High gas prices? Some say that’s good for northern Michigan tourism

The Anchor Inn has been around, under different names, since the 1940s. Current owner George Brittain took it over and renovated just five years ago.

Inside, on the front desk, there’s a small antique bell thrifted from a vintage shop. The check-in room has old lifejackets hanging on the walls and an antique croquet set in the corner — Brittain said he likes to “bring an old nostalgic feel to things.”

But as a small business owner, he has to keep an eye to the present, too. He’s been closely watching gas prices and jet fuel prices, thinking about how rising costs affect potential visitors to his inn this summer.

“I would say everyone’s thinking about it,” Brittain said, “in probably every tourism destination in the U.S.”

In the state of Michigan, tourism contributes almost $55 billion of economic impact, according to a 2025 report from Pure Michigan.

High gas prices have some in the tourism industry in northern Michigan worried that summer vacationers will choose to stay home this year. But it’s complicated up north, where others say high travel costs nationwide could actually drive more visitors to northern Michigan—visitors who would normally look to travel farther away.

Brittain says he’s feeling optimistic, since bookings have basically kept pace with where they were last year. Strategies like booking out the whole inn for a wedding party are keeping things more stable.

“Although we aren’t hosting a wedding on site, [groups are] buying out the entire inn,” Brittain said. “That’s going to be helping us through any sort of increase in gas pricing.”

Trevor Tkach, president of Traverse City Tourism, says northern Michigan has weathered high gas prices before.

He says while it’s true that some people might decide not to come to Traverse City because the trip is too expensive, others might decide to come up north instead of somewhere farther. For a family in Chicago or Detroit, for example, a short road trip to northern Michigan could be the cheapest option this summer.

In summer 2022, when gas prices hit record highs of over $5 a gallon in Michigan, tourism still contributed $48.5 billion to the state’s economy, according to Pure Michigan.

“When people have money, we get a certain group of customers that come. When people are short on dough, we get a different group of customers,” said Tkach. “The nice thing is we seem to always have a segment that’s available to us.”

But if gas prices and other costs keep going up, people will eventually have to limit discretionary spending on things like travel.

“People are going to have to make choices,” said Tkach. “Can they spend those dollars on a trip, or do they have to hold on to them to pay for necessities?”

Back at the Anchor Inn, George Brittain said he’s trying to think of this summer as a game. Small businesses like his, he said, have to get creative in how to meet challenges like lower demand for rooms, or rising operating costs.

Recently, that’s meant things like negotiating more with his insurance company, or even his linen supplier.

“Now (it’s) like a challenge for us to beat the high gas prices,” said Brittain. “We’re like, fuel prices are up, what are we gonna do? How can we make ourselves better?”