“I wish someone would spend an hour in our welcome centre during this time of year, listening to what people have to say about Marquette County […] And they will quickly realize that people are not here to wreck things, to make their lives difficult. They’re here to spend their money and spend some time with their family and friends and enjoy the area.”  – Susan Estler

Hear the first episode of Travel Beyond: Marquette by subscribing through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player.

In Marquette, Michigan, the people shaping tourism also happen to live next door. They hike the same trails, shop at the same farmers’ markets, and want the best for their communities, just like everyone else.

Susan Estler, Executive Director of Travel Marquette, believes that when destination management organizations recognize themselves as part of the community fabric, they can build stronger, more authentic relationships with residents. 

That mindset is why Marquette approaches tourism development with collaboration, education, and long-term care as high priorities. Initiatives like pet-friendly Bark Ranger kits, Leave No Trace education, and cleanup programs aren’t just about managing visitors, they’re about shaping a culture of shared stewardship between travellers and locals.

Programs like Respect Marquette County emerged from real community conversations and now bring together over 30 local partners working toward a common goal to protect what makes Marquette special, while helping residents see the tangible value tourism can bring when it’s done thoughtfully.

For DMOs everywhere, Marquette offers an important reminder: tourism isn’t separate from local life. It is local life. And when destination leaders act not just as marketers, but as neighbours and stewards, they create space for trust, collaboration, and more meaningful travel experiences for everyone involved.

In this first episode of our new season of Travel Beyond in Marquette, you’ll learn:

• All about Marquette, Michigan: a community on the shores of Lake Superior passionate about protecting the environment and preserving what makes their community special. 
• Their Respect Marquette program, which was made possible by collaborating with over 30 stakeholders.
• Tourism’s role in an area with multiple industries.
• The power of reminding your community that tourism businesses and DMO staff are all on the same team, working to help destinations thrive.

Subscribe to Travel Beyond through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player.

Feature image provided by Travel Marquette.

Show notes

Collect Marquette Pass: 

Visitors can participate in Collect Marquette by picking up gloves and a trash bag at the Travel Marquette office, then checking in at geo-tagged sites around Marquette County where they’re encouraged to help keep these treasured outdoor spaces clean by collecting litter along the way.

Respect Marquette County Coalition:

Respect Marquette County is a coalition made up of diverse partners from across the region, including state agencies, community and economic development groups, trail organizations, and more. Developed in collaboration with Leave No Trace, this coalition embodies Travel Marquette’s strategic vision to foster strong community partnerships dedicated to addressing the environmental, social, and economic sustainability challenges facing the region.

Episode transcript

This transcript was generated using AI and has been lightly reviewed for accuracy.

Susan Estler: I wish someone would spend an hour in our welcome center during this time of year listening to what people have to say about Marquette County and what people have been able to see and what they think of the county, and they will quickly realize that people are not here to wreck things, to make their lives difficult.

They’re here to spend their money and spend some time with their family. And friends and enjoy the area.

Sara Raymond de Booy: Welcome to Travel Beyond. I’m Sara Raymond de Booy from Destination Think. I’m recording from Seattle, Washington from the homeland of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Squamish, and Muckleshoot people. On this show, we look at travel’s role in making a better world, and we highlight leading destinations and change makers.

Our guests are taking local action that the world can learn from. They’re helping to regenerate ecosystems, communities, and economies, and they’re often making positive change happen from the bottom up. Many of the voices we’ve highlighted are part of the destination Think collective, A peer group of more than 20 ambitious forward-thinking destinations, working toward a better future for travel and the planet.

And earlier this summer, I had the chance to visit one of the Collective DMOs. Travel Marquette in real life out at their home base in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I’d always been curious about visiting the Great Lakes, a part of the US that I’d never been to before. My colleague and I got to experience nearly four seasons in just five days, and even had the chance to cool off with a swim in Lake Superior.

Lake Superior or Mother Superior as she’s sometimes known in the area, greatly shapes the landscapes weather, history, and community. In this part of the world. It holds about 10% of the world’s fresh water, which is a great trivia fact that I did not realize until my trip and Marquette residents have a lot of respect and awe for the lake.

As a community that lives so in tune with the power of Lake Superior, you can imagine that the residents in Marquette have a lot of passion for protecting it and the ecosystems that allow it to thrive. As tourism continues to evolve in the area, making sure that visitors are educated and aware of how to protect this unique landscape is something that Travel Marquette has been heavily focused on.

They’ve also been working on educating residents on the value that tourism brings to the community, especially in peak summer season when it might get just a little bit crowded. Working with Marquette over the past year or so, I had become curious to learn more about how collaboration with less traditional partners was playing a key role in how Travel Marquette was leading the community forward.

So for our first interview, we sat down with Susan Estler, CEO of Travel Marquette to get a lay of the land and understand where this destination is focusing their efforts.

Okay, so could you tell us a little bit about yourself, your name, your role, and and what you do here in Marquette? 

Susan Estler: My name is Susan Estler, and I’m the CEO of Travel Marquette.

