Kalamazoo County Tourism Master Plan

Last Updated

As Discover Kalamazoo moves through this process with CSL, this webpage will be continually updated to provide new information regarding the Kalamazoo Tourism Master Plan. Please note that this page was last updated on August 12, 2026. 

The Purpose and Goals

The Kalamazoo Tourism Master Plan establishes a strategic vision to guide the next decade of tourism development across Kalamazoo County. Grounded in research, stakeholder input, and market analysis, the Plan is designed to:

• Sustain and grow Kalamazoo County’s tourism economy;
• Align destination development with broader countywide priorities including equity, infrastructure, placemaking, and quality of life;
• Identify critical gaps and opportunities related to visitor experiences, tourism infrastructure, and destination competitiveness;
• Provide a phased implementation roadmap, governance considerations, and funding strategies to guide long-term action.

The process began with an RFP process in the summer of 2025, where CSL International was selected to lead the work in the creation of the Tourism Master Plan for Kalamazoo County.

Meet the Steering Committee

Timeline & Where We Are At

Issues and Opportunities

Based on extensive Tourism Master Plan research, stakeholder engagement, benchmarking analysis, and community input, CSL has found 24 key issues and opportunities, followed by goal statements and supporting rationale to guide the long-term evolution of tourism, placemaking, and destination development in Kalamazoo County, MI. These concepts will be further refined and developed in the Tourism Master Plan Report, with a final set of actionable recommendations forthcoming. 

Tourism Trends

1. Next Gen Sports Tourism

2. Event-Anchored Experiences

3. Bleisure Travel

4. Experiential and Cultural Tourism

5. Off-Peak Road Trips

6. Rail Travel Returns

7. Community Supporters

8. Wellness and Outdoor Tourism

9. Digital Transformation and Smart Tourism

10. Culinary Tourism

11. Multigenerational Travel

12. Transportation and Accessibility

Visitor and Resident Sentiment Surveys

The objective of the Visitor and Resident Survey is to better understand who the current Kalamazoo visitors are, what their opinions and perceptions of the destination are, and what types of travelers might be attracted to the destination in the future. The survey results are from research conducted by a third party (Dynata) to ensure statistically robust results.

Stakeholder Engagement Sessions

The stakeholder engagement process revealed a community with exceptional assets, deep philanthropic capacity, strong educational institutions, and genuine civic pride, but also one facing structural, perceptual, and coordination challenges that limit its tourism and destination performance. Across sessions, stakeholders consistently described Greater Kalamazoo as a place with far more substance than outsiders realize. The issue is not a lack of things to do, institutions to celebrate, or landscapes to enjoy. Rather, the region’s assets often operate in isolation, are difficult for visitors to discover, or are not yet supported by the connective infrastructure, activation, and stewardship needed to translate them into a more competitive and cohesive destination experience. Stakeholders repeatedly emphasized that Greater Kalamazoo does not need to become a larger city to succeed. Instead, it must become more connected, more legible, more vibrant, and more coordinated. Several interrelated themes emerged to guide the next phase of strategic planning.

Existing Document Review

CSL collected and reviewed 70 documents/reports from municipalities around the county and several area organizations to assess how their existing strategies, plans, and efforts might contribute to the Tourism Master Plan.

Destination Familiarization Tour

On December 2-4, 2025, the project team from CSL International visited Kalamazoo County, Michigan, for a familiarization tour of the area’s numerous leisure tourism assets, including downtown, key attractions, outdoor recreational assets, event venues, dining and nightlife establishments, shopping areas, youth and amateur sports facilities, and other drivers of visitation to the County. CSL drove by and/or stopped to view each asset with Discover Kalamazoo staff and, in many cases, also engaged with the asset's management/ownership and other key community stakeholders along the way.

Based on this familiarization tour, CSL has prepared key observations and issues for further research. Summaries of each individual asset—outlining CSL’s visit, key observations and /or issues for further research for the Tourism Master Plan — are included at the link below.