It All Starts With a Visit

The role of destination marketing

Experience Grand Rapids uses an aggressive mix of marketing, group sales and promotional strategies to drive billions in visitor spending to our region.

The people who visit

These big numbers were generated by business travelers who came in for conventions, meetings, events and group tours and by leisure visitors drawn by friends, family and this fabulous destination.

These are people who admired the world class sculptures and botanical wonders at Meijer Gardens. People who took in the inspiring collections at the GRAM and the Grand Rapids Public Museum. People who experienced the fun of Beer City and the outstanding food scene in our downtown and eclectic neighborhoods throughout the community. People entertained by the ballet, symphony, opera, Broadway and community theater performances at venues large and small. People who cheered on the Griffins, Gold, Whitecaps and Rise. People who played in our parks and on our trails and nearby beaches. People who together as families enjoyed John Ball Zoo and the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. People who explored the life and times of Grand Rapids' own Jerry Ford at the Gerald R. Ford Museum (which is the perfect destination to visit in 2026 for America's 250th anniversary, since Ford presided over the nation's 200th anniversary celebration in 1976).

All of these people and more felt the warmth and welcome of West Michigan and decided that they just have to come back for more—maybe even permanently.

We keep close watch on the needs, wants and preferences of our visitors so that we can evolve our marketing strategies accordingly. In fact, we partner with Longwoods International, a global leader in tourism industry market research, to paint a picture of visitor behaviors each year.

In 2024, overnight visitors came to Grand Rapids in all four seasons, with slightly more visiting from July-September to experience our glorious summer. Almost half of them came from elsewhere in Michigan. The top reasons to visit were special events, tours, outdoor recreation and business trips. While here, visitors most often engaged in shopping, sightseeing, attending celebrations and spending time in bars/nightclubs. Nearly 70% of them had visited Grand Rapids before, which signals they had a great time on their previous visit(s). You can view more visitor data here.

Visits build image and drive change

Studies show, tourism advertising not only attracts visitors; it also lifts the destination’s image for economic development. Moreover, when people come for a visit—whether for business or leisure—they are much more likely to consider living, working, going to school, investing or retiring in a place.

Through a series of studies in over two dozen U.S. destinations over the past several years, researchers at Longwoods International quantified this impact. The findings show that both tourism advertising and visits create a significant positive lift in a destination’s image for economic development.

The most dramatic improvement in image for a destination was among those consumers who both recalled the advertising message and visited the destination. A study conducted for Grand Rapids found a 32% lift in the number of consumers who would consider the destination for other economic development objectives. Here are the numbers:

It’s clear from these figures that visitation plays an important role in every aspect of economic development.

Visitors move to Grand Rapids

While data is powerful, stories bring data to life. Listen to three stories of how a visit to Grand Rapids inspired them to make it their home.