Michigan Ranks in the Top 20 Most Fun States in America

Each state has its own unique definition of their state including historical facts, well-known famous names, and most popular places to visit. Some residents describe their state having fun all the time from their lifestyle to things to do every day if you want. No matter what state you live in the COVID pandemic left all states under lockdown.

With the COVID vaccines being made available to Americans jobs have once again resumed, bars and the leisure and hospitality areas are starting to recover once again. Residents and visitors now have options for fun.

With summer just around the corner and over two-thirds of Americans planning to take a vacation, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Most Fun States in America.

To determine the states offering the greatest variety and most cost-effective options for enjoyment, they compared the 50 states across 26 key metrics. The data set ranges from movie costs to accessibility of national parks to casinos per capita.

Fun in Michigan (1=Most Fun; 25=Avg.):

• 13th – Restaurants per Capita
• 10th – Movie Theaters per Capita
• 1st – Golf Courses & Country Clubs per Capita
• 23rd – Amusement Parks per Capita
• 30th – Performing-Arts Theaters per Capita
• 20th – Fitness Centers per Capita
• 16th – Casinos per Capita
• 8th – Variety of Arts, Entertainment & Recreation Establishments

WalletHub Q & A

Are state-sponsored campaigns to promote tourism successful in bringing new visitors to the state?

“Yes. If you look at the Pure Michigan and Almost Heaven state-sponsored campaigns, they attracted a measurable increase in in-person trips from outside the state and increased visitor spending in communities and local businesses in these states,” said Ajay Aluri , West Virginia University. “For instance, before the pandemic, West Virginia’s Almost Heaven campaign saw a 9.9% overall growth in tourism spending, surpassing the national growth by 58%. “

Should states provide tax incentives to attract professional sports teams and other entertainment draws?

“Using tax incentives is a common practice for many tourism destinations,” said Jalayer (Jolly) Khalilzadeh, East Carolina University. “States can decide which target markets are more attractive and use tax incentives to attract more of that market. I know that Florida was interested in sport tourism and bringing in sports teams. Investment-wise, Central Florida was heavily involved in creating sports complexes and other facilities for soccer and tennis in Orlando. I am not aware of NC’s target markets and whether the DMO is interested in professional sports teams and sports tourism or not. I guess that ecotourism, nature-based visitors, and national park-related activities are top priorities of NC, but I am not aware of the rest.”

What actions should states take in order to help the Travel and Leisure industry recover from the effects of the pandemic?

“The states should pay extra attention to their COVID 19 pandemic rules and regulations and make sure that all travelers into the destinations feel,” said Richie Karaburun, PhD, New York University. “How states handle and market their pandemic efforts and updates will be critical for destinations when it comes to creating demand as well as of course accessibility and affordability for the flights and hotels in the destinations.”

With a significant percent of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and thus being able to travel at low risk of COVID-19 infection, will states see an increase in visitors?

“Certainly, the travel and tourism industry has gone through an extraordinary challenge during this pandemic,” said Tarik Dogru, PhD, Florida State University. “While the pandemic is still an issue in the world and it is a relatively major issue across other parts of the world, the US is on track to normalcy this summer. Increased vaccination rates combined with decreased infection rates provide a great environment for domestic travel in the US. The travel and tourism season has already started in many parts of the country. People will be traveling during this summer, and we will likely reach pre-Covid demand for hotels and restaurants. In fact, in some parts of the country, like Florida, this is the case. South Florida and Panhandle area are experiencing a greater demand in hotels that some weekends are at about 85% occupancy. Room prices are likely to be at pre-pandemic levels and so are revenues and profits soon.

“I do not think that states will continue to impose restrictions with increased vaccination rates as the pandemic will be under control unless some variant becomes a series threat. Therefore, it is likely that every state will go back to pre-Covid conditions, which will help them recover from the pandemic.”

For the full report, please visit:

https://wallethub.com/edu/most-fun-states/34665

Courtesy: WalletHub