Marketing campaigns and legislation to revive the battered tourism industry are heating up as Arizona looks ahead to summer vacation and beyond.   

To encourage vacationers to start thinking about Arizona, the state Office of Tourism just launched the campaign with tips, guidance and suggested itineraries for Covid-safe summer fun.  

Meanwhile, a number of bipartisan bills to help the industry recover are advancing through the state Legislature. It’s been a devastating year with losses in the tens of billions of dollars, Kim Sabow, president and CEO of the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association (AZLTA), said during a virtual event to update members about what’s ahead.  

“The U.S. hotel industry suffered its worst year on record in 2020 with an occupancy rate of just 44 percent,” Sabow said. “It surpassed 1 billion unsold room nights for the first time in history.”

She and other tourism groups are calling on employers and employees to contact their legislators to support measures including a bill that would allow for the creation of tourism marketing authorities. 

Lawmakers advance bill to create Tourism Marketing Authorities

The measure would allow Arizona cities and towns to create funding entities to better market their best features to would-be tourists. Twin bills, Senate Bill 1101 and House Bill 2161, would allow for cities and counties to create Tourism Marketing Authorities (TMAs) that collect fees assessed on sold hotel and resort guest rooms. Those fees would then be allocated to cities and counties to use for marketing campaigns. 

If the legislature approves the measure, Arizona would be the 18th or 19th state to adopt such a law, said Brent DeRaad, president and CEO of , who described the benefits during the AZTLA webinar. Another nine states including Arizona are considering TMA laws to help the ailing industry. 

“This is enabling legislation. If it passes, it doesn’t mean you have to create a tourism marketing authority, but it gives you that ability, it gives you that additional opportunity to go out and control your destiny,” DeRaad said.  

Currently, there are 184 TMAs across the U.S. If approved in Arizona, this could give communities a leg up in competing for visitors, advocates said.   

How it works 

Municipalities of any size and counties with fewer than 2 million residents would be able to form TMAs under the proposed bill. If a majority of hotels in the designated boundaries agree to create an authority district, assessments would be levied on sold hotel and resort guest rooms.

Hoteliers would vote on this assessment and have input on how the dollars are invested. TMAs can only be created if not less than 67 percent of represented hotels and resorts submit a petition to the applicable government body asking for the authority to be established. 

Assessments would be remitted to the Arizona Department of Revenue that would allocate them to applicable communities. The dollar amount assessed would be determined by each authority. 

Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in jurisdictions with TMAs would use the money for new sales, marketing and promotional projects. DMO boards also would oversee the TMAs, providing performance reports to participating county governments. 

Tourism districts generate more than $420 million annually 

To date, 184 of these agreements have been established in at least 15 states. Among those benefiting are Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, Napa Valley, Philadelphia, San Diego, and San Francisco.  

Also referred to as Tourism Marketing Authorities or Tourism Business Improvement Districts, they generated more than $420 million in marketing revenue in 2019, according to statistics compiled by Civitas Advisors, which specializes in the creation of improvement districts.

Benefits 

TMAs provide a number of benefits, according to proponents: 

• More visitors and visitor dollars to participating communities.
• More state, county and municipal tax revenue from visitors.
• More visitor revenue to pay for Arizona education, public safety and health care.
• More jobs
• New visitor marketing, sales and promotion tailored to the participating communities

If approved the districts would probably start up next year.

Marketing dollars pay off tenfold

Before the pandemic, 46.8 million people visited Arizona in 2019 and collectively spent $25.6 billion in the state, according to the AOT. That generated  $3.78 billion in tax revenue that equalled an annual tax savings of $1,400 for every Arizona household and supported 194,300 industry jobs.

Then last year, the industry saw a $10 billion drop in revenues the first six months, said Bettina Nava, AZLTA Government Affairs Committee chair. Job losses rose as high as 50 percent by summer. 

With the vaccine, tourism should come back strong over the next few years but it will take time and investment, Nava said. Every dollar spent is well worth it.  

“For every $10 million invested, there’s a $100 million return on investment that comes back,” she said. 

Find a safe road trip now

For anyone eager to start planning a road trip, the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) has put together a list of tips, guidance and socially distant options at . 

New Arizona road trip ideas will be updated seasonally throughout 2021, so travelers planning road trips are encouraged to check back regularly. To kick off the Year of the Road Trip, AZRoadTrips.com features a right now focusing on Arizona bucket list destinations. 

