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Arizona Tourism Fights For Share Of Wallet In Information Age

As winter winds down in Arizona, so does travel revenue from snowbirds who visit, and that means the state’s biggest export business is doubling down to generate spring and summer dollars.

Scott Dunn of Arizona’s Office of Tourism spent this weekend in Seattle recruiting outdoor enthusiasts to visit Arizona, something he said the state cannot take for granted anymore.

"So there is a perception that Arizona has got great weather. And it’s affordable. And it’s got the Grand Canyon. So, people are going to come here," Dunn said. "We actually have to battle against that because tourism is so competitive."

Dunn said the tourism office is targeting places like Seattle to reach millennials and active generation X-ers who, research says, will travel for active adventures.

He said money and time are still finite, but information and inspiration are everywhere now, so penetrating through that to get the message of Arizona out is harder than ever before.

"The CEO of Netflix made some news when he said Netflix’s biggest competitor is sleep, which is funny, but it’s so true, like, it’s just that way for tourism, in fact there’s never been so much competition," Dunn said.

In 2016, the state received 43 million visitors, spending $21 billion or $58 million a day. He said tourism should be considered Arizona’s top export business as it brings in dollars from elsewhere.

 

 

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Heather van Blokland was a host at KJZZ from 2016 to 2021.