It’s no secret that Michigan’s economy has seen better days. While the auto and housing industries are still struggling Michigan, has turned to its greatest resource to help bring the state back to economic life.

The “Pure Michigan” campaign was created seven years ago in order to revitalize the state’s tourism industry.

Pure Michigan has highlighted every aspect of Michigan’s outdoor attractions. A quick perusal of recent Pure Michigan ads yields results for everything from snowsports to sandy beaches, and no shortage of ads highlighting Michigan’s excellent fishing.

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Ads like the above have made Pure Michigan one of the most successful tourism campaigns of all time. According to Bridge Magazine, Pure Michigan has brought in 3.2 million out-of-state visitors who generated $1 billion dollars for Michigan’s economy in 2011 alone. Over 1 million of those visitors came from states outside the Great Lakes region.

Until 2011 Michigan’s tourism industry was primarily fueled by in-state travelers. The past two years have been bucked that trend as out-of-state visitors spent $600 millions more than their Mitten- and U.P.-dwelling counterparts.

George Zimmermann, vice president for Travel Michigan at the Michigan Economic Development Corp. doesn’t think Pure Michigan is slowing down any time soon.

“We believe that our potential to get a bigger and bigger share of the national travel market, especially for summer travel, is enormous. In some ways I feel like we’re just getting started.”

Outdoor Hub joined forces with Pure Michigan this year to help spread the word about the state’s great natural resources. Check out our dedicated U.P.-focused snow sports page here.

Image courtesy Pure Michigan