Tourism Officials Expect Record Summer For Travel In Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than 37 million Americans are expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend, which is considered the unofficial start to the summer travel season.
State tourism leaders predict Minnesota will have its strongest summer travel season in six years. They say business owners think this year's early spring will attract a record number of tourists to the state.
Explore Minnesota surveyed 245 hotels, resorts and campgrounds to get their take on the tourism outlook. More than half of them expect summer revenue to increase in 2015. They're also already reporting that the number of customers and revenue for April and May is up, compared to 2014.
The director for Explore Minnesota, John Edman, says an improving economy also plays a part in their expectations. He says people also want to experience Minnesota firsthand; a state that has its own unique qualities.
"We find in our marketing that when we ask people what they know about Minnesota, they don't know too much. But when they come, they're amazed," Edman said. "They're amazed at the cultural cities, lakes, bike trails -- we have so much to offer. We need to let people know about the things they find only in Minnesota."
Another big push for tourism is the "Only in Minnesota" campaign, which Explore Minnesota kicked off before the summer travel season last year. Edman says that campaign alone brought a little more than three million people to Minnesota.