Sara Raymond de Booy: And how long have you lived up here?

Susan Estler: I’ve been up here for about seven and a half years now. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: Any best parts of living here that you like? What’s your favourite thing to do every day? Oh, there’s 

Susan Estler: So many favourite things I love to do here. It’s hard to say I love winter here. It’s absolutely, it’s like other worldly to, to, uh, be here during the winter months. Especially when, um, the ice is coming up and waving into the shoreline. All the, just summertime is terrific too.

Hiking, uh, you know, I’m a little more casual biker. I’m not really a mountain biker and I have a, my horse about six minutes from my house, so it couldn’t be anything better. And I’m within walking distance of work. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: Yeah, kind of the best of, best of all worlds. It’s the best of everything. And how would you explain the allure of this place as someone who’s never been?

Susan Estler: You know, it’s interesting. I’ve worked in a lot of places that are considered to be, you know, idyllic, uh, visitor areas like Florida and, um, a couple different areas in Florida. And it’s interesting because coming up here, people come here for the first time and they wanna come back. Um, they find it a really special place.

People are exceptional, very friendly. The offerings that we have as far as things to do and see for being such a small town and city like we are and small county, well actually we’re the largest county in the state of Michigan, but small in population. You know, there’s so much to do and see and people just love to come here and I have not heard one person say, ah, I don’t really like it.

It’s really an exceptional place. Once you’ve been here, it grabs your heart. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And I know you’ve worked in, in tourism all over the, all over the place. Yes. What do you love about the industry? 

Susan Estler: Well, I think the thing that I love the most is the comradery. You know, I still have friends of mine, um, that I actually am in touch with.

Uh, I’m actually going on my personal vacation down to North Carolina and the CEO for Sarasota CVB has retired and we worked together quite a bit. I’m going down and I’m actually staying with her one evening before I go, uh, to the class that I’m taking. If you have a question, you can always ask somebody if you want to, um, get information on how somebody does things.

It’s a very cordial, um, industry, competitive, but, um, definitely helpful. Everybody wants everyone to succeed because if people don’t succeed in our industry, it makes it difficult for all of us. Yeah. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And so zooming out a little bit, um, or zooming in, I guess, to Marquette, um, now, um, could you set the scene and tell us a little bit about Marquette as a destination and what brings visitors to this area?

Susan Estler: Well, the reason people come here is to just get away and unplug. Um, it’s really something if you’re coming from the lower Peninsula, you’ll cross the Mcna Bridge and it is. A beautiful view on either side. You can see Lake Huron, lake Michigan, and once you get over the bridge, um, you’re along. If you go along route two, you can.

It is just really a gorgeous drive and if you just really spend time and you’re in the moment and you’re driving along, you just realize how lucky we are to have such a special place like this. So, driving along too. Then you cut up on 77 and then you go on to 28 and you’re on Lake Superior. So you’re on a great lake most of the time that you’re actually traveling.

Uh, up here, if you’re coming from Michigan, if you’re coming from Wisconsin or other areas, you can fly in into our local airport. And that’s a beautiful view too. But um, you know, it’s just really great. And would you say that there’s a peak season here? Definitely, uh, July and August tend to have the most visitors here.

July, especially like July 4th is, is really when there are a lot of people here, um, coming to celebrate, um, and go to the beach and, and do other activities. Biking, hiking, um, and just spending time with your friends and family. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And I know I, with the airport, I saw signs for the air show and a lot of the events. What are some of the summer events that are on here? 

Susan Estler: Well, the air show is actually new for us. Um, this is the first year, and I don’t know whether they’ll continue to do it, but it is the first year that we have it. But we have, or ashore, which is a tremendous bike race that we have in the middle of August.

Uh, we have Blueberry Festival, which is a great street fair where you have a lot of different vendors. Then it rolls into Art on the Rocks. You have Outback, um, art Fair, which are both on the same weekend that, that same weekend as Blueberry Festival. So that again, is another time when we see a lot of activity for the 4th of July.

July 3rd, we have the fireworks. July 4th we have a parade. And then on the fourth we actually have a laser show that’s sensory sensitive for veterans. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: So how much would you say that tourism is a contributor to livelihoods here? 

Susan Estler: Well, I think the economy of Marquette, um, is very, it’s kind of complicated.

We have Northern Michigan University, which is a very important part of our economy. You have, uh, the hospital, so that is another important part. But then there’s also tourism too, and visitors come here. From all over. They come to visit their friends and family. They come for the different events that we have, and the majority of them just love being here and they love, uh, coming up here and participating in the events year after year.

Sara Raymond de Booy: And do you think many people around here are aware of, of that, of the tourism impact on? 

Susan Estler: Well, the thing that I think a lot of people don’t realize is even with the state of Michigan. 46% of people who are coming to Michigan are actually visiting friends and family. Mm-hmm. Um, and I know that here in Marquette County it’s about the same.

So whether it’s for an event or whether it’s to visit friends and family, most of the people who are coming here are actually doing that, or half of them are. So, um, you know, that’s something to keep in mind as well. Do you think people know what Travel Marquette does as an organization? I think some do and some don’t.

