MITTEN

MITTEN (Michigan Tourism Training & Engagement)

Everyone who interacts with visitors helps shape their tourism experience.

Does your community want to improve the visitor experience? Are local businesses looking for practical, affordable workforce development opportunities? Do you want frontline employees to feel more confident serving visitors and recommending the best your community has to offer? MITTEN can help.

MITTEN (Michigan Tourism Training & Engagement) is an interactive 2.5 hour training program designed for frontline employees and supervisors who interact with visitors. Developed by Michigan State University Extension in partnership with the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan (TICOM), MITTEN combines customer service training, local tourism knowledge, and an understanding of Michigan's tourism industry to help participants become knowledgeable ambassadors for their businesses and communities.

Each MITTEN program is co-facilitated by an MSU Extension Tourism Team educator and an experienced local tourism professional (e.g., business owner, convention and visitors professional, hospitality manager, etc.) combining research-based education with practical, community-specific insights. This partnership ensures participants learn not only proven customer service principles, but also hear firsthand examples and stories from someone who understands the opportunities and challenges of serving visitors in their own community.

While the core curriculum is consistent statewide, every MITTEN program is customized to the host community. Local attractions, restaurants, events, hidden gems, and visitor resources are incorporated throughout the training, making the experience immediately relevant and practical for participants.

Whether someone works at a hotel, restaurant, ice cream shop, campground, retail store, visitor center, attraction or other visitor-facing business, every interaction influences how visitors experience and remember a community. Through engaging activities and practical examples, participants gain skills they can immediately apply on the job while building greater pride in their community and confidence in serving visitors.

MITTEN helps communities:

  • Improve visitor satisfaction and encourage repeat visitation.
  • Strengthen the professionalism and confidence of the local tourism workforce.
  • Increase employees' knowledge of local attractions, events, and community resources.
  • Build community pride and create ambassadors for the destination.
  • Support collaboration among tourism businesses and community organizations.
  • Strengthen the local visitor economy through better visitor experiences.

How MITTEN Works

  1. A community or organization hosts the program. An MSU Extension Tourism Team educator works with a chamber of commerce, destination marketing organization (DMO), convention and visitors bureau (CVB), downtown organization, business or other community partner to schedule the training.
  2. A local tourism professional joins the presentation team. The host community partners with MSU Extension to identify an experienced local tourism or hospitality professional to co-facilitate the training. Their real-world perspective and local knowledge bring the program to life and help participants connect the material to their own community.
  3. The program is customized for the community. Before the training, the MSU Extension educator and local co-presenter meet to review the program, clarify presentation roles, and incorporate local attractions, recommendations, stories and examples into the session.
  4. The host recruits participants and provides a venue. MSU Extension provides promotional materials and recruitment messaging to help engage local businesses and encourage employee participation.
  5. Participants complete the interactive training. Through discussion, activities and community-specific examples, participants strengthen customer service skills, expand their local knowledge and better understand tourism's importance to their community and Michigan.
  6. Participants receive a MITTEN Certificate of Completion recognizing their commitment to providing exceptional visitor experiences and serving as ambassadors for their community.

Contact

For questions about the MITTEN program, please contact MSU Tourism professor, Dan McCole, via email at mccoleda@msu.edu or by phone at (517) 802-7011.