Northern Michigan Winter Sports Extravaganza

The Traverse City Record-Eagle has a report touting the awesome start to the winter season that’s got folks booking snowmobile and ski vacations all across the region. Absolute Michigan has a Ski Tour of Northwest Michigan (part of a week-long focus on skiing all across the state of Michigan) and the Northern Express also has a run through of area winter sports and ski resorts.

It’s not all silvery lining, as the Express’s Rick Coates explains that Travel Michigan seems to have forgotten about Michigan’s vital snow sports industry:

For the second year in a row, they are not spending a dime to promote winter tourism,” said Steve Kerschner, director of snow sports at Shanty Creek in Bellaire and president of the board of directors for the Michigan Snowsports Industry Association (the group that represents all of Michigan’s ski facilities). “They have invested millions using actor Tim Allen’s voice to create Pure Michigan commercials that promote summertime, but nothing to promote winter. They tell us that they get a better bang for their buck that way. But winter tourism is important to this state. Collectively, our resorts up north spend a ton of money promoting winter. The State could help some.”

Photo credit: Ski Jumper from The Homestead. Thanks also to the Michigan Snowsports Industry Association.