I think some people think that we’re just unfettered promotion to bring tons of people here during a very busy time of the year. And then there are others who realize that we’re doing the Respect Marquette County program, that we have a couple sub-programs with that, like the Junior Explorer program.

The Bark Ranger program, um, where we’re giving out bandanas and waste bags to all the different hotels for people who come in with dogs. And then we also have a program that we’re starting called Collect Marquette. And that actually is where people will go to different locations. It’s geofence, they can check in, and then they end up, uh, collecting garbage wherever they find it.

Tie up the bag, bring it in, and we’ll give them a, a replacement bag that can be used again and again. And 

Sara Raymond de Booy: what do you wish people knew about your work at the DMO? 

Susan Estler: I wish people understood that we actually live here, that the hoteliers do live here in Marquette and we all value what, uh, what we have and want to preserve it as much as anyone who lives here, but we are.

Recognizing that there are people who have to make a living, A majority of people have to make a living shop, owners, restaurant owners, breweries, all of those things during the summer months are actually making payroll for a few months, um, as things start slowing down, especially November and December when it gets slower.

Sara Raymond de Booy: And is there anything that you wish people knew about your team at Travel Marquette and their passion for the place. 

Susan Estler: My team is truly dedicated and they are passionate about making sure that we are making it a better place for both visitors as well as residents. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: What do you think Marquette would be like if, uh, if there wasn’t tourism here?

Susan Estler: Well, I think it would be just another has been of a city. There just would not be the, the vibrancy. Certainly with Northern Michigan University, there are a lot of younger people who are here. Mm-hmm. And that brings a life into the city that we wouldn’t normally have. But you have parents coming in, you have people coming in for medical reasons.

All of those are considered in our numbers. And so the thought that there are tons of people coming in here each year, more and more people. Just isn’t accurate. In 2021, we had about 1.4 million people coming into the area. That includes parents, that includes people coming in for medical reasons. That’s just people who stayed overnight.

It’s also people who are visiting their friends and family. So that has actually dropped down to about one point, um, 1.1, 1.2 million. Uh, last year in, or actually in, yeah, in 2024. So we’re really not seeing an increase of people. We’re not seeing an increase of people living here. It is a vital, important part of the economy for Marquette.

Sara Raymond de Booy: How has tourism changed over the years and maybe how has that affected how travel Marquette operates? 

Susan Estler: Well, to be honest with you, you know, we have. Really made a conscious effort in listening to the community, in listening to our stakeholders and including them in the decisions that we make, rather than just randomly promoting an area because we think that, uh, visitors will like it.

We actually have created respect Marquette County, and so by doing respect, Marquette County, we actually are having other, uh, organizations involved in our strategy. So we meet on a quarterly basis. We talk about different issues that may be arising. The first year that we, um, had it, we had quarterly meetings on what was going to be happening in the next quarter.

Now that we’ve kind of got that down, we’re taking a look at individual areas that might be a concern, upcoming issues, and we try to, to, uh, resolve those as well. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: So how many people would you say are involved in, or how many organizations are involved in respect Marquette and 

Susan Estler: we have helping 

Sara Raymond de Booy: you develop that strategy?

Susan Estler: Yeah. We have roughly 30 different organizations that are actually working with us, uh, off and on. We have some individuals who are interested. They kind of popped in and popped out. We’ve had organizations from all over Mar County involved with it. And the thing that I really enjoy the most about it. Is the fact that we have connected one organization to another and that they have started working together.

So having that synergy, like-minded organizations working together to better Marquette County and make sure that what we’re promoting and what we’re doing is actually, uh, what organizations that are in conservation and different uh, activities would like to see. And what was the need that led to the creation of this organization?

Well, I was looking at social media and I saw increasingly that there were people who were upset that there were visitors here and people who were from out of state during the peak time of year. And they were there. They were here. And it was interesting to me because there was one particular instance where a woman was saying that she had gone to a particular trail.

For a celebration of life of her family member, her entire family had been here for generations. Many of the family members had moved out of the area, came back for the celebration of life, and when she got back to her car, someone had written in the dust on her car, go home because she had an out of state plate.

So what people don’t understand is there are people who actually live here in Marquette or um, will come back and visit their family members. They have out-of-state plates, they are living in other areas and they come back to visit. And um, this woman was very, um, upset that someone had said, go home because she was here for generations.

So the assumption that because someone has an out-of-state plate and that someone isn’t really, um, belonging here. Isn’t accurate. Mm-hmm. And I think the one thing that I have seen is with Marquette, everyone belongs here and 

Sara Raymond de Booy: there is a place for everyone. So, which organizations are involved with the coalition and where there’re, uh, ones at the start that we’re really eager to start participating?

Susan Estler: Well, we have the Superior Watershed, uh, which is a terrific organization. They are working very hard, um, to coordinate. All the projects that we have going on in Marquette County, they’ve worked all over and, um, are a very important part for us. We also have the DNR, uh, they are working with us as well, as well as all of the trail groups.

