A beautiful day in Michigan's UP

Ihave a question I would like to ask and hope to get some insight from rainers.  As most know Michigan is in a tough spot right now and lower MI has been hard hit from the troubles with the auto makers.  I was talking with another business owner today about the state of the UP and the effects the troubles of lower MI have had on us.  For those of you in the lower part of the state and surrounding states, what was/is the biggest draw for you to the UP and why, if it applies, do you not come north as often as you would like, or why have you stopped coming north.  Please feel free to give your worst and best stories of the UP and please tell me what you think the UP could do to make it more attractive to people.  There are those of us up here that are trying to revive our area, we don't want to spoil its beauty or fill our woods full of people but our economy struggles all year long now and we need to find solutions to our challenges.  Thank you in advance for your input, I am looking forward to your responses.