“Having a trip to plan and look forward to provides so many positive benefits,” said Debbie Johnson, director of the AOT. “That’s why we launched Year of the Road Trip, to provide options, with safety and responsibility in mind, to those who are ready to plan their next trip.”

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Before the coronavirus, Arizona’s tourism industry saw four years of record-breaking growth, with 2019 the most successful yet, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism’s (AOT) annual economic report released Wednesday. 

Visitors to the state last year generated $70 million a day, or more than $25 billion for the year. Job numbers and tax revenues supported by tourism reached new highs. Visitors from Mexico, the state’s top international market, spent more than $3 billion. 

2019 ARIZONA VISITATION DATA AT-A-GLANCE

Total Overnight Visitation: 46.8 million (Up 2.8 percent from 2018)
Visitor Spending: $25.6 billion (Up 4.7 percent) 
Tax Revenue: $3.78 billion (Up 4.2 percent)
Jobs: 194,300 (Up 1 percent)
Earnings: $7.7 billion (Up 3.7 percent)

These and other data were released Wednesday during the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism. The conference also featured strategies for the industry’s recovery from the pandemic. 

“While we’re very focused on the recovery of our industry during the next year, this 2019 data helps reinforce the critical role a strong tourism industry plays in Arizona’s economic re-energization,” said Debbie Johnson, director of the AOT. 

About 850 people from the state’s travel and hospitality industry tuned in virtually to attend the event. 

New marketing tactics helped showcase the state

Arizona’s stellar year for tourism in 2019 was the result of a great economy but also new approaches to marketing, Johnson said.  

“Instead of a single straight message, now we talk about the seasonality in our state. We have such geographic diversity. In March, you can ski in Flagstaff in the morning and then come down to the Valley and golf in the afternoon.”

Financial free fall for industry in 2020 

Attendees also got a snapshot of how the industry is faring in 2020. Revenues are down significantly in all sectors, according to compiled for the AOT. 

For example, average daily revenue for lodging was down 14 percent in June compared to last year and down 10 percent for the year so far. Airport traffic saw an 85 percent drop in May and is down 47 percent for the year. 

Tax revenues also are suffering. In 2020, the loss of tourism revenue is expected to create a $284 million net loss to the state’s general fund.

Celebrating last year’s success 

There was some solace in reflecting on last year’s success at the conference, Johnson said. In 2019, visitors spent a record $25.6 billion, up 4.7 percent over 2018. 

Here are some key takeaways from 2019 data: 

Industry supported more than 360,000 jobs in Arizona

Spending by Arizona visitors directly generated a record 194,300 tourism industry jobs last year. When combined with indirect and induced employment, the travel industry-supported 361,300 Arizona jobs.

Record tax revenues from tourism

Record visitor spending generated another milestone — a record $3.78 billion in combined local, state and federal tax revenue. That reduced the annual tax burden by $1,400 for every Arizona household.

International visitor numbers up

Last year, Arizona welcomed 6.1 million international overnight visitors, an increase of 3.8 percent over 2018. Visitor volume increased 5.2 percent from Mexico, the state’s top international market, with 4 million overnight visitors. Arizona’s top five overseas visitor markets were Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and China.

Strategic recovery plan for tourism

The AOT also unveiled its Tourism Strategic Recovery Plan at the event that offers specific tactics and to help destinations and communities recover from the pandemic.   

Presenters spoke about different strategies for recovery as travel becomes safer to attract visitors to outdoor destinations, metro Phoenix and Tucson, and rural and tribal areas. 

Suggestions for industry marketing efforts recommend a three-step strategy for recovery:

-First, market directly to Arizonans for vacations and weekend getaways within the state while travel remains restricted. To help get the word out, the AOT launched a new campaign in May to encourage residents to visit outdoor and scenic destinations across the state.  

-Second, reach out to visitors that live within six hours of Arizona’s favorite destinations.  

-Finally, focus on marketing to target cities like Denver, Dallas and Chicago once air travel is considered safe again.   

For now, there are no plans to market to the international market, Johnson said. But there is hope that the market can return in 2021.

New Leave No Trace partnership to protect scenic views  

During the conference, AOT also had a presentation on it’s new partnership with, whose mission is to educate visitors about sustainable tourism practices. The full report and a video of the conference and all the sessions will become available over the next week at: .

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