GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Businesses in Grand Rapids are bracing for the impact of Pure Michigan funding cuts.
During a dispute with the Republican-led legislature over road funding last fall, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed funding for a number of things including the Pure Michigan campaign. She recently proposed a $15 million budget for Pure Michigan starting next year, but that's still less than the $36 million the campaign received last year.
"The immediate issue is not being able to buy national advertising through the Pure Michigan campaign. We're working very very hard as a community to build a brand nationally and we can tell you over the last four or five years by having a national television commercial through the pure Michigan campaign, said Doug Small the President and CEO of Experience GR. "That's helped us do that. Our leisure business is off the charts because people are discovering us and a part of that is Pure Michigan campaigns."
Small says cultural establishments like the Frederik Meijer Garden & Sculpture Park, which drives hundreds of thousands visitors each year rely on the organization to market them.
"I'm certain they are as concerned as I am that if we're not promoting nationally like we were in the past that they are also going to take a hit," says Small.
Experience GR says the city has seen 10 years of record growth in hotel sales, which has allowed them to grow their budget, but without Pure Michigan funding, the organization will need to get creative moving forward.
"The social media route is already strong we're a content driven organization meaning we're throwing content out there on a regular basis with or without Pure Michigan," says Small. "Sure it would help us to have that because it's helped us with record growth, but we feel confident we can still do our job."
He says the best case scenario for Michigan tourism, is to have the full $37.5 million in Pure Michigan funding. He says that the $15 million that Governor Whitmer has devoted to Pure Michigan funding in her 2021 budget proposal, is not going to go a long way.
David Hooker, the President and CEO of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, provided the following statement to 13 ON YOUR SIDE:
"The elimination of this award winning and successful marketing campaign is bound to eventually reduce awareness of all that this great state has to offer, including cultural institutions in and around West Michigan. The Pure Michigan campaign has been a winner for not only Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, but for our state and our region. For every dollar spent on tourism promotion campaigns for our destinations and attractions, over $9 is returned into our economy — an impressive return on investment by any measure. We hope that Lansing can get to work on finding a way to once again shine a national spotlight on the many wonderful things happening in Michigan."
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