Understanding the Grand Rapids Visitor

Research helps Experience Grand Rapids shape and evolve marketing strategies that engage our diverse audiences. Longwoods International, a global leader in tourism industry market research, is one source we work with to identify and analyze the characteristics, motivations and behaviors of people who visit the area for business or pleasure. This information guides us in creating a new Visitor Profile each year, which we use to inform and validate our marketing efforts.

Below are a few highlights from our most recent Visitor Profile, based on overnight visitor data from 2024.

About Our Overnight Visitors

They visit at all times of the year.

They engage in a variety of activities and experiences while visiting.

Most visitors come from elsewhere in the state but the percentage out-of-state visitors increased from 2023.

More visitors engage in these activities in Grand Rapids than they do when visiting other destinations, on average.

Visiting friends and/or relatives remains the leading reason for people to visit Grand Rapids

Visitors stayed an average of 3.1 nights in 2024 – more than double 2023’s average (1.5 nights).

This was not the first trip to Grand Rapids for the majority of our 2024 visitors – and nearly half of them had visited in the past year alone.

These and other data points help us understand who our visitors are, what they want and how they behave – knowledge that helps us create more relevant content and target new potential visitors. We will update this article with 2025 data as soon as it is available.