tourism

I was smiling as I went on my way, surprised to discover how much pleasure it gave me to help these people. And I think most of us are really yearning to be of help to each other.

Northern Michigan had another beautiful fall full of brilliant foliage. When and how that happens depends on a lot of factors, including a changing climate.

I had heard about the Hindu belief in “sacred cows” and thought the whole idea rather strange and certainly unhygienic. Now I was sharing a sidewalk with them. Now I was watching a lovely woman touch the cow and touch her forehead in reverence. I could feel something shift in the baggage of my assumptions.

Two protests were in the news this week — one over concerns about an oil pipeline, the other about anti-trans remarks made by a Traverse City salon owner.

People who own vacation rentals in northern Michigan are seeing a drop in revenue part of a national trend.

This week: One year since the Gaylord tornado, school safety in Traverse City, and a pedaling the rails in Grawn.

Allison and Alan Sehoyan have called Mackinac Island home for about 18 years. They live there year-round, and see a side of the island not readily apparent to most visitors.

Tourism is slowly recovering in northern Michigan three years after COVID-19 rocked the industry. Hotel occupancy in the region is almost back to pre-pandemic levels.

Speakers included figureheads in education, environment, state and local governments, and tourism.

Some in the local tourism industry are tossing around the idea that short-term rentals, such as those booked through Airbnb, collect room fees and use the money to pay for affordable housing.