A story in The St. Ignace News’ ongoing series bringing our readers fresh perspectives on the top issues facing the Straits area and the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Beach communities along the western shore of the Lower Peninsula, stretching from the Indiana border north to Ludington, are known for their family and tourist friendly beaches, boardwalks, and marinas. These communities use their distinctive waterfronts to attract tourists from Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and beyond.

Nine communities and regions along Michigan's western shores collectively promote their "Beachtowns" through the state's travel and tourism campaign, Pure Michigan, and its Web site, www.Michigan.org. These communities promote the western shoreline as a regional brand through the Web site, but also market themselves as individual areas.

Collaboration as a region and offering a full slate of waterfront events and amenities are two keys to their marketing success, they say.

"It's a good idea to market regionally," said Felicia Fairchild, executive director of the Saugatuck-Douglas Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It certainly makes your dollar stretch; you can do things that you can't really do by yourself."

The cities of Saugatuck and Douglas not only work together to market themselves regionally in the Beachtowns campaign, they market their waterfront as a travel destination outside of that regional brand. The two cities are west of US-31, about 12 miles south of Holland, and are separated by the Kalamazoo River. They offer activities to attract tourists to the waterfront, including boat tours, charter sailing and fishing, kayak and canoe rentals, and long stretches of public beaches. Just north of the public beaches is the Saugatuck Dunes State Park, where visitors enjoy hiking and scenic tours on dune buggies through the 200- foot-tall sand dunes.

The beauty of the area is what brings tourists back, Ms. Fairchild said, and builds a positive reputation for the area. The waterfronts of Saugatuck-Douglas have earned national recognition from television network MSNBC as one of the top 11 "Great American Beach Towns," the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of "America's Dozen Distinctive Destination Perfect Getaways," and its Oval Beach was named one of the top two beaches in America by National Geographic Traveler.

The visitors bureau markets the area as "The art coast of Michigan," owing to its many art galleries, studios, and events, including the Waterfront Film Festival, Chamber Music Festival, and productions at the Red Barn Theatre. Other individual brands in the Beachtowns include "Up north, close by," in Ludington, "A Lake Michigan must," in Muskegon, and "You don't need a passport," in Holland.

"Everybody's got beaches," Ms. Fairchild said. "You need to identify what your brand is" to be set apart from other communities.

About 32 miles up the shore, the Grand Haven area uses the moniker "My Haven" to market itself. It plays up its two lighthouses, pier, and two-and-a-half-mile long boardwalk when marketing the area.

The two lighthouses light up the entrance to the Grand River channel and its boardwalk leading to nearby restaurants and shops. Further into the channel, tourists enjoy one of the world's largest musical fountains, which pumps 90,000 gallons of water synchronized to lights and music every summer evening at dusk.

"As a [convention and visitors bureau] we recognize people are naturally drawn to water. This is, in part, what makes the Grand Haven area such a popular destination. We use our recreational water status to our advantage in our marketing photos, editorial, and in conversations with visitors, which often revolve around our proximity to the water, boardwalk, and beaches," said Marci Cisneros, director of tourism at the Grand Haven Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It's the entire package of what our community has to offer that keeps families coming back year after year, from generation to generation."

Events organized on the waterfront also attract many visitors, she said. The Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival, Grand Haven Salmon Festival, Great Lakes Kite Festival, and the Grand Haven Area Triathlon are some of the larger and more popular events on the waterfront aimed at drawing in tourists over a weekend, she said. Other weekend events include art fairs, beach soccer tournaments, sand sculpture contests, skimboard competitions, and boat shows.

"They tend to be more popular events, so naturally they get more exposure in the media," she said. "We promote the waterfront events equally, along with all of our other events."

The area also offers smaller events aimed at attracting day visitors and local residents, including movies on the beach and big-band dances. Ms. Cisneros said there are also plenty of public restrooms, parking, benches, green spaces, grills, trash cans, and snack stands for people enjoying a day on the waterfront.

Working together accomplishes more

Ms. Fairchild, who is president of the Beachtown Association, said each west Michigan shoreline community would get less recognition working alone.

The nine communities work together in a friendly, competitive sort of way, she said, and it's important to define each participating entity's role and responsibility to avoid any conflicts.

"The most important thing is to define the responsibilities, so you don't bump into each other," she said, "and that always happens in small towns. It's smoother if everybody's working together. You just have to be smart enough to not think about the politics and get the job done."

Having a strong group of diverse people on a regional committee is a good way to make sure all areas are equally represented, Ms. Cisneros said. She also suggested hiring an outside facilitator as a good way to lead the group, without showing favoritism for one area.

Once a regional committee is formed, short-term and long-terms plans need to be identified and implemented.

"Be sure to plan ahead; plan, plan, plan," she said. "Have an overall vision and master plan, but implement that plan one piece at a time. Public access to the waterfront is key. Allow for a balanced mix of business, green space, and parking."