Crain’s Detroit Business
Sept. 3, 2026
Glenn Stevens Jr. and Liz Ware
Pure Michigan is an impactful, unified voice, and identity for our state. It captures the images, sights, and sounds of our four seasons and is a powerful, award-winning, and coveted brand other states only wish they possessed. It is our breathtaking images of the Great Lakes, vibrant downtowns, charming small towns, forests, trails, and unforgettable sunsets that inspire travel and remind those of us who live here why we love calling Michigan home.
But limiting Pure Michigan to tourism misses one of its greatest values.
Today, Pure Michigan is one of Michigan’s most important economic development assets. In a fiercely competitive national economy, states are competing not only for visitors but also for talented workers, entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and growing businesses. Michigan must compete on that stage every single day. Our brand is one of the strongest tools we have but we must grow our investment in Pure Michigan and the deployment of this powerful brand and tool.
The greatest challenge facing Michigan is not a lack of opportunity, it is retaining and attracting people who will create that opportunity. Every employer, from manufacturers and hospitals to technology startups and small businesses, is searching for talent. Young professionals increasingly choose where they want to live before deciding where they want to work. They are looking for dynamic downtowns, outdoor recreation, arts and culture, great schools, and communities that offer a high quality of life. That is exactly what Pure Michigan highlights, and what leads to visits and to people calling our state home.
When someone visits Traverse City, Detroit, Marquette, Saint Joseph, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Holland, Mackinac Island — or anywhere in between — they are not just taking a vacation. They are experiencing communities where they may decide to build a career, launch a business, raise a family, or invest. Every visitor is also a potential future resident, entrepreneur, employee, or employer.
Pure Michigan tells this story better than any program in the country. The benefits extend well beyond talent attraction. The campaign supports thousands of small businesses that form the backbone of Michigan’s economy. Independent restaurants, hotels, retailers, outfitters, breweries, wineries, entertainment venues, and family-owned attractions all benefit when visitors discover our communities. Tourism dollars circulate throughout local economies, supporting jobs, increasing tax revenue, and encouraging new investment in placemaking and critical infrastructure.
Communities that invest in walkable downtowns, waterfronts, transit, parks, trails, public spaces, and local experiences do not just become more attractive to visitors. They become places where people want to live and work.
After all, the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators can build companies from anywhere. They are choosing locations that offer inspiration, recreation, connectivity, affordability, and community.
Michigan has all these ingredients and Pure Michigan is a powerful tool that ensures innovators around the country — and the world — know it.
Other states understand this, too.
Utah has invested heavily in promoting not only its natural beauty but also its innovation economy, outdoor lifestyle, entrepreneurial culture, and growing communities. Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina have similarly recognized that place branding is vital to strong economic development. Michigan cannot afford to think differently.
Tourism marketing protects Michigan’s local businesses from losing out to better-funded destinations and states. It builds awareness. It strengthens our reputation. It helps employers recruit talent. It encourages entrepreneurs to plant roots. It inspires former Michiganders to come home. And it reminds current residents why they should stay. Because in today’s economy, perception influences where investment and businesses grow.
Michigan has world-class universities, a global manufacturing base, extraordinary natural resources, thriving communities, and a rapidly growing innovation ecosystem.
But if people do not know our story, they will not choose Michigan. Pure Michigan helps tell that story. Investing in Pure Michigan, building the national and global brand while fostering our own home state pride, is essential to the survival of our communities and small businesses.
That is why Pure Michigan is not simply a tourism campaign. It is who we are, the backbone of our places, the face of our communities, and our people. It is our voice to the world and to the citizens of our state and it is one of Michigan’s smartest long-term investments in economic growth.
Liz Ware is co-owner of Mission Point Resort and chair of the Michigan Travel Commission. Glenn Stevens Jr. is Chief Automotive and Innovation Officer and Executive Director of MichAuto at the Detroit Regional Chamber, and a Michigan Travel Commission commissioner.