Discover Kalamazoo reports visitor-spending gains, outlines accessibility mapping and plan for new sports facility

Discover Kalamazoo president and CEO Jane Ghosh told the Kalamazoo City Committee of the Whole on Monday that visitor spending in Kalamazoo County grew 9.2% in 2023 and “reached almost $750,000,000,” and she laid out marketing, accessibility and sports-facility initiatives intended to increase the county’s share of Michigan visitor spending to 3% by 2030.

Ghosh said the organization’s 2024 advertising refresh reached about 24 million people living within roughly a four-hour drive of Kalamazoo County and produced about 56 million impressions. She said early signals — including higher organic searches from people who saw the ads — suggest the campaign is having a positive effect on interest in Kalamazoo.

The presentation emphasized accessibility work done with Disability Network Southwest Michigan and a private travel platform called Wheel of the World. Ghosh said Discover Kalamazoo has mapped 52 locations so far and budgeted to map 130, with listings that show venue features and photos so visitors with accessibility needs can determine whether a site will accommodate them before they travel. “This is not an ADA assessment. It's to get the information so…