LANSING – On the heels of the launch of Michigan’s largest national tourism ad campaign to date, a new study by Longwoods International shows that last summer’s Pure Michigan advertising campaign brought record numbers of out-of-state visitors to Michigan in 2011.
Summer advertising motivated 3.2 million trips to Michigan last year, and those visitors spent $1 billion at Michigan businesses, paying $70 million in Michigan taxes.
Comparing that $70 million with the $14.2 million spent on Pure Michigan summer out-of-state advertising last year, the state received $4.90 back for each dollar invested in Pure Michigan advertising in 2011. The cumulative return on investment since the Pure Michigan campaign began in 2006 is now $3.70, up from $3.29 last year.
“The Pure Michigan campaign is delivering impressive results for our state, bringing millions of new visitors and their dollars to Michigan,” Gov. Rick Snyder said. “It is because of the campaign’s positive impact on Michigan jobs and businesses and proven return on investment that I have made consistent and substantial funding for Pure Michigan a top priority of my administration.”
Of the 3.2 million out-of-state visitors generated by Pure Michigan last summer, 2 million came from the Great Lakes region and 1.2 million came from more distant markets around the country.
In 2010, the Pure Michigan summer advertising motivated a total of 2 million trips from out of state, 1.2 million from the Great Lakes region and nearly 900,000 from more distant markets.
“This data shows steady increases in both the number of visitors Pure Michigan is bringing to the state and the amount of money they are spending at Michigan businesses on those trips,” said George Zimmermann, vice president for Travel Michigan, part of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.  “We are only in our fourth year of national advertising, but we are making progress toward our goal of making Michigan one of America’s most popular summer vacation destinations.”
The 2012 Pure Michigan national advertising campaign will air more than 5,000 Pure Michigan TV commercials on cable network channels through June. The budget for the 2012 campaign is $12 million.