Tourism rebounding to near pre-pandemic levels

Mar. 10—TRAVERSE CITY — March Madness is underway with high school basketball and will begin next week in the collegiate ranks.

A number of basketball metaphors bounced out at Thursday's Traverse City Tourism annual conference at the Great Wolf Lodge as key statistics like hotel occupancy in 2022 rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels.

But Traverse City Tourism President/CEO Trevor Tkach and Cherry Capital Airport Director Kevin Klein said 2023 is a time to keep up a full-court press on the issue.

"I'm optimistic," Tkach said near the end of the 45-minute gathering in the White Pine Ballroom. "But it's going to take a lot of work from a lot of people in this room."

Grand Traverse County hotel occupancy was 60.2% in 2022, according to Smith Travel Research. That is up from 45.6% in the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and close to the 62.3% in 2019.

Tkach said there was "no surprise there was a dip in 2020" when it came to tourism. But even though numbers are showing "there's a rebound there," the organization needs to help the region continue to attract visitors year-round and not just in the busy summer season.

"We're doubling down on group and conference business," he said.

Another area Traverse City Tourism and its members need to champion is workforce development. Tkach said 27% of the jobs lost during the pandemic were in hospitality and scholarships and other creativity may be needed to help replenish some of the staffing shortfall.

"We took it on the chin more than any other industry," he said.

Tkach said the Ironman in Benzie County, assisting in the return of the Traverse City Comedy Fest and the continued development of the Traverse Indoor Sports Coalition are all ways the tourism organization can help the region continue to be a four-season, year-long destination.

"We're working hard every day to take full advantage of the resources, the assets our community has available," Tkach said before the annual meeting started.

Tkach said partnerships were the key to attracting 6.9 million visitors to the area in 2021. Those visitors spent $913 million in 2021, created $1.3 billion in annual economic impact and generated more than 8,500 jobs.

While 41% ($376 million) of the $913 million spent in 2021 went to lodging and 20% ($178 million) went to food and beverage, one of the key partnerships for Traverse City Tourism is with with Cherry Capital Airport.

Klein said Cherry Capital is "limited to promoting the airport" by the Federal Aviation Administration, but the $2.6 million TC Tourism/TVC partnership investment since 2012 has generated more than $1 billion in airline revenue and more than 4.4 million passengers, according to one of Klein's slides at the meeting.

Klein said Cherry Capital is "the Pure Michigan airport" because it is the only one in the state that has more people (52%) fly into it from outside Michigan. Air travelers also spend an average of five nights in a hotel compared to slightly more than one for those driving, leading to Klein saying it's about "heads in beds and butts in seats."

"Bringing (visitors) into town is what it's all about," Klein said of the 75 percent increase in passengers since 2012. "Bringing it into Traverse City, bringing it into northern Michigan is what it's all about.

"Other than that, revenue is just flying away."

Klein said, in 2011, Cherry Capital had three airlines (American, Delta and United) and served five cities (Chicago, Denver, Detroit, La Guardia in New York and Minneapolis). Today, Cherry Capital has added Allegiant and Sun Country and serves 17 cities.

But Klein also showed a slide that 67 cities "lost some form of air service" during the pandemic.

He said seats drive the market and air fares and Traverse City has 2.48 seats per capita, below only Detroit's 4.7, which Klein said is expected because of its status as the state hub.

Klein also noted that the small regional jets of the past, which helped build TVC, aren't being made anymore. He said communities need to fill 130-seat planes or the economics won't make sense.

"If we don't use the service, we're going to lose it," said Klein, who wants air travelers to consider Traverse City rather than driving and flying out of places like Grand Rapids and Detroit. "If it lands today, it might not come back tomorrow."

Cherry Capital Airport received $5,225,000 in federal funding to replace passenger boarding bridges, according to a late February news release. Funding comes from the Airport Terminal Program, one of three aviation programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The law provides $1 billion annually for five years for Airport Terminal grants, the statement read.

U.S. senators from Michigan — Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters — called improvements to Cherry Capital Airport "critical" to northern Michigan's economy and tourism in the press release.

"I am thrilled to see the Cherry Capital Airport receive investments that will benefit the people of our region," state Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, said in an email statement released Thursday morning. "Our airport is a critical hub for travel in and out of northern Michigan.

"This opportunity improves airport infrastructure and service — it is a step in the right direction for funding rural communities, like ours, more equitably."