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Travel,
Tourism, and Recreation Resource Center at Michigan State University
Celebrating 21 Years of Service to
Michigan's Tourism Industry!
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| Current Projects |
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Mitigating the Negative Impacts of Climate Change on Tourism (a.k.a. EPA project) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is funding a three-year project designed to help stakeholders cope with climate change. Faculty and graduate students from three MSU departments (Park, Recreation and Tourism Resources; Agricultural Economics; and Geography) and the Tourism Resource Center are cooperating on this new project. Dr. Holecek and Dr. Sarah Nicholls are leading the tourism and recreation component of the project. Lori Langone is serving as project coordinator. The overall goal of this project is to:
Contact Dr. Don Holecek or Lori Langone (formerly Martin) for more information. Overcoming Impediments to Smart Growth (a.k.a. PAL project) The Tourism Resource Center has teamed with Planning & Zoning Center, Inc. (PZC) in order to help Michigan’s design and land development professionals become leaders in smart growth. This project will survey civil engineers, architects, landscape architects, surveyors, planners and attorneys to document their perceived impediments to smart growth, identify ways to deal with those impediments, and recommend leadership skills needed to implement smart growth tools. Contact Dr. Don Holecek for more information. West-Central Michigan TAP The The West-Central Michigan Tourism Assistance Program (TAP) is a long-range research and outreach program developed to strengthen the tourism industries in Lake, Manistee, Mason, Newaygo, and Oceana counties. The TAP will be conducted in five phases over a three-year period: a supply assessment, consisting of an inventory of existing tourism, cultural, natural and recreational resources; a demand assessment, consisting of an overnight visitor survey, a transient visitor survey, and a potential visitor survey; a needs and preferences assessment, consisting of a resident attitude survey and a business/supplier survey; the formation of a regional destination marketing organization; and, the creation of a strategic marketing plan. For more information, please visit the project web site at www.tourism.msu.edu/tap. Designated Market Area Awareness Monitor Study In 2003, the Tourism Resource Center has been awarded a three-year project with Travel Michigan to study awareness of Michigan promotion, image of the state as a travel destination, and attitudes, opinions and perceptions of the Michigan travel product among residents of Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis metro areas. The project is a part of the bigger, on-going research endeavor Travel Michigan has been carrying out over the recent years to evaluate a variety of programs aimed at attracting more visitors to Michigan. Contact Dr. Don Holecek for more information. Michigan Tourism Business (a.k.a. MTB) The Tourism Resource Center and the Department of Park, Recreation and Tourism Resources have been jointly publishing Michigan Tourism Business: The Industry’s eNews Source since April 2002. Since that time, it has become a well-regarded publication within the circle of those engaged in Michigan’s tourism industry, and it is currently distributed to over 4,200 subscribers each month. This publication was funded through June 2003 by the Michigan Virtual University and the Michigan Department of Career Development. Our cooperation with these organizations allowed us to promote no-cost, on-line BeeFreeway training modules to employees of Michigan tourism businesses. Since July 2003, the e-newsletter has been published thanks to sponsors who were interested in seeing this communications piece continue beyond the original "end" date. In addition to making virtual training available, MTB regularly features an editorial column, articles contributed by guest authors, a legislative update column, links to conference information, industry news and reports, information about what's new in Michigan, travel indicator charts, special MSU reports, and holiday travel forecasts. Dr. Don Holecek serves as the editor-in-chief, and Lori Langone (formerly Martin) serves as editor and publisher. Michigan Tourism Business may be viewed at www.imninc.com/tourism. You may also register for a free subscription at that same site. Contact Dr. Don Holecek or Lori Langone (formerly Martin) for more information. Michigan Travel Market Survey (MTMS) Due to the budgetary constrains, data collection for the MTMS ceased at the end of June 2003. In operation since 1996, the survey was the only long running source of information about travel behavior across the region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and the province of Ontario) from which Michigan derives the vast majority of its tourists. Despite the fact that new data are no longer collected, the MTMS has nearly 40,000 cases, which can be analyzed in depth based on various categories: origin (state), destination, time period (1996-2003), length of stay, planning horizon, activities, travel behavior, perceptions of Michigan, etc. Contact Dr. Don Holecek or Teresa Herbowicz for more information or if you are interested in having a customized analysis of the tourist market prepared for you Michigan Travel Indicators Reports The Michigan Travel Indicators Reports track various travel indicators within a 30-mile radius of 11 key areas in Michigan. Statistics are also reported on a statewide basis. The reports present changes in the indicators on a monthly, seasonal and annual basis. The Michigan Travel Intentions Index™ in these reports was derived from the data generated by a monthly Michigan Travel Market Survey of 400 randomly selected households from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Ontario and Wisconsin. The index was a measure of the difference between respondents who expect to take "more" versus "fewer" pleasure trips to Michigan in the next 12 months. Comparisons are made to the last month and the last 12 months. The Center would like to take this opportunity to thank our many data suppliers throughout the state whose efforts make these publications possible. Contact Lori Langone (formerly Martin) for more information. Michigan County Tourism Profiles The MSU Extension Tourism Area of Expertise team produces these Michigan County Tourism Profiles to help tourism businesses and destination marketing organizations to make more informed decisions, but we also hope that they generate feed-back from their users about the data provided and suggestions for improvements and/or additions to these reports. Contact Teresa Herbowicz for more information or with suggestions. Last updated 06-08-06 |
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