Grand Haven

The Grand Haven Area consists of Grand Haven, Spring Lake, Allendale, Ferrysburg, Coopersville, and West Olive. Most people think of Grand Haven State Park when they hear Grand Haven. The red lighthouse and beautiful pier, the waves high enough to surf on, and the scenic view. Lake Michigan is where many people flock when on the west side of the state, more importantly, Grand Haven.

On Grand Haven's tourism website, they have many ecotourism, sustainable travel, and voluntourism activities. Some activities are kayaking, cleaning up the shores, and bird-watching. Although Grand Haven is known for its beaches, these activities are eco-friendly and cheap.

Grand Haven has helped Michigan and the Great Lakes so much. Grand Haven is a giant reason that people travel to Michigan, thank you Grand Haven!


sources:
http://visitgrandhaven.com/

Interview with A Tourist

I interviewed New Hampshire native and frequent tourist of Michigan, Angela Polychronis. I talked to her about why she comes to Michigan and how Michigan tourism affects her.

Aubrey Sochacki: What do you like most about the Great Lakes?

Angela Polychronis: The beaches are a lot cleaner than the ocean beaches back home.

AS: What makes you want to come to Michigan?

AP: Most of my family lives there and the cities are very nice and fun.

AS: What activities do you do at the Great Lakes?

AP: I love to swim in the clear water, sight-see and canoe.

AS: What is your favorite Great Lake and why?

AP: Lake Huron because it is very secluded and clean. It is also less rocky than the other lakes.

AS: What can be improved about the Great Lakes?

AP: Trash cleanup, but other than that I think the Great Lakes are beautiful.

Thank you to Angela for participating in this interview and for helping me discover why people come to this state for tourism.

Friends of the Rouge

I remember helping to clean the Rouge River up when I was younger. Living on the east side of the state, meant two things: we were super close to Lake Erie and we were super close to the Rouge River and it's tributaries. The reason the Rouge River and tourism even go together is because the Rouge River flows into the Detroit River which flows into Lake Erie. If the Rouge River isn't clean it creates a massive domino effect, causing Lake Erie to also not be clean. An unclean lake does not attract tourists. Many people flock to the Great Lakes because of how clean they are.

Friends of the Rouge help fix this problem by organizing clean up events and also by raising awareness. "Friends of the Rouge has been working to promote restoration and stewardship of the Rouge River watershed for 30 years" (Friends of the Rouge). On their website you can see all of their events and their progress. If we continue to clean up the Rouge, Lake Erie will be a lot cleaner which will in end bring more tourism to Michigan.

Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island is one of the largest tourist attractions in Michigan. Mackinac Island is located in the middle of Lake Huron between the lower and upper peninsula. Mackinac Island is known for its fudge, no car policy, and its history. The island brings a ton of tourism to Michigan, with big events and a lot of weddings. According to Mackinac Island's official website, they have award winning lodging and an amazing night life.

Mackinac Island tends to have tourism all year round, they make money in the off season by hosting the tree lighting ceremony and the Mackinac Island Winter Festival. A complete list of winter events can be found on their website (https://www.mackinacisland.org). HGTV says that Mackinac is "one of the top ten Christmas towns in America".

Mackinac Island's official website is great for scheduling a visit and also getting a virtual tour of the island. Mackinac Island has definitely helped Michigan when it comes to tourism, but also when it comes to showing awareness for the Great Lakes. There no car policy helps with pollution control and keeps more pollution out of the Great Lakes.

Sources:

https://www.mackinacisland.org

http://www.grandhotel.com

The UP

I haven't been to the Upper Peninsula in many years, but I still remember it perfectly. I remember the closest grocery store being a half hour away and the closest restaurant being an hour away. I always wondered how those businesses even remained open. Now I realize that because there was so much traffic and wonderful tourism in the UP, that is why these businesses stay open all year round. These businesses also stay open because they are the only places for the locals to go.



I vaguely remember loving the clear water of Lake Huron and being surrounded by pine trees. I also love how clean the beaches are in the UP and how well the lake cities take care of they lakes and beaches in the UP.

I am hoping to visit the UP again soon because I love the beauty up there.

Muskegon, MI

Muskegon's beach was covered in fog when we arrived, fog horns were blaring and the beach was practically empty. The sand was rocky, full of sticks and plastic trash. I witnessed many people just drop there cigarette butts in the sand. I was pretty disgusted, how could someone treat the earth this way?

My cousin and I began picking up trash as we normally did on the beaches we visited, but we found that we were just too overwhelmed by the amount and the lack of trash cans. We also found that most businesses were fairly far from the beach, about a 20 minute drive to the closest Meijer. Muskegon lacked local lakeside businesses and also didn't really take care of Lake Michigan in the way that it should.

Muskegon seemed to me like an example of what not to do with tourism and awareness.

-Aubrey

Manistee, MI

I remember stepping foot on the beach in Manistee, I was overwhelmed by the fresh air and amount of garbage cans on the beach. The beach had garbage cans everywhere, which would make sense considering the small amount of garbage that littered the beach.

Manistee was one of those places that had really been raising awareness for Lake Michigan. I didn't find much pollution there and I also saw that businesses and beach front rentals were thriving. Manistee's tourism industry was thriving, leaving businesses in full operation all year round with profits souring through the roof. Manistee also has a wonderful website that is easy to use, this website shows local businesses, communities, and services. I have found in my research that a good tourism website really helps bring tourists to that city and also helps to raise awareness for the surrounding lake.

Many lake cities should start to look into Manistee and how they are creating awareness and building tourism.

-Aubrey