[UKUKUK]

I have just read that the oil spill may tarnish beaches as far north as North Carolina, as it is still gushing that gooey black stuff into the Gulf of Mexico and being spread by ocean currents. Does anyone think this will give way to an increase of tourism on Great Lakes beaches? If so, does anyone else see that we have the ability to benefit greatly from this very sad disaster?

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by UKUKUK

I have just read that the oil spill may tarnish beaches as far north as North Carolina, as it is still gushing that gooey black stuff into the Gulf of Mexico and being spread by ocean currents. Does anyone think this will give way to an increase of tourism on Great Lakes beaches? If so, does anyone else see that we have the ability to benefit greatly from this very sad disaster?

I would like to think so, but there are two factors that may keep it from happening on a large scale.

First of all, when a lot of people consider a beach vacation, the Great Lakes isn't on their radar. I think that a lot of people who have never experienced the wonder of the Great Lakes tend to think that they're "just" lakes, and that the only real beach vacation must occur at the ocean, where there are more varied types of seashells, salt water, dolphins, etc. For some people, going to a fresh water lake with fresh water fish and clam shells for the most part just wouldn't be a real beach vacation. That's not how I feel, but I think that a lot of people do, or Michigan's lakes would already be just about as busy as the ocean beaches of the Southeast.

The second factor is that Michigan's beach vacation season is just too short. A lot of people take beach vacations in the colder months and on spring break, and the beach tourism season in Michigan only lasts, for the most part, from around May to September. Don't most of the beach towns virtually shut down for much of the year here?

I like your thought process, and yes, maybe between that tragic oil spill and the Pure Michigan ads tourism here will increase, who knows? I hope so.

[Luzette]

My brother has traveled quite a bit and always says the majority of people he has spoken with about Michigan have no idea how big the lakes really are. That would be an issue for sure in whether or not someone is thinking of a beach vacation here. I live only minutes from Lake Michigan and am lucky to have two other smaller lakes near by as well. I see the difference between the warm days and then the cooler rainy days. On the warm days people are out in sail boats enjoying the water and the towns are full of people. On the colder days no one is out. I used to work in a greenhouse and had people from Florida coming up very upset that it was so cold they had to turn the furnace on. I think if we had a solid three months of dependable warm weather it would help us so much with tourism. If people come up hoping to have summer sports on the beach and find instead that it's days of rain with only 50 or 60 degrees it just isn't going to work for having anything like what they've had on the gulf coast over the years. My two cents anyway...

[michmoldman]

Nope...water is too cold....season too short.

[YAZ]

One of the guys that I work with (he's originally from California), was amazed that folks in MI actually have houses on a lake. People LIVE there? Right on the lake?

[TNKY]

Originally Posted by michmoldman

Nope...water is too cold....season too short.

This.

[sunshineann]

Whatever the seasons and water temps...i love it.

[danielj72]

I was down south once when I had a woman ask me if there were icebergs on the great lakes all year long. The stereotypes out there of the flat frozen upper midwest keep alot of potential tourist from visiting Mi, Mn and Wi. Most of the nation has no idea what is out here, they just think "flyover country" or 9 month winters. The pure Michigan ads may be helping, but they will only get so many people to look at this area for a vacation.