State’s travel bureau chief pushes for a more hospitable Michigan

Dave Lorenz’s “weird and eclectic background” means he’s seen life from a lot of di erent perspectives. He’s leaning into that skill to lead the state’s travel bureau through its most inclusion-focused Pure Michigan campaign yet.

Lorenz is vice president of Travel Michigan, the state’s o cial tourism promotion department within the Michigan Economic Development Corp. He’s worked there since 2002 after a previous career in marketing at Meijer Inc. and a 15-year stint as an announcer, reporter, news director and general manager at WGHN in Grand Haven. The native of Cloverville in Fruitport Township still lives on the state’s west side in Norton Shores, ve miles south of Muskegon. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

 How did you end up working in the tourism industry?

I went to Fruitport High School, where I always like to share that I was unked in speech by a teacher who became my most important nonfamily mentor and is still today. I learned a lot through that whole process, that it’s so important to be able to share your beliefs, your story, your ideas, and that everybody has worth, and it’s something that everybody should learn, but it’s not easy for everyone. That led me to Western Michigan University, where I studied communications. I left college early to take a job because (of) literally not being able to a ord to eat. So I took a job in radio in West Michigan … and all during that time, because I’m proud of my community, my wife used to always call me “the tour guide,” because I always was selling my town. It’s because of this really weird and eclectic background that I ... better understand how important it is to consider that we all are di erent, in one way or the other, and we need to always remember that as we try to encourage people to travel. I ended up leaving radio … and I went into the marketing eld as a media buyer originally and then evolved into a collaborative marketer on behalf of Meijer at the corporate o ce. Nine years later, I met a guy by the name of George Zimmerman who was the state travel director. I worked for George for I think 11 years, when he retired, and shortly thereafter, I became the travel director.

 How have you seen Michigan’s approach to travel marketing change in your 20-plus years in this job?

I’m really glad I was there before Pure Michigan, because I think George Zimmerman was a genius. I think I

Rumblings

would describe our o ce, when he rst came there, as doing what a lot of tourism organizations tend to do. They market only the things you can see, almost like a grocery list. It’s not a way to emotionally connect with the traveler. We’ve really evolved our approach from that simple, ‘OK, this is what you can see and do, go out there, nd it,’ to developing a brand that had a personal connection and a point of pride for Michigan residents and for travelers from all over the world.

 What’s happening right now in the Pure Michigan messaging that you’re excited about?

This year, more than ever, we’re trying to demonstrate the value of understanding di erent places and people. This year’s campaign is about taking a fresh look, a fresh step forward, a fresh perspective on all things.

We’re trying to show a more diverse experience and more diverse people in our ads to try to showcase that we are many people that make up the Pure Michigan story. We’re people of two peninsulas, but we’re one Pure Michigan.

 How would you describe the state of Michigan’s travel industry in 2023?

We still don’t have enough workers coming back to work in the travel industry, nor in any industry. It’s required private industry to make adjustments in the way they’re operating. In some ways, that’s a good thing. The travel industry is paying more for their employees to work, is

BY | RACHEL WATSON

going out of their way to show more respect or appreciation for their workers and they’re adjusting in a variety of ways. But it’s also required them to look at more automated ways to get things done. But frankly, we still don’t have enough people going back to work, so we’re hoping that people who might have retired early, maybe they’re looking for some part-time work, because we have that for them. And we’re also trying to encourage the travelers to do all they can to show more respect and appreciation.

 What was a highlight of the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on tourism in April?

We deliberately challenged our industry to think what it’s like to be in other people’s shoes and to think about ways we can be even more hospitable to the disabled traveler, the Black traveler, the LGBTQ+ traveler. We gave them solid suggestions on what might be done to treat everybody with dignity and respect. For instance, I’m now in my 60s, and I can tell you, a lot of my friends now consider themselves disabled travelers, because we nd it more di cult to see, to hear, to walk. And so we’re looking for the travel industry to accommodate our needs. If you see a couple of the same sex that are holding hands, that’s not something that we should be staring at — it is as simple as that. As a society we’re still there, unfortunately. As we strive toward that perfect hospitality experience, we have to accept the fact that we’re not going to be perfect, and we need that expectation from the traveler as well. Every day, we have a chance to make somebody’s life a little bit better. And that’s something that should be recognized as a precious opportunity.