Gov. Doug Ducey declared this week, May 1-7, Arizona Travel and Tourism Week as part of the U.S. Travel Associations’ annual National Travel and Tourism Week. In Arizona, it’s a chance for the tourism industry to tout its economic impact on the state.
“Tourism is extremely important to economic development in any community, and research shows that destination marketing, to market tourism, drives economic development,” said Stephanie Dowling.
Dowling said Arizona’s tourism industry brings, on average, 20 million visitors to the state every year, and drives over $40 billion in spending.
“That’s a lot of tax revenue back to the state, so it goes back into the community directly,” she said. “It’s what funds our educational system, it’s also what funds our emergency personnel and teachers and so it’s a really important economic driver.”
To celebrate Arizona Travel and Tourism Week, the Office of Tourism had ambassadors all over the Valley on Tuesday, handing out Random Acts of Sunshine, which include promotional items, gift cards, passes to Arizona parks and statewide attractions.
Dowling and about 30 other representatives of the tourism office, state parks and other groups hiked Camelback Mountain on Tuesday morning starting at 4:15 a.m. to kick off what they called "Rally Day."
Dowling said tourism is considered the number one export for the state because it brings a lot of money from outside of Arizona into the state.
“It’s incredibly important even on an international stage,” she said. Fourteen percent of visitors to the state come from international markets, according to Dowling, even though our currency is higher right now than many other countries.
Heading into the summer months, Dowling said they shift their focus to market to in-state residents.
“Our number one feeder market for the summer season is Arizona residents,” she said.
The agency also partnered with the Arizona Department of Transportation to put travel-related messages on their Dynamic Message Signs statewide to promote the week. They say things like, “Skip the commute, take a road trip, explore Arizona.”