We have all of the different trail groups, which there are many. There’s North Country Trail, there is NTN, there is the Rama Trails. And the, uh, iron or heritage trail as well, and the city trails. So a lot of those organizations are working with us. Um, pretty much anybody who wants to be involved can be involved.

So just picking up people as we find them, and that’s kind of how the staff does it and all the other members do it. Not everybody can make all of the meetings, but they’re open to everyone. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And you mentioned some of the projects that this group’s working on. What are some of those tangible things that visitors might encounter?

Susan Estler: Well for this year we actually have the Bark Ranger program, uh, which is for dog owners. Uh, if they’re staying with their, their dog, they get a bandana that call calls them the Marquette Bark [00:18:00] Ranger, and then they’re also waste bags that you can get as well. We have the collect Marquette County or collect Marquette, and that actually is just collecting trash in different geo-fenced areas.

You can download the app. We have explore, uh, explore Marquette ranger program and that takes families all around and it talks about the seven principles of Leave No Trace. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And I saw in the, um, hotel lobby there’s a, a little, some information about Respect Marquette, but what’s some of the other work that you do to educate visitors on the program?

Susan Estler: Oh, we have all sorts of things. Um, actually we’re doing some trail heads with Trail Fest this past weekend. Um, our team was out passing out information at Marquette Mountain, which is where the race actually started, uh, the registration was. And, um, just different [00:19:00] areas where we’re able to, um, provide information.

Work on brochures for different organizations. We provide maps for NTN, for the Ironer Heritage Trail, for Big Bay Stewardship, um, as well. So all of those different programs, we actually assist in providing information, printed materials for them as well. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: Yeah. I know there’s a big emphasis on educating visitors, but what do you think the value in educating residents about this is, um, to you?

Susan Estler: Well, I think. Nobody goes into doing an outdoor recreation, um, opportunity with the intention of wrecking wherever it is. But small things, like if you’re going on a trail and you see a puddle walk through the puddle, not around it because then you’re widening the trail. Or, um, if you see, you wanna go from point A to point B, don’t just go directly there.

Follow the existing trail so that you don’t create social trails. Little things like that. Maybe not everybody, uh, everybody knows we’ve actually done, um, leave no trace trivia, um, at one of the breweries. And so it’s always interesting to see who actually, um, you know, knows all the answers and it’s not always locals.

Sara Raymond de Booy: And so do you think people in Marquette are generally aware of the program? People who live here? 

Susan Estler: I think most are. Um, I’m sure there are some who have no idea that it’s going on passion. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: How do you work with Leave No Trace through respect? Marquette? 

Susan Estler: Well, we went through training, uh, with Leave No Trace our first year.

Really what we’re doing right now is. Gives us the license to utilize, leave no trace and utilize the seven principles. We worked with them in the beginning to make sure that the seven principles are reflective of Marquette County directly. Mm-hmm. And so, um, that is kind of where we’re at. And just taking that is the core.

It seemed like at the easiest thing for us to do, uh, was to take the lead no trace principles and implement that here because everybody is. Pretty familiar with Leave No Trace. You know, having a baseline for us to work from just kind of gave us a kickstart, uh, for the program. Yeah. And how long has the program been around for?

It has been around since our, we had a charette. In March 17th, 2022, the St. Patrick’s day of 2022 was our first charette that we had or the, the charette that we had. Just getting all of these organizations together to see if there was an interest in working together to come up with some guidelines and some things that our do’s and don’ts that we might have, that we as an organization might not think of.

But different organizations have different needs and different desires. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: Yeah. So now that you’ve seen how things have gone in the last three years of working together, where do you hope the program goes in the future? Where do you see the most opportunity? 

Susan Estler: I think, uh, we actually spoke to the superintendent schools with Marquette, and so working with the kids and coming up with a program that we can implement in the school system, that would actually be incorporated into.

The actual would would fit into the curriculum. So that would be something that would be important to look at because having younger kids know the right way to do things, and I’ve to talked to some locals and they say, oh, everybody, and who’s the local knows these principals, but I know that that isn’t the case as well as some of my staff.

So I think rather than pointing fingers, just making sure that we rise all boats. Um, to the same level and that everybody, uh, is all on the same page is really a great way to look at it. Also, making sure that, um, we continue to incorporate these principles with everything that we do.

Sara Raymond de Booy: So if this continues to grow in the way that you hope it will, what do you imagine it can do to help shape the community and the relationship to the landscapes around here in 10 years?

Susan Estler: Well, I would hope that everyone keeps in mind. They’ll leave no trace principles that everyone is thinking of sustainability. Um, we also work very hard for inclusivity and also accessibility. We did receive our certification for, uh, autism and neurodivergent groups. So, um, all of us have had that training and so just making sure that it is continues to be a welcoming community.

That all of us, uh, can enjoy and continue to enjoy. Uh, one of the reasons why people come here is because they wanna come to places that they’ve seen before. Mm-hmm. They don’t wanna change it. They don’t wanna turn it into something different. They enjoy being in Marquette County for the reasons that they came here.

