Forgotten Winter: Tourism experts on future of travel as winters wane
UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WJMN) — It’s no secret that the warm winter was a stress on local businesses. Regional tourism experts say U.P. winters are changing, and the companies coping best are changing along with them.
Among the effects, travel to the Upper Peninsula for snowmobiling, skiing, and other snow-related activities started late, stalled out, and ended early—crippling many small businesses and local economies.
“I really like winter, I really do… And this was a disappointing winter, I’ll say,” said Susan Estler of Travel Marquette.
We’re told winter travel makes up only about 10-15% of tourism dollars in the Upper Peninsula.
Despite bringing in the season’s minority share of travelers, it is still a make-or-break time of year for many local and small businesses.
“It was millions and millions of dollars that were lost to businesses, and consequently to people,” Tom Nemachek, leader of the U.P. Travel & Recreation Association said.
Nemacheck and others told us they did what they could to provide a boost through marketing, but when just about all of the season’s offerings are snow-related, agency leaders say there is only so much you can do.
There have been some interesting changes in seasonal tourism trends in the past couple decades.Nemacheck told us that summer tourism has begun to bleed into the fall season, with the two combined bringing in about 80% of the area’s tourism.
Part of that is due to a younger, more outdoor-oriented demographic that’s become interested in the area. He says that’s partially responsible for the near-doubling of winter tourism over the last decade or so.
“Especially the silent sports: downhill and cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, ice fishing… those have been growing a lot in the last 10 years,” said Nemacheck.
It begs the question about what the future has in store, as he has also noticed a consistent shrinking of the winter season.
“We’ve seen it happening… If you look back to the nineties, there’s been great years, phenomenal snow years,” Nemacheck said, “but there has been a continuing slowdown of what we call traditional winter.”
One possible solution, according to Susan Estler of Travel Marquette, is to diversify what the region has to offer. She told us that even before this season’s disappointment, the organization was working to present a larger variety of what Marquette County has to offer travelers.
Estler said that is due in part to other Midwest destinations have made solid efforts to develop their own recreation areas, “so what was once unique is not unique, and certainly we want people coming here not only for the outdoor recreation, but the other things they can do.”
Estler’s list included enjoying the breweries, restaurants, unique events and festivals.
Nemacheck said some of the most successful pivots from snow-centric businesses he saw was when they embraced the lack of snow, connecting to their clientele base to promote events themed on the so-called “winter that wasn’t” or activities that are normally out of season, like hiking and ATV riding.
They also said the rise of social media and online marketing has made it possible to pivot on a dime to let could-be tourists know what activities the weather is allowing.
Both experts were confident that businesses will be able to adapt and survive as the climate shifts.
For businesses locked into “traditional winter” operations, Nemacheck says the future will likely be uncomfortable and unstable. “But I’m convinced we can salvage poor winters with other recreation… and by salvage, I don’t mean make up for it, but at least get through the winter with some sort of economic stability. It’s just going to be a struggle.”
“I think we’ll always be ready to have a good winter,” said Nemacheck. “You know, we have an infrastructure that is in place. We have the best snowmobile trails in the country… That’s always going to be there. It’s going to be a matter of educating people every year as the product evolves.”
“I certainly think that Marquette is a great place to come, even if there isn’t snow,” said Estler.
To find the latest updates on what is happening around the peninsula, you can check up on the Upper Peninsula Travel & Recreation or Travel Marquette websites.
Read the rest of the stories from our Forgotten Winter special report:
WATCH: The Forgotten Winter Full Episode
Forgotten Winter: Wildlife’s winners and losers of the season
Forgotten Winter: Science behind the record-breaking weather
Forgotten Winter: How local tourism survived the warm winter
Forgotten Winter: What questions farmers have about its effect on next season
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