Make Michigan the Winner

      Contest for Best Travel Web Site Nearing Finish Line - VOTE NOW




    LANSING, Mich., Aug. 7 /EMWNews/ --



    WHO:    michigan.org vs. Virginia.org



    WHAT:   It's the Great Travel Web Site Showdown. The competition is coming

            to a close after months of elimination rounds with Michigan and

            Virginia as the final two best state travel Web sites. The

            showdown originates from the Travel 2.0 Interactive Travel Trend

            site (http://traveltrendreport.blogspot.com) that provides insight

            to the convergence of interactive technology and travel.



            The winner of the final round gets bragging rights as the best

            state travel Web site in the country



    WHEN:   Voting ends at midnight tomorrow, August 8, 2008



    HOW:    Readers and viewers can cast their vote by logging on at

            michigan.org for a fast click-through. One vote per individual -

            no stuffing of ballots!

    BACKGROUND:



    -- Michigan.org has continued to show growth in number of visitors this

year. Web surfers turned to the site nearly four million times through May

of 2008, up from three million during the same months of 2007, an increase

of 31.6 percent. Tourism is a vital industry in Michigan. Visitors spend

$18.1 billion annually traveling in Michigan, generating $874 million in

state taxes, and accounting for 192,000 jobs statewide.



    -- Wednesday, June 25, 2008, set a new record for volume on

michigan.org with 69,573 visits and 39,777 click-throughs to Michigan

tourism industry Web sites, the biggest single day in the site's history.








    Contact: Kirsten Borgstrom, Travel Michigan

             (517) 335-1871

             [email protected]