After a year-long hiatus, the state’s Pure Michigan campaign re-launched late last month with a $1.2 million effort showcasing Michigan’s winter playgrounds. Its intent: to reinvigorate the state’s moribund tourism economy by luring visitors in and outside the state to visit places like northern Michigan this season.
While the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) hasn’t issued interstate travel restrictions or quarantine recommendations this winter, it has not only been urging people to strictly limit gatherings and interactions to those within their own household but restricting many types of business operations across the state. David Lorenz, vice president of Travel Michigan, defends the decision to launch the winter campaign, one he says was carefully crafted to get Michigan residents and those who live near Michigan to plan short trips even while they adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines.
“I’m really pleased so far that it seems to be having a positive impact on encouraging people to safely travel because that’s part of it,” Lorenz says. “We’re not just saying, ‘Go out there.’ We’re saying, ‘Listen, when you are ready to travel, make sure you’re doing it safely by taking what we call the Pure Michigan pledge — that’s literally pledging that you’re gonna keep other people safe by doing all the precautions.’”
As Patrick Sullivan writes in this week’s Northern Express — sister publication of The Ticker — for the region’s tourism-driven businesses, the response to the $1.2 million effort likely depends on whether they stand to benefit from the campaign. Nevertheless, it begs a bigger question of us all: Are the people who are willing to travel for pleasure during a pandemic the same folks who are willing to do as the Pure Michigan pledge and MDHHS suggest — wear a face mask in public, frequently wash their hands, and limit interactions with people outside the residents in their household? And even if they are, should the state encourage them to travel at the same time it’s limiting what many tourism-dependent businesses can do?
Read more about the efforts of Pure Michigan and other groups to walk the fine line between saving a tourism-based economy and saving lives in this week’s Northern Express, available to read online or at newsstand locations in 14 counties across northern Michigan.
"pure" - Google News
January 25, 2021 at 12:03PM
https://ift.tt/39eC2vV
Pure Michigan's Plight: The Fine Line Between Saving A Tourism Economy & Saving Lives - Traverse City Ticker
"pure" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d6cIXO
https://ift.tt/35ryK4M
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Pure Michigan's Plight: The Fine Line Between Saving A Tourism Economy & Saving Lives - Traverse City Ticker"
Post a Comment