DALLAS, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comerica Bank's Michigan Tourism Index fell to 94 in the third quarter on a preliminary basis, down one point from the second quarter. This marks the Index's lowest level since fourth quarter 2001 when the economy was last in recession. Over the first three quarters of 2008, the Index has averaged two points below the average for all of 2007.
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"Our tourism index has been trending lower for the past three years, reflecting the ongoing weakness in the state's economy," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "The main risk is that this downtrend will accelerate in upcoming quarters, reflecting the deepening national recession and the spillover to the Michigan economy. Tourism is a discretionary outlay that may suffer disproportionately large cutbacks in the difficult economic environment that has taken hold."
The latest version of the Michigan Tourism Index has been broadened to better reflect overall tourism activity within the state. Starting in 2002, the Index includes a sixth component that captures casino revenues generated in the Detroit metro area. The Index now also tracks traffic crossing the Sault St. Marie Bridge in addition to traffic totals from the Ambassador Bridge, Blue Water Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The resulting Index was adjusted with new seasonal factors and set to a base year of 2004, rather than the previously utilized base year of 1990.
The Michigan Tourism Index is a quarterly summary of six equally weighted, seasonally adjusted travel, lodging and entertainment data series. These series serve as a proxy for statewide tourism activity. Revised historical index levels are available upon request.
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 $65.2 billion as of September 30, 2008.
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SOURCE: Comerica Bank
CONTACT: media, Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist,
+1-214-462-6839, djohnson@comerica.com, or data, Meaghan Derrick, Research
Assistant, +1-214-462-6815, maderrick@comerica.com, both of Comerica
Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
