MSU Extension First Impressions Tourism Assessment

What is FIT?

FIT is a comprehensive community assessment conducted by unannounced visitors in a host community. Overall, FIT helps communities learn about their strengths and weaknesses through the eyes of first-time visitors. It empowers leaders and stakeholders to develop an action plan to improve their communities based on new perspectives from first-time visitors. These action plans strengthen the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. The results of FIT also spawn local leadership; strengthen community vitality; and form the basis for future development.

Purpose of this report

FIT has proven to be the catalyst needed to launch and foster tourism development across MI. Launched in 2017 as a solution to drive community-driven tourism, FIT has provided rural leaders and their stakeholders opportunities to collaborate around suggestions and strategies from first-time visitors to their community. This report focuses on the actions and successes implemented by several MI communities that engaged in the FIT program between 2021-2024.

This is the second edition.

Report Objectives

1. To give a general overview of the FIT program.
2. To provide a comprehensive overview of the FIT program successes since 2021.
3. To identify specific actions and impacts taken by communities after capturing first-time visitor perspectives via FIT.
4. To serve as a resource for communities interested in learning more about FIT.

FIT Program History

2021

• Village of Cassopolis
• City of Grayling

2022

• City of Allegan
• City of Hart

2023

• City of Grand Blanc
• City of Lapeer
• Bay Mills Indian Community

2024

• City of Ionia
• City of Wayland
• Village of Copper Harbor
• City of St. Ignace

FIT Actions & Successes

Program Year 2021

Village of Cassopolis – Population: 1,712

• Created new relationships, reexamined community assets, and highlighted unexplored avenues for continued growth
• New Chamber of Commerce website
• Embracing the high point of being a “friendly” community
• Multi-sector partnership emerged for non-motorized trail grant connecting TK Lawless Park within Cass County.
• Secured $1 million Spark Grant from Department of Natural Resources
  • Funding will support directional signage, recreation, and parking.
• Funding secured to support installation of art murals in various locations
• Secured $15,000 in technical assistance to support the development of a new website.

Learn more about how the Village of Cassopolis benefited from FIT.

Program Year 2022

City of Allegan – Population: 5,220

• Completed a wayfinding signage analysis
• Increased beautification
• Developed and planned for better signage
• Created a community calendar
• Increased downtown recycling
• Increasing art in community with local Arts Council

City of Hart – Population: 2,052

• Installed wayfinding sign at each City’s entrance to lead visitors into downtown, attractions and amenities
• Created stakeholder groups to focus on downtown beautification and pedestrian-friendliness
  • Purchased/installed $3K for annual flower beds in key downtown locations
• Committee formed to strengthen identity from neighbor communities using “Art in Hart”
  • Leveraging and expanding local art installations
  • Art installments aimed to highlight diversity and agricultural heritage
• Added signage along the bike trail to indicate distance and amenities downtown
• Installed wireless speakers downtown to enhance shopping experience
• Changed original website title to “Discover Hart” to be more inviting
• Launched “Eat Your Hart Out” campaign to further highlight international cuisines in Hart
• Installed signage distinguishing between the museum and historic downtown, and lake signage to highlight access
• Secured a total of $53K via combination of grants from:
  • Michigan Arts and Culture Council
  • Consumers Energy Foundation
  • Oceana Community Foundation
  • Great Lakes Energy People Fund

Program Year 2023

City of Lapeer – Population: 9,023

Participation in FIT:

• Reinforced Downtown Development Authority (DDA) goals
• Wayfinding signage was identified and prioritized
• Mural installed from $6K Community Foundation Grant
• Outdoor recreation assets identified included into Main Street Asset Mapping
• Helped secure $13K Michigan Main Street Vibrancy Grant
• FIT Public Private Asset Reviews were delivered to business owners
• Helped secure Placemaking grant from Michigan State Housing Development Authority using FIT results
• Supported larger community storytelling initiative
• Resulted in City of Lapeer hosting MSU Extension’s 2025 Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) Conference
• City of Lapeer raised $17,000 for CEC, the most raised to date for a CEC Conference

“The MSU Extension FIT program was an extremely valuable experience for the Historic Lapeer Main Street DDA. It reinforced many of the projects and strategies we were already exploring, while also bringing forward fresh ideas, new perspectives, and untapped assets that can help strengthen our work moving forward. Seeing our community through the eyes of first-time visitors was eye-opening and energizing, and it provided us with actionable insights that will support a more vibrant, welcoming, and dynamic downtown. The FIT program has truly become another powerful tool in our toolbox as we continue building a thriving Historic Downtown Lapeer.”

