{"id":2748,"date":"2024-04-28T17:59:20","date_gmt":"2024-04-29T00:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2748"},"modified":"2024-05-05T09:14:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T16:14:26","slug":"kelly-wolgamott-talks-travel-at-the-annual-pure-michigan-conference-on-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/2748\/kelly-wolgamott-talks-travel-at-the-annual-pure-michigan-conference-on-tourism","title":{"rendered":"KELLY WOLGAMOTT TALKS TRAVEL AT THE ANNUAL PURE MICHIGAN CONFERENCE ON TOURISM"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Harrison Shiels<\/p><\/div>\n

The State\u2019s leading tourism industry providers and officials traveled to the Pure Michigan Governor\u2019s Conference on Tourism, held in Kalamazoo this year, where I caught up with many of them on the move.<\/p>\n

Kelly Wolgamott remembers the General Motors marketing slogan \u201cPeople in Motion.\u201d The career of Lansing\u2019s former Oldsmobile marketing professional is now fully dedicated to motion in the way of travel\u2026and people moving to Michigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts with a visit. 67-percent of leisure travelers find their home based on that visit. It is powerful,\u201d said Wolgamott, who is now leading the Michigan Economic Development Corporation\u2019s \u201cTravel Michigan.\u201d She\u2019s been with the organization that created the internationally acclaimed \u201cPure Michigan\u201d advertising campaign for 12 years. \u201cWe all know the emotional connection with the campaign, but it is all true data – the proof points – about the campaign and the value of what it\u2019s doing for the state. The \u2018Pure Michigan\u2019 campaign entices visitors to Michigan to then work and live here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liz Ware is a perfect example. She first came ashore in Michigan aboard a boat from her home in Chicago after living in Washington D.C., San Antonio and Montana. \u201cI am all-in on Michigan. I\u2019m not going anywhere,\u201d said Ware, who bought a home in Grosse Pointe and her family purchased Mackinac Island\u2019s Mission Point Resort, a historic, scenic property they\u2019ve invested heavily in rejuvenating and remaking, with great success, over the past decade.<\/p>\n

The Ware family also owns the Silver Birches home on Mackinac Island, and Liz still loves her ferry rides back and forth to the island, especially when the Shepler\u2019s Mackinac Island Ferry goes under the famed Mighty Mac Bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so cool to see that structure from underneath and the cars driving over it,\u201d said Ware.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur bridge trips under the Mackinac Bridge run\u00a0from 9:30<\/span>\u00a0in the morning until noon<\/span>,\u201d said Eric Heffernan, manager of St. Ignace operations for Shepler\u2019s Mackinac Island Ferry, an operation which endeavors to emulate a Disney-like experience. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about the boat ride. We want guests to feel welcome from the minute you pull in. It stems from the Shepler family and their traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shepler\u2019s also moves to modernize. \u201cWe are researching a digital bag-tag system so ferry riders to Mackinac Island, like the airlines, so Mackinac Island passengers can easily track their bags.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ware serves on the Michigan Travel Commission and the new Michigan Hospitality and Tourism Alliance. Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association does, too. \u201cWe meet with a bi-partisan hospitality and tourism caucus in the state legislature,\u201d revealed Winslow. He listed Senators John Damoose, of Harbor Springs, and Kevin Hertel from the Detroit area, plus House members Will Snyder of Muskegon and Nancy DeBoer from Holland.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to build and protect tourism and restaurants in the state of Michigan. Michigan is an amazing place to live, but we need other people in the country to know it, also, by restoring the Pure Michigan campaign funding levels,\u201d said Damoose.<\/p>\n

Mackinac Island, which forbids cars, has an airstrip. Flying cars don\u2019t land there yet, but Visit Detroit\u2019s Chris Moyer, from the Motor City, says he\u2019s seen prototypes of flying cars. \u201cDetroit is the home of American innovation -and I am not just talking about 120 years ago with the model-T, the first paved road and the first stop sign. We just built the first electric vehicle charging road and we\u2019re working on drone technology. Mobility for Detroit now means the multi-faceted approach to getting people and ideas and goods where they need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look skyward in Traverse City\u00a0June 29<\/span>\u00a0and 30 to see the U.S. Navy Blue Angel\u2019s airshow over the 98th<\/sup>National Cherry Festival, a major, weeklong affair. \u201cThe air shows are free, but the secret is\u00a0on Friday, June 28 from 1 p.m.- 4 p.m.<\/span>\u00a0you can see the Blue Angels practice the same show with less crowds,\u201d said Trevor Tkach, president of Traverse City Tourism and former executive director of the festival. \u201cAnd there is no safer place to see an airshow than over water.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Navy visits Traverse City, Patrick Perry, general manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton Lansing Hotel, is anticipating potential \u201ceagle visits\u201d from the Presidential candidates during this campaign season. He said he\u2019d experienced working with the U.S. Secret Service on those when he managed a hotel in Traverse City.<\/p>\n

Further south along Lake Michigan, Saugatuck\u2019s mayor Lauren Stanton said USA Today named the watery town, with its summer Venetian Festival, dunes, quaint downtown streets, galleries, food scene and lakefront beaches second only to Stuart, Florida, among America\u2019s \u201cBest Coastal Small Towns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to be nominated by a panel of experts and voted on by the readers. Saugatuck beat places like Newport Rhode Island; and Gulf Shores, Alabama and Key West said, Stanton, a former news anchor who also owns the famed Red Dock Bar and Retro Boat Rentals.<\/p>\n

Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0<\/i>MShiels@aol.com<\/i><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His new book: Travel Tattler \u2013 Not So Torrid Tales, may be purchased via\u00a0Amazon.com<\/span>\u00a0and his radio show is weekdays\u00a0from 9-noon<\/span>\u00a0on WJIM\u00a0AM 1240<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The State\u2019s leading tourism industry providers and officials traveled to the Pure Michigan Governor\u2019s Conference on Tourism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[2898,4998],"class_list":["post-2748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel","tag-pure-michigan","tag-michael-patrick-shiels"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2024\/04\/Pure-Michigan-e1714925651474.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2748"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2753,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2748\/revisions\/2753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}