KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Discover Kalamazoo’s head honcho says 2025 was a slower year for local tourism.
She expects the same for 2026, but there is a lot to look forward to after that.
Tourism CEO Jane Ghosh recently gave Kalamazoo County commissioners a briefing on her organization’s status.
She says the “K”-shaped economy following the pandemic has hit lower income families harder nationwide and in our region, reducing travel.
“2025 was a tougher year, and so for the first time since I’ve been there, we have missed budget, that is primarily due to economy hotels are performing very poorly.”
Ghosh expects that to continue into the new year.
“2026 will be a challenging year, we’re budgeting conservatively because there’s still economic uncertainty that is impacting primarily the economy hotels.”
She says after that, things look rosier, regardless of the economy.
“2027 is gonna be a phenomenal year because we’ll have the Event Center, the youth sports facility, the State Theatre will be back open. It’ll be great.”
She says she expects about a $150,000 reduction from the accommodations tax this year.
Ghosh she says she plans to maintain funding for advertising the community but will be cutting some other programs that notify local businesses about big events, and making other cuts to balance her budget.
Comments