the right market niche, and be competitive in hours of operation.
I have observed a trend of working people using Saturday to do chores around the house in cold weather months, then in the early evening doing some leisure shopping and ending with dinner.
Shopping is a good winter pastime for tourists and local people. Do a survey in your community and see what you can purchase at a locally run business before 8:00 A.M. and after 5:30 P.M. on weekdays. Check on local businesses open until 9:00 P.M. or later on Saturday. Also look to see if in the market mix in your local business area there is a choice of restaurants that stay open beyond the retail closing time.
Then share your survey with local retail and strategize about ways to overcome any weakness or enhance what is working.
Forty percent of all leisure and business travelers say they visited a discount outlet
mall in 1997. One in ten discount mall travelers (10%) cited outlet shopping as a primary
reason for their trip.
Ninety-seven million people (half of all America) attended at least one arts activity in
1997.
One-hundred and four point two (104.2) million U.S. adults traveled 100 miles or more away
from home, an increase of 11%.
Fifty-five million people rented cars in 1997, an average of 4.7 days at an average price
of $158.11.
All this and more in Tourism Works for America 1998 Report, contact Travel Industry
Association of America at 202/408-8422 or Website: http://www.tia.org to order a copy at
$15.00 for travel related companies and organizations.
Tourism Profiles of Each County in Michigan are available to you on the internet at
the website: http://www.tourism.msu.edu. Hard
copy of each county are also available from any Tourism Area of Expertise Agent listed on
the last page of this newsletter. Thanks to the hard work of Dan Spencer, Dae-Kwan Kim and
Phil Alexander for this valuable reference material.
Festivals & Events Educational Seminar
CHESANING, MI - The Michigan Festivals and Events Association (MFEA) annual Spring Seminar is set for the weekend of March 12 - 13 at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant. MFEA educational workshops are tailored to the ongoing needs of festival planners, fundraisers, community volunteers and tourism leaders.
Featuring "The Best of the Best" past MFEA Spring Seminars, the 1999 workshops reprise the most highly rated speakers and topics presented over the past seven years. Three exciting workshops are offered in response to many requests for their return.
The topics include developing a structured volunteer program, reaping financial rewards by incorporating historical and themed events into a festival format, and exploring the challenges of change.
Mary Duistermars, well known for her work with the Holland Tulip Time Festival, will show participants how to develop opportunities for community organizations such as churches and youth groups to volunteer their time. She will also give ideas on how to recruit and keep volunteer workers. Samples of a Volunteer Training Manual will be offered.
Douglas L. Weisheit, General Manager of Billie Creek Village & Inn, will tap his experience running a 100-acre living history museum in Rockville, Indiana, to show organizers how to develop smaller, special events or festivals that are themed, such as a car, tractor, motorcycle or scooter shows or demonstrator/crafter events like "Spin-Ins" or Civil War Reenactments.
Dr. Ed Mahoney of Michigan State University will focus on "The Challenge of Change." The workshop will focus on strategic planning for festivals and special events, including situation assessment and future scenarios, strengths and weaknesses analysis and securing resources and much more.
The registration fee for the MFEA Spring Seminar is $35 and includes a full day of workshops, workshop materials and lunch. The registration fee after March 8 is $45. Special lodging rates have been arranged at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant. The deadline for pre-registering at Soaring Eagle is February 25, 1999. Those interested in more information can contact the MFEA office at 517/845-2080.
Travel Michigan Looking for Millennium Ideas
Travel Michigan is in the process of compiling a listing of Millennium events being
held statewide to respond to travel editors and features writers who have already begun
requesting this information. Help Travel Michigan promote your special Millennium event by
providing them with the dates, times and pertinent event information. Send any press
releases, brochures, etc., to Cindy Snyder,
Media Relations Manager,
Travel Michigan,
P.O. Box 30226,
Lansing, MI 48909-7726;
Fax (517) 373-0059;
E-mail snyderc3@state.mi.us
If you have any questions, please call Cindy at (517) 335-1871.
Calendar
Detroit Boat Show scheduled for February 6 - 14, 1999 at the Cobo Center in
Detroit. For more information you may contact the MBIA at 800-224-3008.
Michigan Travel Commission Meeting in Kalamazoo on March 2, 1999
Michigan Tourism Outlook Conference/Community Tourism Workshop at 1999 Agriculture
& Natural Resources Week. This event is a part of the Agriculture and Natural
Resources (ANR) Week program which is held by Michigan State University every year in
early March. The Outlook conference, hosted by TTRRC, will be held on Wednesday, March
10, 1999 at the University Club in Lansing, Michigan. As in the past, the morning
sessions will deal with travel and tourism trends in Michigan over the past year (1998)
and the Tourism Center’s forecast for the upcoming year. In the afternoon, the
sessions will focus on ways to segment Michigan's tourist market. For more information
call Teresa Herbowicz, Travel, Tourism and Recreation Resource Center 517/353-0793.
Thursday, March 11, 1999 - Community Tourism Workshop. For more
information call Gail Vander Stoep, Dept. of Park, Recreation, and Tourism Resources,
517/353-5190 or Terry Shaffer, Michigan State University Museum, 517/353-3882. You may
also find information about these programs and registration forms on TTRRC web site (http://www.tourism.msu.edu/tourism.htm)
or Tourism Area of Expertise web site (http://www.tourism.msu.edu).
Michigan Festivals and Events Association Presents "The BEST of the BEST", March 12 - 13, 1999, to be held at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Featuring workshops to assist festival planners; fundraisers; community volunteers and tourism leaders. More about this on page 2 of this newsletter. You may call 517/845-2080 to request a registration form.
National Tourism Week will be celebrated May 2-8, 1999. Who do you want to tell about the importance of Tourism? Make plans now!
Deadline for events listings in 1999-2000 Michigan Fall/Winter Calendar of Events & Travel Guide is March 12, 1999. Send to Travel Michigan, 201 N. Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933
Call Travel Michigan For FREE Group Tour Leads
The names, addresses, phone number, fax, and the type of tours and clientele information requested by an operator, is available to all Michigan tourism businesses wanting to work with the group tour market. To receive copies of group tour leads, call Adrienne Hoskins at 517/335-1865
Winter Travel Packages Needed
Travel Michigan is now adding winter travel packages to the database and web site, and would like to add yours. Just call Carol Southworth at 517/373-3848, with your package information, or e-mail the information to foutss@state.mi.us.
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| Tourism Area of Expertise Team Michigan State University 172 Natural Resources Bldg. East Lansing, MI 48824-1222 Phone: 517-353-0793 Fax: 517-432-2296 |