College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

Dan McCole is an associate professor of tourism and sustainability in the Department of Community Sustainability.

Education

• B.A. - University of Massachusetts 
• MBA - Michigan State University 
• Ph.D. - University of Minnesota 

Dan McCole is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University, where his teaching, research, and outreach focus on the intersection of tourism, outdoor recreation, and community sustainability. Much of his work emphasizes Michigan’s tourism and recreation industries, where he collaborates with businesses, community leaders, and government agencies to strengthen both economic vitality and quality of life.

Dan’s work spans a wide range of tourism and outdoor recreation topics, with an emphasis on helping communities and businesses strengthen sustainability and visitor experiences. His projects have examined issues such as tourism development, destination management, visitor behavior, and the economic impact of tourism industries. More recently, he has expanded into recreation ecology, partnering with the U.S. Forest Service to study the ecological impacts of trails, campsites, and backcountry use. Across these areas, his research integrates business principles with social science perspectives to provide applied insights that support both community vitality and natural resource stewardship.

A founding member of MSU Extension’s Tourism Team, Dan has led educational workshops, tourism community assessments, and consulting initiatives across Michigan. He also conducted the Michigan Tourism Forecast for eight years, providing business leaders and policymakers with evidence-based insights on travel trends and economic impacts. His professional service includes the Board of Directors of Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa (9 years), Board of YMCA Storer Camps and Conference Center (4 years), and as Vice President of the Board for TICOM - the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (11 years). These leadership roles reflect his long-standing commitment to advancing Michigan’s tourism industry and ensuring that research, education, and practice work together to benefit both businesses and communities.

Selected Areas of Research

Ecology and Recreation/Tourism

• Trail System Ecological Recreation Assessment: Assessed ecological impacts of dispersed camping and hiking along the Manistee River Trail and a 12-mile segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail. (Funded by the Huron–Manistee National Forest)
• Diversifying Tourism in Michigan’s Thumb Region: Led an Integrated Assessment to address the collapse of the Chinook salmon fishery in Lake Huron. The project brought together scientists, business leaders, and community members to identify new tourism opportunities. (Funded by Michigan Sea Grant)
• Impact of Great Lakes Water Levels on Coastal Tourism: Examined the implications of declining Great Lakes water levels for coastal tourism and recreational boating, including development of indicators and contextual narratives. (Funded by the International Joint Commission)

Wine Tourism

• Economic Impact: Measured the direct spending of wine tourists and the statewide economic impacts of wine tourism in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. (Funders: MDARD, Wisconsin Winery Association, USDA SCRI)
• Willingness to Pay: Used experimental auctions and discrete choice modeling to evaluate how product messages and label content influence tourists’ willingness to pay for wines from emerging regions. (Funded by USDA SCRI)
• Wine Tourist Profiling: Developed detailed visitor profiles (including demographics, motivations, trip planning, and spending behavior) in emerging wine regions of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. (Funded by USDA SCRI)
• Product Involvement: Investigated whether visiting emerging wine regions can increase consumers’ intentions toward desirable wine behaviors.
• Itinerary Analysis: Studied trip planning, movement patterns, visitor density, and spatial distribution of tourists in Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula after the rapid growth of wineries. (Funded by USDA SCRI)

Miscellaneous Recreation and Tourism

• Seasonal Employee Retention: Explored how psychological sense of community influences retention among seasonal employees in ski resorts, camps, and other tourism industries.
• Skier Participation: Evaluated Michigan’s Cold is Cool promotional program to measure its effectiveness in increasing downhill ski participation.
• Small Business Collaboration: Examined the value and motivations for collaboration among diverse recreation and tourism businesses, including farmers’ markets, heritage sport centers, camps, and wineries. (Funded by Oakland County Parks)
• U.S. Forest Service Recreation Sites Pricing Model: Developed a benchmarking tool to help the Forest Service set market-appropriate fees for campsites, cabins, picnic areas, and other amenities nationwide. (Funded by USDA Forest Service)
• Off-Road Vehicle Users: Conducted three studies to better understand preferences, satisfiers, and participation behavior among off-road vehicle users. (Funded by Oakland County Parks)

International Program Evaluation

• Community Knowledge Worker Program, Uganda: Led a randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of equipping farm community leaders with smartphones and agricultural information to reduce poverty. (Funded by USAID)
• Youth Entrepreneurship in Africa: Evaluated a sport-based youth entrepreneurship program in Ghana, Tanzania, and Botswana, designed to link athletic skills with entrepreneurial competencies. (Funded by the Alliance for African Partnerships)

Method Studies

• Survey Incentives: Tested the effectiveness of pre-paid monetary incentives and prize draws in increasing survey return rates.
• Survey Mode Comparison: Compared response rates between mailed surveys and emailed surveys to assess differences in participation.
• Influence Language in Invitations: Examined how different types of persuasive language in survey invitations impact response rates.
• Randomized Control Trials in Social Science: Explored the challenges of applying RCTs to evolving social programs and contexts.

Current Courses

• Introduction to Travel and Tourism
• Social Entrepreneurship and Community Sustainability
• Designing and Managing Programmed Experiences
• Program Evaluation