The state’s tourism and hospitality industry received a boost early Friday when legislators approved spending $10 million from the 21st Century Jobs Fund to continue a limited advertising program for the Pure Michigan travel promotion campaign.

Supporters held a Lansing press conference Monday urging legislators to approve $25 million to fully fund the advertising promotional program. Legislators said that level of funding was not going to be approved, but agreed on a plan to spend $10 million, in addition to the $5 million previously appropriated.

The $10 million includes spending $1.5 million on winter tourism promotion immediately and the remainder will be spent in early March on a national cable advertising buy to tout the state’s tourism industry.

Throughout the past several weeks, supporters of the tourism industry have been pushing for passage of a permanent source of funding for the state’s promotion campaign. Proposals included allocating a portion of sales tax annually to support tourism, establishing tax increment financing districts to collect revenue for Pure Michigan and increasing taxes on rental car usage in the state.

In the end, though, legislators continued the funding on an annual basis, with the expectation that the industry will resume their Lansing quest next year to secure approval for the permanent funding.