The Challenge
Since becoming Agency of Record in 2011, Advance Travel & Tourism has partnered with Mackinac Island Tourism to increase awareness, drive economic impact for the island’s lodging and hospitality partners, and extend demand beyond the traditional peak season.
As travel behaviors evolved, maintaining momentum required more than repeating past success. The destination needed to reach new audiences, strengthen its national presence, and continue attracting higher-value overnight visitors from outside its traditional Midwest markets.
The Strategy
What began as a digital strategy in 2013 has evolved into a full-funnel approach designed to meet travelers wherever they are in the planning journey.
Over the years, Advance Travel & Tourism has continually expanded Mackinac Island’s marketing program, incorporating new tactics and channels as traveler behaviors and media consumption evolved. Today, the strategy spans paid, owned, and emerging channels, creating a full-funnel approach designed to engage travelers throughout the planning journey. Current tactics include display advertising, search, social media, content, video, email, SEO, OTT/CTV, and Extended Reach.
In 2025, changing travel patterns presented a new opportunity. Creative messaging positioned Mackinac Island as a refreshing summer escape with moderate temperatures, helping attract travelers from warmer markets seeking cooler destinations.
New tactics including SEO and OTT/CTV strengthened visibility, while expanded social campaigns also introduced new opportunities to connect with meetings and group audiences. As traveler behavior evolved, so did the strategy, allowing Mackinac Island to expand its reach and continue attracting high-value visitors.
By continually adapting the strategy rather than relying on past performance, the partnership has helped Mackinac Island sustain long-term growth.
The Results
The long-term strategy helped Mackinac Island achieve four consecutive years of record tourism revenue from 2022 through 2025.
By attracting more out-of-state travelers, Mackinac Island increased overnight stays and strengthened overall economic impact. Out-of-state visitors average four nights on the island compared with three nights for Michigan travelers.
Targeted warm-weather markets experienced significant year-over-year growth in overnight visitation:
Growth in Targeted Warm-Weather Markets
+45%
overnight visitation from
Dallas
+42%
overnight visitation from
Phoenix
+41%
overnight visitation from
Fort Myers/Naples
Nashville
+33%
Orlando
+20%
Austin
+10%
Higher-Value Visitors
Out-of-state travelers average four nights on the island compared with three nights for in-state visitors.
Record Tourism Revenue
Four consecutive years: 2022-2025
National Recognition
As visitation and revenue continued to grow, Mackinac Island earned national recognition from some of the travel industry’s most respected publications.
Recent accolades include:
January – February
March
April
May
June
Successful destination marketing isn’t built on a single campaign.
It’s built on the ability to evolve.
Since 2011, Advance Travel & Tourism and Mackinac Island have continuously refined strategy, embraced new channels, and adapted to changing traveler behavior. What began as a digital initiative has grown into a full-funnel marketing partnership that has helped deliver sustained growth, national recognition, and four consecutive years of record tourism revenue.
From more than 30% revenue growth since the partnership began to four consecutive years of record tourism revenue, Mackinac Island’s success demonstrates the value of a strategy designed to evolve alongside the traveler.
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