What’s Up North…
News and Information from Traverse City, Michigan
January-April 2014A free news tip service from Traverse City Tourism
1-800-TRAVERSE or
www.TraverseCity.comTraverse City to Host State Tourism Conference in March
Some 1,000 tourism representatives, economic development officials and other attendees will gather March 9-11 at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa for the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
The three-day conference will include a trade show, a reception featuring local dishes, craft beers and wines, a bus tour of the Traverse City Ale Trail and presentations by award-winning travel journalist Doug Lansky and Christopher Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, the organization that markets the United States as a global tourism destination.
There are also breakout sessions on such topics as culinary and recreational trail tourism, the state of the meeting and event industry, use of web analytics, and international marketing. But the centerpiece of the conference is the annual report from Michigan State University on the state’s tourism performance during 2013 and its prospects in the coming year.
Traverse City CVB is now “Traverse City Tourism”
As Traverse City’s tourism economy continues to show strong growth, the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau has changed its name to Traverse City Tourism – a recognition of its ongoing commitment to that industry and its role as a valuable economic, cultural, social and environmental force for the community and its residents.
“We are very pleased with the continued progress our organization is making in building Traverse City’s destination brand awareness,” said Brad Van Dommelen, President and CEO of Traverse City Tourism. “We’ve experienced significant growth in our tourism volume, including from more distant markets, as consumers learn about our destination attributes.”
According to a new study conducted by Anderson Economic Group of East Lansing, tourism generated over 3.3 million visitor trips to Traverse City in 2012, producing nearly $1.2 billion in direct spending and supporting (directly and indirectly) more than 12,000 jobs across the Traverse City area – about 30 percent of all employment in the region. Those figures reflect a growth rate of some 4.5 percent per year in the economic contribution made by Traverse City’s tourism economy since 2006, when a similar study showed a total economic impact of $937 million.
New On Line Marketing Effort to Promote Winter Tourism in TC
Traverse City Tourism is leading a group of private and public entities in an online marketing campaign promoting Traverse City as a top-tier winter getaway destination.
Aimed at potential travelers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Chicago, the campaign is being carried out by a local online marketing firm, Lake Effect, targeting web users with an interest in outdoor recreation and/or northern Michigan and showing them customized ads that link back to Experience 231, an interactive guide to the region’s outdoor recreational spots. The website and free smart phone app allow users to match their preferred outdoor activity with detailed information on how and where they can participate in it locally.
“We are a four-season (community), so we need to market ourselves more that way,” says TCT President Brad Van Dommelen. “Our town is close to maximum capacity in the summer…but we have great opportunities to grow in the shoulder seasons and off-season.”
Openings
Bijou by the Bay, a new movie house created by the Traverse City Film Festival, has opened in the historic Con Foster building in Clinch Park. Organizers spent three months an an estimated $1 million renovating the brick structure, which features state-of-the-art projector and sound systems. The theatre will screen first-run films.
The Traverse City Whiskey Company, which launched in 2012, is finally moving to Traverse City. The popular distillery will open in a 2,200 square-foot building on the corner of 14th and Cass, with distillery production, a retail shop and a tasting room for Traverse City Whiskey. In addition to on-site bottle sales, the company will offer product samples, a craft cocktail menu, light food fare and occasional small events, such as singer-songwriter showcases.
Other Restaurant/Tavern Openings
The Parlor, a new “quiet” cocktail lounge located in the former private dining room of Om Café, provides “a refined, classy experience” where people can actually talk to each other over drinks. The drink list will features a focus on craft cocktails, including the Pineapple Lemongrass Mojito, Chocolate Decadence, Cucumber 65 and their specialty, the Smoke Stack, in which bourbon is infused with apple or cherrywood smoke right in the customer’s glass.
7 Monks, Traverse City’s popular Union Street taproom, is setting out to do for cocktails what it’s already done for beer: introduce customers to an array of unique, rare and unexpected flavors. It has launched the Low Bar, a 1,500 square-foot basement lounge that will be located directly next door to 7 Monks, with the goal of reviving the elegant, Prohibition-era aura of an underground speakeasy.
Northern Michigan native Jeff Brooks, a disabled military veteran, has opened Bravo Zulu Brewing — a brewery dedicated to other veterans as well as law enforcement professionals, firefighters and first responders. Located at 5690 U.S. 31 North in Acme.
Two Wineries to Open on Old Mission in 2014
Two new wineries are schedule to open this summer on Traverse City’s Old Mission Peninsula. The Villa Mari Vineyard & Winery will feature an underground “wine cave” for aging red wines, and is being built by Marty Lagina, who has been growing grapes on the Peninsula for the past 14 years under climate-controlled conditions, including such tender varietals as Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah. Bonobo Vineyards, is being developed by HGTV star Carter Oosterhouse and his brother Todd, and will open their 6,500 square-foot tasting room just south of Chateau Grand Traverse.
