Despite recent reports Munising is open for business
MUNISING — Contradictory to recent news articles, Munising does in fact have room for more tourists.
In a city with a population of around 2,500 people and one of Michigan’s top tourist spots, the tourists can be seen in crowds. Despite recent news articles claiming that the City of Munising has too many tourists, after speaking with the Alger County’s Downtown Development Authority Executive Director, it was found that the city of Munising can never have too many visitors.
“No there’s never been too many tourists, I mean it’s different when you’ve got more people, you know it’s a change.” Said Exec. Director of Alger County DDA Katherine Reynolds, “but it’s a good change and people are very excited about it.”
Munising has seen an increase in tourists in the double digits within the past 5 years. Last summer alone, there was an increase of almost 40% in tourists who decided to stay in town for several days rather than one night. This lead to some minor shortages throughout the town, now the city has prepared for any amount of visitors.
“Last year the increase was so dramatic, we were caught unaware and there were some shortages and there was some crowding.” Said Munising Mayor Rod DesJardins, “so we’ve taken the winter to address those needs and the community and the city and the business community has completely re-geared and we are ready for as many visitors as the world can send us.”
One of the steps Munising took to prepare for the tourists was opening between 12 and 15 new businesses, most of these locally owned. The increase in businesses throughout Munising has made outside investors interested in the area.
“Don’t worry about it being too crowded, there’s no way it can be too crowded around here. You know like I said, there’s such a wide expanse of things to enjoy and places to go and area to see” Reynolds continued.
Reynolds also wanted to add that people from all over the country are invited to come to Munising and they have such a wide variety of activities to participate in. Whether you just want to walk alone on a hike in the woods or participate in some activities in the downtown area of Munising, there’s something for everybody.