LANSING – Officials in the state’s tourism industry are asking that $90 million of Michigan’s federal stimulus money be dedicated to a three-year plan to boost travel.
In recent years, lawmakers have boosted tourism promotional funding and the officials want that effort maintained, arguing the investment will mean $253 million in new sales tax revenue.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s budget includes reducing tourism promotion back to its previous $5.7 million appropriation.
“There’s never been a more important time to take the ‘Pure Michigan’ campaign into states with economies stronger than ours,” said Dan Musser III, president of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. “To be effective, Michigan’s stimulus package must include funding for projects that provide both long and short term relief. Investing a minute percentage of the stimulus package into ‘Pure Michigan’ will almost immediately create sorely needed jobs and new sales tax revenues to fund state schools and city services. And that’s a winning combination for Michigan’s economic future.”
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