Business News

Tourism growth is economic growth

Minding our own business

Over the past decade, Delta County’s tourism economy has undergone a remarkable period of growth.

The accompanying graph tells part of that story. Based on lodging assessments collected from properties with 10 or more rooms, estimated hotel revenue in Delta County grew from approximately $6.3 million in 2016 to nearly $13 million in 2025, an increase of more than 100 percent.

Even more encouraging, our 2026 lodging assessment collections are currently running ahead of last year’s record pace.

There are many reasons for that growth, and Visit Escanaba is one part of a much larger tourism ecosystem. But I believe there is an important correlation between this growth and a strategic decision our Board of Directors made nearly a decade ago.

Beginning in 2017, we placed greater emphasis on building the digital infrastructure necessary to compete for visitors. We focused our resources on digital advertising, search, social media, compelling content and a website designed to help potential visitors move from discovering our area to planning a trip.

We also embraced Visit Escanaba as the consumer-facing brand for marketing all of Delta County. That decision was driven by data. Our marketing needs to quickly connect a potential visitor with a recognizable geographic destination. Escanaba provides that connection particularly well in the Midwest markets we target, while our content promotes experiences throughout Delta County. The objective has never changed: use our limited resources where they can generate the greatest return for the entire county.

Today, we concentrate heavily on our Midwest drive market and the people most likely to become our customers. That includes travelers looking for an Upper Peninsula getaway and people coming here to visit friends and family.

Much of our most successful content also taps into nostalgia. A video of a familiar winter tradition, a Lake Michigan shoreline, fall color, fishing, a community event or a place someone remembers from childhood can generate an emotional response. It puts Delta County back into someone’s mind. That awareness matters.

Visit Escanaba’s role is to reach people outside our community and give them reasons to come here. Once they arrive, an entire network of local businesses, organizations and municipalities takes over. Hotels provide places to stay. Restaurants and retailers serve

them. Events give them something to experience. Our parks, beaches, trails and waterfronts provide reasons to explore. Increasing numbers of short-term rentals have also expanded the ways visitors can stay here, creating additional economic activity that isn’t reflected in the hotel-revenue graph.

A great example of that ecosystem is taking shape right now in downtown Escanaba. Terrace Bay Hotel’s ownership group recently broke ground on a new Hampton Inn by Hilton on the downtown waterfront. The $15.5 million development is planned for 93 rooms, and its developers project it will bring approximately 46,000 visitors downtown annually. That investment follows the completion of Escanaba’s two-year, 16-block Ludington Street infrastructure and streetscape project, another major investment in the future of our community.

That is economic development. No single organization creates it. It takes entrepreneurs willing to invest, municipalities improving infrastructure, organizations producing events, businesses creating great experiences and a community worth visiting.

Visit Escanaba is a critical part of that ecosystem. Our Board of Directors has consistently supported a strategy focused on raising awareness of Delta County in the markets most likely to visit us. Our job is to make sure people know we’re here and give them a reason to make the trip.

Nearly a decade into that strategy, the trend line is moving in the right direction. The growth shown in this graph represents more than hotel rooms. It represents outside dollars entering our community, supporting local businesses, creating jobs and strengthening Delta County’s economy.

And there is good reason to be excited about where that trend is headed next.