The first. Yeah. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And how does respect Marquette play into those initiatives you mentioned with the Neurodivergence and autism, and I know there’s, um, 4th of July and kind of a sensory friendly, um, event there. 

Susan Estler: Yeah, I think, um, just making sure that, um, that we are being aware, we’ve been working with Sale who’s the Superior Alliance for Independent Living.

They’re also a member of Respect Market County, but we’ve been working with them since, uh, 2019. They have been doing assessments for us as far as different businesses and how accessible they are. It isn’t necessarily if they’re ADA compliant, it’s more what does it look like? What does it feel like so that people with different needs can determine if it would be a place they would be able to navigate.

Sara Raymond de Booy: So what has this taught you about collaboration and. Managing A DMO, has it been a, a learning experience or just everything coming natural? 

Susan Estler: I just, I really like collaboration because I think it is a stronger, um, program. I think it is a stronger for the community to have many voices working together and having everyone involved and feeling included.

I think it’s important to hear all the different voices that we, um, that we hear from, and that was the whole reason for doing. The charette in the first place was making sure that we were taking into consideration everyone and what they would like to see for Marquette. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And do you think, uh, does there some way that you think of a DMO’s responsibility to the community and, and how this ties into Marquette, whether it’s the d o’s responsibility to the land or the visitors?

 Susan Estler: Well, I think it’s our responsibility to be good stewards of the destination. There aren’t many people that I know that just wanna bring people in, unfettered, large volumes of people who are going to wreck the area and trample it. We’re not looking to do that at all. If you look at Marquette, it’s not easy to get here.

Um, you know, our airport is small. We’re about two and a half, three hour drive from most, um, major. Centers, you know, certainly far enough away from, from large populations. So when people come up to Marquette, they have to really want to be here. And I think that is one of the things that will help to preserve Marquette and keep it sustainable, keep it inclusive, and keep it accessible.

Sara Raymond de Booy: And so what do you wish visitors knew about coming here? They obviously have to work a little hard to get here and really want to come, but what do you wish that they knew before they came? 

Susan Estler: I wish that they knew the first time someone comes here it. And I know the first time I came here it was just awe.

It was at the end of January. I was in the Hampton, which is right on Lake Superior, where they were putting me before my interview, and I opened up the curtains and I saw the beautiful hues, the pinks and purples and blues with the sunrise over Lake Superior. I mean, you just can’t get any, anything better than that.

Yes, it’s cold sometimes. Yes, it’s hot sometimes, but for the most part it’s a very pleasant place to live, a very pleasant place to visit, and there’s always something going on. We have a great core of volunteers, uh, that are working for the different events that we have here in Marquette County, and the different communities that we have are all unique and very special.

Sara Raymond de Booy: Yeah. And how do you think visitors anywhere, or even in Marquette specifically, can think about giving back to a destination when they visit? 

Susan Estler: Well, certainly by, um, by providing a contribution. If you ride on the trail, there are pipes there for, um, contributions. Please provide a healthy donation because you are riding those trails and they do have people who are providing maintenance on those. The equipment is very expensive, so anytime that you’re able to give back, uh, is very important. Another thing would be to volunteer for the different events. Um, when you’re here, make sure that you, you know, if you have a family member, maybe instead of going shopping or doing something like that, that you volunteer for the event that your family member is participating in, that’s always very helpful too.

Mm-hmm. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And so if, when people are coming back into town at the end of the day after their adventures further afield. Um, what’s the business community like and how is tourism enabling that community to thrive? 

Susan Estler: Well, that is very important, um, especially within Nish Ping, all of the major, um, areas, Marquette as well.

It is the heart of the economy. Um, for many of the smaller towns, Nani has been working very hard on. Developing a community. So there is a very good, strong local community. Same with Ish Ping. Gwen is really working hard to create a sense of community and making it someplace that people wanna live Big Bay.

We’ve been working with them since 2018 and uh, it is a terrific community. So, you know, spread out a little bit and go visit some of the other areas besides just Marquette. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And how is Travel Marquette as the organization working with these, uh, businesses and other communities as well? 

Susan Estler: You know, we work with the, the different businesses to help them, uh, promote their businesses, give them ideas.

Um, we also have a very robust, uh, sponsorship program too. Where we fund, uh, I think last year we funded over, um, $200,000 for different events that we have throughout the county. And so by funding those different events, it’s helping the communities to raise awareness to help the locals, but it’s also helping to disperse visitors around the county.

It’s really important, um, that people understand that we do give back to the community. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: How do you see that work? Also playing into other issues like transportation, housing, those, those topics that many destinations struggle with. 

Susan Estler: Well, transportation is an issue here in Marquette County as far as getting around.

We don’t have any Ubers, we don’t have any Lyfts. Um, we have one cab company that is here renting a car, especially after the pandemic, was definitely a challenge, is getting better. Um, the airport is working on adding flight. Additional marketing. So that’s in the works, you know, and countywide transportation system I think will eventually happen.

