The Pure Michigan promotion program has had a direct, positive effect on boosting tourism in southwest Michigan and statewide.

The campaign successfully attracts millions of tourists each year to our state. These visitors come to experience Pure Michigan while also helping support thousands of southwest Michigan families and small businesses.

In fact, according to a recent report, tourism in Michigan supported 200,000 jobs and generated $18.7 billion in 2013. It is a leading sector of our economy and is expected to continue to grow.

A key segment of tourism is the use of technology. Increasingly, travelers are using a tablet, smartphone or laptop while on vacation – not just beforehand.

Due to a new partnership between Google and Pure Michigan, 360-degree, fully navigable images of many of Michigan’s most iconic tourist destinations are online to enjoy and to inspire tourists to plan a trip.

At the recent 2015 Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism, officials unveiled more than 44,000 panoramic photos taken by volunteers using the Google Trekker technology.

Introduced in 2012, the Street View Trekker is a backpack camera system worn by an operator. As the operator walks along trails, the camera on top of the backpack automatically captures and stitches images together to create the 360-degree panorama.

Michigan sites such as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Mackinac Island join other natural wonders, including the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids, which are now available in the Street View feature of Google Maps.

For more information and to view the images, visit www.michigan.org/GoogleTrekker.

As a result of this innovative technology and teamwork with tourism officials, the world now has access to seeing some of Michigan’s natural wonders. Once more people see the breathtaking sights our state has to offer, they will decide to come here and witness them in person.

 

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, represents Southwest Michigan.