A strategic plan to attract more tourists to the town has received approval from the Queen Creek Town Council.
At its Wednesday meeting, the council voted 6-0 to approve the Queen Creek Tourism Strategic Plan. Vice Mayor Leah Martineau was absent from the meeting.
The plan was on the council’s consent agenda in which all items are voted on with one motion and vote.
Last year, the council approved designating the town government as an official destination marketing organization.
Since then, the economic development department has been working on a plan for the town, which was unveiled during the July 16 town council meeting.
Visitors spent more than $86 million in Queen Creek in 2023 up 30% over 2022. Overnight visitor volume increased more than 18% from 133,000 in 2022 to almost 160,000 in 2023, Economic Development Director Doreen Cott told the council at the July meeting.
Local tax receipts generated by direct travel-related spending totaled almost $4 million in 2023, up 38% from 2022.
“Tourism helps attract new residents, new commercial investment and that broadens the local tax base and expands the local economy,” Cott said.
Earlier this year, the town initiated the strategic planning process to establish priorities and clear direction for tourism planning.
This process involved input from 60 participants in an online community survey in March, 22 participants in stakeholder focus groups in April and 10 interviews with 13 key community stakeholders and elected officials.
The plan envisions Queen Creek being known as the “Agritainment Capital of the World.”
“As part of the strategic planning process, we did engage our agritainment destinations to ensure that we’re enhancing what they’re doing. We’re not doing it for them. We’re just enhancing their efforts and optimizing collaboration.”
The town also worked on the strategic plan with the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce and will continue to collaborate with it and its in-house tourism center, Cott said.
The plan’s goals include:
Increasing annual tourism-related taxes by 3% year-over-year
Increasing the economic impact of tourism by 3% by year two of the plan
Increasing social media audience by 20% in year two of plan
Increasing the number of event days each year by 10%
Increasing overnight visitors by 15% year-over-year
During the July meeting, Mayor Julia Wheatley noted that Queen Creek tourism was outpacing national and international travel to the U.S.
“We’re doing something right,” Wheatley said.
Adoption of the plan has no immediate fiscal impact on the town, but “future budget recommendations and departmental work plans will align with the goals and initiatives outlined in the plan,” according to a council staff report.
Queen Creek tourism will also have a presence at the Mesa Gateway Airport: A 5-foot-by-3-foot sign at the Transportation Security Administration queuing area. As people line up at security, they can screen a QR code on the sign, taking them to the town’s official tourism site visitqueencreekaz.com.
“Queen Creek has unique destinations and selling points that embody the town’s history, and these include natural attractions like the Queen Creek and Sonoqui washes, San Tan Mountain Regional Park, the cultural heritage that is found at Schnepf Farms, and the Queen Creek Olive Mill,” Cott said. “Recreational activities that are found at Horseshoe Park (and Equestrian Centre), Pecan Lake Entertainment, and of course, Queen Creek’s unique local products and foods.”
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Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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