LANSING – In front of a packed House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Committee room on Tuesday, State Representative Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard) introduced a package of bills designed to expand and sustain the successful "Pure Michigan" tourism promotion program. The move, which will create the Michigan Promotion Fund, will help the program build on its success in creating jobs and revenue for the state.
"This plan is an investment in our state and in our residents," said McDowell, a sponsor of one of the bills in the package. "Our local restaurants, hotels and stores often rely on the money generated from people visiting our great state. Not only will the Michigan Promotion Fund protect current jobs, it also will help bring more good-paying jobs to our workers."
The plan establishes the Michigan Promotion Fund, a permanent fund for tourism-related programs such as the "Pure Michigan" campaign. The program would use revenue from sales and use taxes that people already pay on tourism-related activities. By bringing more tourism dollars to the state, the fund will generate more revenue for use in tourism promotion.
The tourism industry provides more than 193,000 jobs for Michigan residents. Every dollar invested in out-of-state advertising generates more than $40 in sales for Michigan businesses and nearly $3 in revenue for the state, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
The plan would stay in effect until 2013, when the MEDC will evaluate the program and assess its success. If it's found that the state is getting back less than it's putting into the program, no more money will be put into the fund.
"Here in Northern Michigan, we know how valuable our natural resources are," McDowell said. "Michigan has some of the greatest hunting and fishing you'll find anywhere – we just need to be sure we're getting the word out. I urge my colleagues to support this plan to bring more visitors to our state and create more jobs for our workers."