-Jim Alt, Lapeer DDA Executive Director

Bay Mills Indian Community

• Hired a tourism and recreation staffer, first staff person dedicated to this in the community!
• Creating a Destination Bay Mills tourism web page
• Incorporating interactive maps for visitors
• Developed Tourism Action Plan for long range goals
• Updates made to the build environment, recreation, beautification, digital presence, and infrastructure!

“I hope other tribes participate in this program because it worked really well for us. It’s a cool exercise to help through the administration process as well as other members of the community leadership team. Very cool program and happy with the results.”

-Brianna Gunka, Bay Mills Indian Community Planning Manager

City of Grand Blanc – Population: 8,091

• Helped launch the development of wayfaring signage
• Fostered web development and social media regular updates
• Results help support mobility study and master planning process
• Helped spawn collaborations with the local Chamber of Commerce
• Support Grand Blanc Parks Board and regular meetings

Program Year 2024

City of Ionia – Population: 13,378

• Various organizations have benefited from specific FIT data sets
• Increased marketing of downtown
• Hired a new staff member at City Hall to manage and increase social media
• Ionia Downtown Development Authority (DDA) initiating “Small Business Saturday”
• Wayfinding signage being installed
• Discover Ionia website was updated
• Social district was established
• Secured $400K grant from Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) Trust Fund for trail signage, trailhead, performing arts pavilion, and parking

City of Wayland – Population: 4,435

• Identified and emphasized the initial starting point of Wayland’s downtown
• Identifying pop-up retail opportunities along with community green space
• Partnerships formed, for the first time, between Gun Lake Business Association and the Tribe for promotion and sharing of information
• Partnerships formed, for the first time, between local area business association and Wayland School District with the intention of implementing small business curriculum between students and businesses.
• Hired a “DDA Marketing Coordinator” for promoting, business support, farmers markets, social media, and non-event projects such as landscape, decorations, roads and alleyways.
  • Redoing four alleyways in Wayland’s downtown to activate events.
• Added wayfinding signage highlighting public parking, city parks and Farmers Market time/days
• FIT Asset Reviews Report shared to improve service at local businesses

Copper Harbor – Population: 136

• Elevating community-wide Wi-Fi as a priority infrastructure project
• Advancing safe walking areas and sidewalks
• Plannign for additional parking
• Incorporating accessibility improvements into trail projects
• Solidifying plans for expanded family-friends recreation, including accessible trails and a proposed kayak launch

“FIT caused the DDA to go back over our original plan and evaluate our priorities…It pulled us back to our original charter and what we’re supposed to be working toward.”

-Mike Musiel, Copper Harbor DDA, and Natasha Walters, Copper Harbor Improvement Association

City of St. Ignace – Population: 2,306

• Launched a complete redesign of downtown directory signage
• Invested in boardwalk repairs and enhancements
• Created a new social district to support downtown restaurants
• Began a full splash pad redevelopment campaign
• Formed a committee to pursue new pickleball courts
• Partnered with the Museum of Ojibwa Culture to expand cultural programming
• Initiated a full website refresh with updated content and high-resolution visuals
• Strengthened collaboration among the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), DDA, City, Chamber of Commerce, and Recreation Department

“We’ve realized that we’re all in this together, no matter what our roles are. Having the DDA and others more involved has helped us work more collaboratively and prioritize what’s most important…It’s nice to have somebody else tell us what we should probably do, rather than everyone having their own ideas. The outside perspective was very helpful.”

-Lora Brown, Executive Director, St. Ignace Visitors Bureau

FIT 2025 Impact Statement

As part of the FIT program, each community participating is responsible for hosting a community report forum (CRF) where the results are shared. The CRFs are approximately three-hour events open to anyone interested in learning what first-time visitors experienced in the host community.

CRFs are organized and hosted by their FIT Community Leadership Teams (CLT) that consist of self-identified community leaders. FIT communities host CRFs approximately four-to-six months after receiving the team of first-time visitors.

Community results from 2025

The four CRFs held in 2025 hosted more than 200 people in total. Of those, 59 voluntarily took MSU Extension’s short-term survey designed to evaluate learning and awareness as well as gauge potential foreseeable actions and limitations to acting on their FIT results.

Learn more about 2025 results and impacts in the article, “With the help from first-time visitors, five Michigan communities engaged to better understand their assets and opportunities in 2025.”