I’m just not quite sure, uh, when that will be. And then as far as housing, things seem to be softening up some, uh, as far as the housing is concerned, that, um, realtors are able to show multiple houses that there isn’t the sudden purchase. Of out of town homes. Um, also, NMU is actually working on a program to increase housing for students as well as incoming faculty.

It’s been a real problem for both the hospital as well as NMU and any other business to find housing for new employees. So within the next five years, you’ll be seeing a big difference in that Invest U. Has hired someone to specifically work on housing. Um, LSCP, which is another one of our local organizations, economic development, has a program as well as a, a childcare program that is being utilized throughout the UP now.

So we have very innovative economic development people here and we try to work with them hand in hand. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: So what are some of the challenges that keep you up at night? 

Susan Estler: Well, you know, I, I wish that people would, everything is so tense, um, now and everyone is so polarized, um, politically and socially and I wish that people would just show some grace and, um, just take a deep breath, try to be considerate of other people.

If. You can’t get into your favorite restaurant at seven 30 without a reservation. Just understand it’s only for a month or two that you’re, it’s gonna be like that If it’s really an important event, make a reservation. Um, you know, if you have to, if you wanna go out on the trail. This is the largest county within, uh, the state of Michigan.

So there are plenty of places that locals know that they can go and they can not see another human being. So. The more popular places, um, yeah, there are gonna be a fair amount of people, but even the beaches are about 70 to 80% of locals. Those are people from within Marquette County and, um, 75 mile radius that come into, come into Marquette to go specifically to the beaches.

So just understand that you’re not the only person who wants to do the same things that everybody else wants to do. It may be crowded, there may be more people than you had planned. And it has been that way for generations and it will continue to be that way for generations. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And are there other issues, I know the crowding comes up as as one, but do you find that there are other issues that might get unfairly blamed on tourism that cause friction in the community?

Susan Estler: Well, I think the easy thing out is to say it’s a tourist. Where it might be a resident that someone might not know. Um, it might be a family member. It might be your family member who’s doing something wrong, and you might not know the difference. And so educate yourself. Just because you were born and raised here doesn’t mean that you have a right to ignore best practices.

Sara Raymond de Booy: And do you see a role for DMO and kind of helping to solve some of these misconceptions? 

Susan Estler: We can only hope. Mm-hmm. We can only hope, um, that we can actually make a difference. There will always be people who dig their heels in and who don’t like anyone that they don’t know. Marquette County has 22, uh, 20.

It has 66,000 people in it. It has, the high school was much larger, you know, back in the eighties and the seventies. Everybody, everybody knows this who has been from here. So you’ll see the ebb and flow of people. You’ll see ebb and flow of different things. That’s part of living in this society. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: If you had a blank check and a magic wand or one of each, what do you think you would do to improve Marquette for residents and visitors alike?

Susan Estler: If I had a magic wand, I would buy all the land for trails and. Then that would be the end of the issue. Um, we see some trail organizations actually expanding their trail, uh, their trails, but they don’t have rights to the land. And so they’re seeing, um, urban creep, I guess, or suburban creep, really. Mm-hmm.

Um, coming in. And so I think if there were dedicated trails and dedicated equipment for the trails. I think if there was better signage, consistent signage, that would be something as well, making sure that there was a limit as far as short-term rentals and, um, policing of short-term rentals. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: How has climate change impacting tourism and Marquette as a 

Susan Estler: challenge?

Definitely the last couple years have significantly impacted, um, Marquette, specifically two outta the last three years. UP 200, um, which is a, uh, qualifier for the Deron up in Alaska was canceled because there was not enough snow. The first year. It was a little dicey, a little icy, but they just felt like it wasn’t going to be safe enough.

The second year there was no snow at all. The whole northern tier of the United States saw no snow. It was not only Marquette, it was also Wisconsin. It was, um, Minnesota all the way across, uh, the US that significantly changed, um, people coming into the area for that particular event and also for activities, uh, with snow last year, we actually didn’t have as much snow as some of our neighboring counties.

Um, but um, we did have enough snow to have. All of our different activities. So the Banina had snow, unison, got slammed. Um, they had tons of snow in Alger County. So we were able to continue on with, um, those events. We did have a cross country ski race at the end of January. They could have had the race, um, but by the time they got done with the amount of the volume, they wouldn’t have had much left for snow.

So snow has definitely been 

Sara Raymond de Booy: an issue. Yeah. And do you think there are any responsibilities tourism industry partners have in addressing climate change? 

Susan Estler: Nothing. No. Overarching. Um, you know, I know there’s conversation as far as, um, recently we did have two coal plants that were taken down for natural gas.

