DETROIT, May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Michigan Tourism Index compiled by Comerica Bank rose 0.6 % in the first quarter from the fourth quarter. The first quarter index, at 116.5, was essentially unchanged from the average for 2007.

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"Our tourism index has been moving sideways over the past five quarters," said Dana Johnson, the Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "Increasing airline traffic over the past four quarters has offset weakness in the other components of our index. However, with gas prices sky high and the local economy contracting, I am expecting our index to trend lower over the balance of 2008."

                                                         % Chg. 2008Q1 From
                     2007Q1  2007Q2  2007Q3  2007Q4  2008Q1  2007Q4  2007Q1

  Tourism Index       115.1   116.5   118.0   115.7   116.5    +0.6    +1.2
  Occupancy Rate       96.6    96.6    98.1    96.0    93.5    -2.6    -3.2
  Airline Traffic     160.7   157.4   155.3   163.3   176.3    +8.0    +9.7
  Vehicular Traffic    98.6    96.7    94.0    97.7    97.0    -0.8    -1.7
  Mackinac Crossings  118.8   118.6   120.6   117.7   112.5    -4.5    -5.3
  Museum              100.9   113.0   122.1   103.9   103.1    -0.8    +2.1

The Michigan Tourism Index is a quarterly summary of five seasonally adjusted travel and lodging data series, which serve as a proxy for statewide tourism activity. Prior levels for the index were revised this quarter to incorporate our annual revisions to seasonal factors.

Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada, China and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $67 billion at March 31, 2008. To receive e-mail alerts of breaking Comerica news, go to http://www.comerica.com/newsalerts. To receive this index directly to your email inbox, go to http://www.comerica.com/econsubscribe to subscribe.

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SOURCE: Comerica Bank

CONTACT: Dana Johnson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of
Comerica Bank, +1-214-462-6839

Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
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