Google Goes 'Pure Michigan' With New 360 Degree Photos Touting Tourist Destinations
By Edward Cardenas
SOUTHFIELD (CBS Detroit) - Google users from around the world are now able to get a taste of "Pure Michigan" through a partnership between the state and the tech giant.
Crews using Google Trekker technology visited some of the most iconic destinations in the state and took 360-degree photos from the top of the Mackinac Bridge to the end zone at Ford Field.
"The Pure Michigan campaign has elevated Michigan as a national travel destination, and we are taking that one step further by having these images globally accessible on Google Maps," said Lt. Governor Brian Calley, in a release. "This initiative combines our natural beauty with innovative technology in a way that really speaks to all that Michigan has to offer visitors, residents and businesses alike."
The partnership was announced Monday at the Michigan Tourism Conference, and brings locations such as Mackinac Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to Google Street View for the first time.
Last fall, team members and volunteers from Pure Michigan and the Department of Natural Resources took photos around the state in the first Midwest, state-wide Trekker Loan partnership for Google.
The Street View Trekker is a backpack system with a camera on top, worn by an operator, which captures photos automatically and stitches them together to create a 360-degree panorama seen on Google Maps.
"We are excited to be going global with some of the incredible places that can only be experienced here in Michigan," said David West, Vice President of Travel Michigan, part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, in a release.