DESTINATION MASTER PLAN

Washtenaw 2030: Destination Master Plan

 The primary goal of Washtenaw 2030 is to build coalition among private and public-sector leaders around a shared vision for the future, where everyone in the County can participate in developing that future, and benefit from it. It is a 10-year, community-driven, resident-focused strategic framework designed to align sustainable visitor growth and equitable economic development.

THE VISION

Three unique destination signatures have emerged during the development of Washtenaw 2030:

  1. A center of innovation emanating from universities, colleges and high-tech industries
  2. A diverse place with many desirable cultural attributes
  3. A deep connection to sports and outdoor activities

5 strategic goals

Enhanced Experiences

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 Elevate the quality of existing experiences, develop new visitor tours and activities, and package them more cohesively in niche segments such as history culinary, culture and adventure.

Expanded Meetings & Events

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 Develop new meeting, conference and event spaces to answer the demand for more group business across the County. All while leveraging key clusters in tech, medical and mobility.

Improved Mobility & Accessibility

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 Better mobility means more opportunities for more residents throughout the County. There needs to be a holistic strategy for developing a multi-modal mobility ecosystem accessible for all.

Empowered Workforce

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 Talent is the competitive advantage for any destination, and Washtenaw County is a hot bed for education. The public and private sectors can collaborate more intentionally to leverage local institutions, organizations, knowledge and skills. 

Greater Regional Collaboration

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 Tourism, government, academic and economic development leaders have an opportunity to work together more effectively to benefit the entire County by connecting cross-sector expertise and community assets more effectively. 

10 keys takeaways

Washtenaw 2030: Destination Master Plan

These are the primary macro themes that anchor the direction of the Washtenaw 2030 Destination Master Plan, based on all of the input collected from the many various community engagement sessions and extensive research review.


1. Advocate for the continued development of the Mobility Innovation Corridor between Ann Arbor and Detroit 

2. Capitalize on local expertise in priority sectors to develop meetings business 

3. Develop visitor economy with Ann Arbor as a central hub connecting many other unique communities 

4. Diversify the leisure tourism industry for unique consumer profiles Definitely promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal

5. Develop Ypsilanti and other communities as arts, cultural and culinary hotspots 

6. Develop all-year outdoor recreation tourism and programming to establish the County as a leader in health, wellness, active lifestyles, and sustainability 

7. Develop sports tourism venues to capitalize on the exponential growth of amateur sport tournaments nationwide 

8. Build year-round demand generators for leisure travel and meetings/events to fill new hotel capacity 

9. Enhance government and industry workforce development initiatives to attract, train and retain talent 

10. Improve multimodal mobility and public transportation County-wide 

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