Visit Keweenaw photo The Adventure Mine bike tour is one of the field excursions scheduled for the Michigan Sustainable Tourism Conference.

HOUGHTON — With just one month until its start, the Michigan Sustainable Tourism Summit is set to bring a strong lineup of speaker and industry leaders to the Keweenaw, May 20-23. Located in Michigan Tech’s McArdle Theatre, the four-day summit will tackle topics of tourism through the lens of sustainability, community collaboration and destination stewardship. Attendees will hear from national and regional experts working directly in the field of tourism, conservation and community development. When working together, these sectors can majorly benefit a region.

According to a press release from Visit Keweenaw, the 2026 speaker lineup includes voices from across the tourism and land management spectrum, including representatives from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Leave No Trace™, Keweenaw National Historical Park, Copper Harbor Trails Club and more. Sessions will cover topics from responsible outdoor recreation to visitor education and infrastructure planning — including community-involved tourism management strategies.

Keynote speakers include Matt Schneider of Leave No Trace™, a membership-based nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the outdoors through science-based education that inspires responsible recreation. Schneider will explore how destinations can better engage visitors in protecting natural resources. Deborah Heather, CEO of Visit Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, will share international perspectives on sustainable destination management. Additional speakers include Julia Peterson of the Nature Conservancey, Will Cronin MSU Extension and Dan Cole MSU.

Keweenaw organizations engaged in the tourism industry are invited to host information tables during the event. Those doing so receive free Summit registration. Organizations can sign up by visiting the Summit website.

“This summit is about bringing together the right people at the right time,” said Visit Keweenaw Executive Director Brad Barnett. “The Keweenaw is a place that understands balance. That balance being between visitors and residents, access and preservation. This speaker lineup reflects this mindset and gives attendees real-world, applicable ideas they can take home.”

In addition to the McArdle Theatre, the summit will take place at additional locations throughout Houghton and Hancock. Tours are also available to see projects like the Heartlands in Keweenaw County, a large parcel of public forest and the Adventure Mine in Greenland.

The summit is designed for destination leaders, planners, outdoor recreation professionals and community stakeholders. It’s also going to provide practical tools and shared strategies for building tourism economies in a sustainable fashion – supporting people and place.

Registration is now open. The full schedule and speaker details can be found at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com