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Michigan Business Beat | Cheryl Ward, Time To Travel, Choose Lansing’s CTA Star of the Year’s Story

March 23, 2026

Michigan Business Beat

Chris Holman welcomes Cheryl Ward, CTA and Owner of Time To Travel, Lansing, MI.

Watch Cheryl and Chris discuss Time To Travel services, CTA honor, Lansing tourism highlights, and hidden gems visitors may overlook in the YouTube video shared below:

Chris had several questions for Cheryl in this conversation:

Welcome Cheryl, tell us about your Time to Travel company in Lansing?

They went on to further discuss her business and its travel packages.

You have assisted Choose Lansing for several years as a CTA – Certified Tourism Ambassador, tell us about that service?

Earlier this month, you were honored by Choose Lansing as the CTA Star of the Year, tell us about that?

What are highlights of Lansing tourism or hidden jewels that many don’t realize?

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LANSING, MICH. – March 3, 2025– Choose Lansing® held its annual meeting March 3 at the Crowne Plaza Lansing, sharing an update on the region’s tourism industry, local visitor economic impact and upcoming initiatives. The event highlighted a record year for hotel room nights, recognized the CTA Star of the Year and previewed priorities for 2026.

In 2025, Greater Lansing recorded 1,137,836 hotel rooms consumed, with an occupancy rate of 55.4%. The region’s hospitality and tourism industry supports approximately 9,500 local jobs, welcomes 6.7 million visitors annually, and generates an estimated $732 million in economic impact.

“The momentum we’re seeing reflects a strong partnership between our hospitality businesses, community organizations and event planners,” said Julie Pingston, President and CEO of Choose Lansing. “Our role is to connect people to this destination, bringing visitors to Greater Lansing while supporting the businesses and workforce that make the experience memorable.”

To help ensure positive visitor experiences, Choose Lansing continues to lead the Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) program, which enters its 16th year in 2026. During its meeting, Choose Lansing recognized 532 active CTAs and honored Cheryl Ward, CTA and owner of Time To Travel, as the CTA Star of the Year.

“As we look ahead to 2026, we will continue serving as a resource for meeting and event planners while supporting our local hospitality partners and advancing initiatives that make Greater Lansing welcoming and accessible for all visitors,” Pingston said.

Full details and the 2025 Choose Lansing® annual report are available at lansing.org/about-us/annual-report-and-meeting/

About Choose Lansing®

The vision of Choose Lansing® is to inspire everyone to celebrate and love Greater Lansing as much as we do! Which goes hand in hand with our mission, to positively impact our community’s quality of life by developing the region as a visitor destination. Learn more at www.lansing.org.

Here were highlights from that event:

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