Nov. 24, 1999
KALAMAZOO -- The weather outside could get frightful, but the outlook for winter tourism is delightful this year. With a robust economy, all that is needed for a blockbuster winter tourist season is snow. But even if mother nature doesn't cooperate, Michigan should see another strong tourism season this winter, says Dr. Eldor C. Quandt, chairperson of the WMU Department of Geography.
"I feel this could be a very big season for us," Quandt says. "People have a lot of spendable income. Part of it depends on the weather, but a lot of people have plans in place and the money is there."
The winter tourism season kicks into high gear in early January when the skiing season gets rolling downhill, Quandt says. Between now and then, visitors will be hitting the highways for road trips to tourist hotspots. Quandt predicts a 4 percent-plus increase in tourism revenues overall for 1999, up from the 2.5 to 3 percent that many had forecast. "It's been a good year," Quandt says. "I don't see much of a change in that."
Media contact: Mark Schwerin, 616 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu
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