Why Go Oakland?
A Summary of the Destination Diagnostic
Overview
The team conducted a series of research tasks to build a baseline understanding of Oakland County, including its strengths, competitive advantages, and opportunities as a year-round community and destination. This included:
- Review of existing background documents such as economic development strategies, market analysis reports, master plans/comprehensive plans, economic data, marketing materials, etc.
- Qualitative site visit to major attractions/downtowns to assess quality of visitor experiences and accessibility to various sites
- Stakeholder engagement with a variety of industry professionals – from visitor attraction managers/operators to economic development and workforce development leaders, anchor institution representatives, and more
- Inventory and benchmark of tourism products and experiences across the County against shortlist of four competitive destinations (based on an analysis of user-generated data across sources such as Google, Tripadvisor, etc.)
- Impact analysis of tourism and hospitality industry to demonstrate value of various sectors to the local economy
- Visitor survey to develop visitor profiles and uncover visitor sentiments on the quality of tourism products/experiences in the county (satisfaction levels), factors impacting travel decision- making, and general perception of the destination’s brand
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DESTINATION DIAGNOSTIC
What Makes Oakland County A Destination & How Does It Stack Up?
Top 10 Highlights
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01. Oakland County is a big, price-competitive Midwestern destination.
With over 14,700 points-of-interest across categories such as ‘Shopping’, ‘Culinary’, ‘Lodging’, ‘Education, Arts & Culture’, ‘The Great Outdoors’, etc., the county offers the widest array of experiences for visitors compared to its Benchmark Communities of Denton County (TX), Montgomery County (PA), Dane County (WI), and Riverside County (CA). The average mid-tier price points of the County’s products and experiences also make it an ideal destination for travelers seeking lower cost experiences in a tighter economy.
Source: Think Place Agency (2025) (based on consumer review data available through Google)
02. Oakland County is a destination that invites curiosity through fun family experiences.
From Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, Suburban Collection Showplace, Detroit Zoo, Pine Knob, and Renaissance Festival to Meadow Brook Hall, Zekelman Holocaust Center and Cranbrook, the county’s top visited attractions and venues with over 750,000+ annual unique visits invite curiosity in culture, arts, architecture, history, and science.
Source: Placer.Ai (Jan 01, 2024-Dec 31, 2024)
03. Oakland County offers Metro Detroiters a quick escape to the great outdoors.
There are over 1,100+ points of interest in the great outdoors, giving visitors and area residents access to a range of quality outdoor recreation opportunities, including lakes, County, Metro and State Parks, golf courses, equestrian facilities, and accessible trails.
Source: Think Place Agency (2025). Based on consumer review data available through Google, the widest open consumer review platform which plays a huge role in shaping any business or attraction’s reputation and attracting new visitors/consumers. Google allows consumers to leave reviews from Android and iOS devices, and seamlessly integrates this data with Google Search and Google Maps, which are some of the world’s leading search engine platforms.
04. Oakland County is every other metro Detroiter’s hometown - there’s a downtown or unique corridor for everyone.
The collection of diverse communities and downtowns are major hubs of shopping, dining, entertainment, and most importantly, iconic hometown events and festivals, including the Michigan State Fair and Woodward Dream Cruise, which welcome millions of visitors annually.
Source: Placer.Ai (Jan 01, 2024-Dec 31, 2024)
05. Oakland County is primarily a destination for Metro Detroiters and Midwestern explorers.
99% of visitors that participated in the visitor survey are from the United States. Even with limited destination management and stewardship efforts in the County, visitors from within 2-2.5 hour drive of the County (largely SE Michigan, OH, IN) have left with positive overall impressions and 99% of those surveyed have indicated they would visit Oakland County again, with many citing strong family ties as being a key reason for wanting to return. They are also likely looking for more affordable experiences.
Source: artsbeatseats.com
06. Oakland County has the opportunity to capture budget savvy visitors travelling in pairs or larger groups.
In particular, events and festivals are rated highly by past visitors indicating their value and the need to continue offering these free and memorable experiences across the County’s downtowns and unique corridors. Visitors from outside of Metro Detroit have also indicated the need to increase awareness and access to the County’s hidden gems — its outdoor recreation assets.
Source: Think Place Agency (2025)
07. In 2024, the County attracted over 16.7 million visitors who spent $3.3 billion, or $9.0 million daily average spending.
Total visitor volume and spending to Oakland County expanded 0.8% and 1.3% respectively, from 2023 levels. For comparison, visitor volume is 1.6 times the population of the State of Michigan (10.1 million)
Source: Think Place Agency (2025)
08. The tourism industry in Oakland County directly supported 24,456 local jobs.
Visitor activity supported a significant portion of direct employment in several key industries in Oakland County. Visitors sustained nearly all employment in the lodging sector, 19% of recreation employment, and 14% of food services employment. When considering total jobs (including indirect and induced), this share was 3.8% of the total.
Source: BEA, BLS, Tourism Economics
Source: Tourism Economics
09. Visitor activity generated a total of $1.4 billion in total income or the equivalent of over $2,600 per household in Oakland County.
When taken on a per job basis, the average wage for direct tourism jobs was $27,700 per year while the average for indirect and induced jobs was $45,000. Overall including all jobs, the average wage for tourism-supported jobs was $34,600 annually in 2024.
Source: Tourism Economics
10. Visitor spending, visitor supported jobs, and business sales generated nearly $760 million in government revenues in 2024.
State and local taxes alone tallied $426 million, enough to fund the average salaries of 6,600 public school teachers in Oakland County.
Source: Tourism Economics
14,700+
Total Products & Experiences
16.7M
Annual Visitors
$1.4B
Income Generated
$426M
State/Local Tax Revenue