And so having the air clear, um, and having the natural gas for heat. Mm-hmm. Also adding solar to, um, to the. Pipeline for energy has been important 

Sara Raymond de Booy: as well. Is there any other advice you’d give to destinations who might be facing similar pressures and challenges? I know depending on where people’s peak season is and the weather challenges that they see pop up, that it’s a, it’s a common topic that people struggle with, 

Susan Estler: I think when you start hearing complaints, I mean, I think the fortunate thing for us is, is just a rumbling and just the start of a rumbling. I think there’ve always been people here who don’t like tourists per se, but when people come here, I wish someone would spend an hour in our welcome center during this time of year listening to what people have to say about Marquette County and what people have been able to see and what they think of the county.

They will quickly realize that people are not here to wreck things, um, to make their lives difficult. They’re here to spend their money and spend some time with their family and friends and enjoy the area. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: and with other advice that you might have. How do you think A DMO can help to educate travelers and the community on the value tourism brings?

Susan Estler: You know, so many people have the economic impact. And I think at some point people kind of glaze over with the economic impact. Um, that’s why we’re doing the collect Marquette, um, is so that we can actually show the trash that is picked up by people coming into the center, see what impact it is with people just picking up a small bag of trash and how much trash we actually are able to pick up.

Just being thoughtful and making sure that you pack in, pack out. Um, if you’re camping that you have proper provisions for and understand the proper weight for camping as far as human waste, animal waste. And just because, uh, you know, it is the wild doesn’t mean that you should leave animal waste, um, out on the trail.

Sara Raymond de Booy: Yeah. How do you think a DMO should work with partners or like-minded organizations? 

Susan Estler: I mean, certainly the coalition is a good way of doing that. Um, also if there are any organizations that may not have, uh, become part of a coalition or a group, maybe reaching out to them individually and finding out why they’re not interested in participating.

You know, just trying to work with them to understand what their goals and their desires are. Are there destinations that you look up to in this space as well? Who’s, well, certainly Copenhagen has, you know, has the banner, um, on that. And, um, vendor Oregon. We, uh, look to them quite often. It’s really interesting too, how we all function very differently, where funds come from, how we’re put together, all of those different things.

So I think just having an understanding of, of how different organizations work. Different programs that, um, that everybody has. Yeah. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: How has it been helpful for you to work with other destinations like them to find balance in your community? 

Susan Estler: Well, it gives us ideas, um, that we might be able to, maybe not directly use, but maybe something that we could use in upcoming seasons that we have.

You know, there’s it, it’s just plants a little kernel of idea and. One of my wonderful team may come up with an idea that we can incorporate and utilize, um, that is the underpinnings are from another destination. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And what do you think tourism’s role is in a, a climate changing world or one that’s changing, changing quite quickly with a lot of the concerns you brought up?

Susan Estler: Well, it was interesting listening to the last, um. Call that we had about travel and because 87% of the people who are coming here are actually driving, it was encouraging to me to hear that electric vehicles are probably the easiest way to reduce the carbon footprint. And so we do have chargers here within Marquette.

I think Nani is working on getting some, um, there as well, just looking at the possibilities of. Alternate transportation and getting here because, you know, clearly it’s not a hop, skip and a jump from any place. You know, we’re, we’re quite a ways away from anybody. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: Mm-hmm. And has that planted any seeds of future projects that you might wanna do?

Susan Estler: I keep pushing the state. Um, for a couple years had, uh, chargers and, um, like rebate programs and that type of thing. I know some of the hotels have taken them up on that. And I think that’s going to continue to be something that we see, um, occurring. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: What messages do you have for residents who might not be sure of the value of tourism in their home or in their life?

Susan Estler: Well, I think, um, what they need to do is go into a restaurant in November and ask. People, what the, what their best income is, what month their best income is, and when they’re going to be getting, uh, people, you know, what’s their best time for, for tips, what’s their best time? Go into small businesses and talk to them about where their money is being spent, who are the people who are coming into their businesses?

Those are the important things, and it might not affect them directly. But even with, um, medical issues and people coming from all over the, up into Marquette, that’s another important aspect of it, is medical tourism, that people are coming in for medical reasons. Um, people are coming here for Northern Michigan University.

And so, um, I have salespeople and different individuals within the tourism industry telling me how their student or how their. Children are looking at being a student in at Northern and how much they really like the area and how they are staying in our hotels and patronizing the businesses. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: Do you have any hopes for what direction you think tourism is going in Marquette?

Susan Estler: I think things will stay consistent. Everyone kind of talks about how many hotels are being built, so we only have 29 hotels. Mm-hmm. Within the entire county. Okay. So, um, if you look at that and the volume right now we’re at about, the average is about 51% is the average occupancy. Um, so you know, that’s not a whole lot of people.

So people are staying elsewhere, short term rentals, friends and family, um, but 1600 roughly people. Or even if you double that, 3,200 people at any one given time to a population of 22,000 and the county of 66,000 people is a small number. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And how do you think this, if things stay consistent, how is that going to continue to benefit those who call this place home?

Susan Estler: I think this will enable the city especially who’s having some financial issues. It will keep the city because of the property taxes that the hotels are paying. I would venture to guess that they’re probably the largest, um, industry in providing property taxes, uh, with the hotels. That will help this city quite a bit.