Expansions and Improvements
Short’s Brewing Company is planning a significant expansion of its brewpub operations in Bellaire. The craft brew company is acquiring purchase agreements for three lots and four buildings adjacent to its current headquarters in the downtown district, which will allow it to double its floor space. The $1.2 million expansion is expected to create 20 full-time jobs, and is expected to be completed by summer.
Traverse City’s Mt. Holiday ski area is expanding, with the long-term goal of becoming a four-season recreation site. The centerpiece of the expansion is the construction of a new zip line that will run almost 400 feet down and back from the lodge. A more elaborate zip line – featuring 10 stations – is in the planning stage.
The Cherry Republic store in downtown Traverse City will undergo a major redesign starting in January, with completion scheduled for March. Shopping space will be expanded to 10,000 square feet of space, there’ll be a big slide so that kids (and adults!!!) can slide down from upstairs to the basement and land in a big pile of cherry pits, as well as a large wine tasting area, an ice cream, cafe and eating area. The goal is to create “a really fun, experiential space for Traverse City shoppers.”
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa has installed a new 15-person outdoor hot tub at their 100,000-square foot Health Club. The new outdoor hot tub is open year-round for use by Resort Guests and Resort Club Members. It complements an existing 8-person outdoor hot tub next to it, and an existing 8-person indoor hot tub, all part of the Resort’s 15,000-square foot Indoor Water Playground, which also includes a lap pool, a recreation pool, and a splash pad on the pool deck.
Blue Angels Return to the National Cherry Festival
The National Cherry Festival will kick off its 88th annual celebration (July 5-12) with a highly anticipated, Independence Day weekend return of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels air show on Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6 over West Grand Traverse Bay. The Blue Angels flight team demonstrates the choreographed refinements of Navy-trained flying skills while exhibiting graceful, aerobatic maneuvers like the four-plane diamond, opposing solos, and the six plane delta formation.
Traverse City is the center of America’s tart cherry industry, with over three million trees in production, and it celebrates that heritage every year during the first week of July with an eight-day party featuring over 150 family activities: air shows, fireworks, parades (including the nation’s largest all-children parade) games, races, midway rides, demonstrations, nightly outdoor concerts and lots of chances to taste delicious cherry products. The Cherry Festival is Traverse City’s signature event, drawing as many as 500,000 attendees from around the country. (It’s been listed among USA Today’s Top Ten Festivals for several years running.)
Everything is located conveniently within walking distance, and since most of the events are free, it offers more than a week of affordable family fun. Best of all, it’s located on the city’s beautiful waterfront, surrounded by lovely wide beaches and just a block from the downtown shopping district.
OTHER COMING EVENTS:
Jan. 11 – 20th Annual Downtown Chili Cook-Off
Warm up your winter! This popular event takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Park Place Dome, and attracts over 1000 attendees each year who sample the many chilies and vote for their favorites. (231) 922-2050www.downtowntc.com
Jan. 11 – 5th Annual Winter Trails Day
TART Trails is teaming up with the Vasa Ski Club, Einstein Cycles and Timber Ridge Resort for free trail access, introductory ski lessons, fatbike demos, guided snowshoe hikes and equipment rentals for those new to winter trailsports!http://traversetrails.org/
Jan. 11-12 — MXR Snowcross at Summit Mountain
Two full days of extreme Snocross at Shanty Creek Resort’s Summit Mountain. The event is part of the MXR Race Series and brings the top extreme snowmobile riders to battle it out for the title. (800) 678-4111www.shantycreek.com/event/mxr-snocross/
Jan 18 –Winter Warm Up
The Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula team up with local restaurants and businesses! A $15 souvenir mug serves as your ticket for warm comfort food and drinks. It’s the best treatment for those winter blues! (231) 223-9303www.wineriesofoldmission.com
Jan 18 — BigFoot Snowshoe Race
Running Fit hosts the BigFoot 5k and 10k snowshoe race at Timber Ridge. With around 300 participants, it’s always loads of fun. And as a Midwest qualifier for the National Championship Snowshoe race in March, there are always some pretty serious athletes taking part. http://runsnow.com/
Jan 31-Feb. 2 — Kalkaska Winterfest
One of the world’s biggest dogsled events is held each January in the village of Kalkaska, with races through the Pere Marquette State Forest and weight-pull contests for dogs of all breeds and sizes. The festival also has lots of other events and games. (231) 258-9103 www.kalkaskawinterfest.org