Um, Fairfield is expanding and they’re adding 53 rooms. Um, these are not astronomical amounts, especially when people during the summer months are complaining. There aren’t enough rooms. It’s going to be difficult during the slower times of year. That’s why we’ve started doing the lasers, uh, so that people are able to come here and visit year round and, you know, that’s, that’s important as well.

Sara Raymond de Booy: What do you hope people can learn from Marquette 

Susan Estler: and 

Sara Raymond de Booy: the efforts of your work here? 

Susan Estler: I think I would hope. The people could see that if you open the door and invite people in, that people are more than willing to work with you. We are not against the people of Marquette. We all live within Marquette County who work here, hoteliers all live here.

Um, so it’s important to us to keep a quality of life as well. And so. I think keeping that in mind that it’s important that we keep people understanding that we’re all in this together and opening that door. If someone has a suggestion short of putting up a gate, um, at the county line, we’re, we’re more than willing to listen to whatever anybody has to say.

We can’t always help financially because we don’t necessarily have all that much money, but we can certainly look at different options. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And what has Marquette taught you? 

Susan Estler: Marquette has taught me, I mean, having been in Florida for, in the industry for 13 years and having lived there for almost two decades, or about two over two decades, people always look at Florida with far faraway look in their eyes and say, oh, Florida, why would you ever wanna leave Florida?

And it’s like, well. You know, the hurricanes were getting more and more. I just wanted to do something different. I wanted to make a difference, and when I came here for the interview, I saw how beautiful that this area was and wanted to do something to help preserve it, but also be respectful stewards to the area in promoting it.

Because one of the things that help an area is by promoting it so that people know how precious it is. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And what would you say makes you 

Susan Estler: proud to live here? I am proud of the people. I am proud of how nice everybody is. I am proud at how helpful everyone is. I am proud of my team, um, my board members, and I’m proud of the work that I’ve done too.

Sara Raymond de Booy: What do you think it means to be a good 

Susan Estler: ancestor? It’s difficult because I don’t look at myself as a ER per se because I’ve only been here for seven and a half years. So I will never officially be aer, I don’t believe. But, um, I think being a good ancestor is making sure that we are looking at the repercussions of what we’re doing now on future generations.

Um, I see grassroots group. S uh, diver, um, Don, who, uh, has organized divers from the Midwest over the past seven or eight summers diving down around the OR dock, um, that has been decommissioned to pull out washing machines and, um, all tires and all sorts of, um, junk that people have dumped in Lake Superior.

And that’s locals who have done that and he is going in. And he is with the divers because the clarity of the water, they’re having a great experience, he’s helping to clean things up, and they’ve done such a great job. They’ve moved on to another location. 

Sara Raymond de Booy: And what do you think the next generation of DMO leaders should keep in mind as they start their careers?

Mm-hmm. They might not even know that they’re the next generation of leaders yet. 

Susan Estler: Right. You know, the funny thing is I started on September, uh, I actually started, uh, August 13th, 2021 and quickly there was September 11th, 2021 and everything was out the window when I was hired because I was a graphic designer before, um, and had been working on the account, my boss had said to me prior, well, don’t worry about it.

You know, we’ve got a plan. Um, you know, back then you could do an entire. Marketing plan for the year and placed your ads in the magazines and you set, so the changes in advancements, how advertising and promotion has become so granular and what is that next iteration gonna be? I mean, I’ve had to stay up with things and people who are current with things are going to have to stay up with the new thing.

Is it gonna be ai? Most likely, but how is that gonna affect things? No one really knows. And what are those iterations going to be? I don’t think when I started, um, having an iPhone, having social media was even a thing back then. So all of those changes and all of the ways that you’re promoting your area, you have to take into consideration how it will affect the local people

Sara Raymond de Booy: Before we wrap up, is there anything on that note of the things that you’re most proud of adapting to, or, you know, the different initiatives that have changed over the last few years that you’d like to mention? 

Susan Estler: You know, when I was in Panama City Beach, we had a, a really big budget, um, especially for marketing.

And I went through Deep Water Horizon and BP was throwing all of us tons of money. You know, just the ability to spend that volume of money on marketing. And now I’m in a very small DMO. Um, we don’t have a ton of money, and so being a good steward of our dollars and making sure that we’re doing the best that we can, trusting my staff, that they are making good decisions within their different positions that they have, you know, just giving enough room for my staff to grow and learn.

Um. It’s probably the thing that I’m proudest of.

Sara Raymond de Booy: This has been Travel Beyond presented by Destination Think. And that was Susan Estler, CEO at Travel Marquette. For more resources and show notes, visit our website at destinationthink.com. This episode was hosted and produced by me, Sara Raymond De Booy. It has theme music composed by my co-producer, David Archer, Lindsey Payne, Danny Gariepy, and Cory Price provided production support.

If you like what you hear, please take a moment to give us a five-star rating. It helps more people find our show. Thanks for listening, and we’ll be back with more from Marquette next week when we speak with local historian Koski about how the town cleaned up its industrial waste, and how that action has led to a legacy that shapes the tourism experience here today.