Tourism remains big business for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley and business is going strong, according to Experience Scottsdale’s Chair Kate Birchler.
In 2023, 11.2 million visitors came to Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, injecting $3.5 billion into the local economy, Birchler said at Experience Scottsdale’s annual meeting Nov.1.
“According to the experts at Longwoods International, for every $1 spent on advertising, Experience Scottsdale generates $116 in visitor spending and $4 in state and local tax revenue,” Birchler said.
Experience Scottsdale is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing tourism to Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, and Birchler said that work is not easy.
“Scottsdale’s visitors, like our residents, tend to be more affluent,” Birchler said. “The competition for such visitors, who can afford to go anywhere they want, is fierce.
“That’s why it’s important for Scottsdale to have a strong destination brand that separates us from places like Palm Springs, San Antonio and Nashville,” she continued “Tourism is a competitive industry, and it’s worth noting that all those destinations I mentioned have budgets that outsize Experience Scottsdale’s.”
And Experience has mere seconds to make a connection with potential visitors, Experience Scottsdale President and CEO Rachel Sacco said.
One way Experience Scottsdale did that was to create a new commercial featuring a woman stuck in an office and begins daydreaming of all the fun she could have in Scottsdale when she gazes into a “sun globe” (similar to a snow globe) on her desk.
“The commercial began airing nationwide on Connected TV this summer, it debuted on a digital billboard in Times Square, and it appeared on all British Airways long-haul flights in August,” Sacco said.
The commercial showed in 16 million homes across the U.S. through Connected TV, not to mention showings on the HULU television streaming service
“In January and February, for example, we targeted 11 markets like Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis and Philadelphia, with our ad appearing alongside a QR code that inspired 37,000 people to request our Scottsdale Visitor Guide,” Sacco said.
Experience Scottsdale also put the a short-form video on the Tik-Tok social media platform and generated a million views.
“Across all our social channels, we captured thousands of new followers and millions of impressions. We also had more than 1.5 million engagements with our social media content,” Sacco said.
The message was sent to an all inclusive crowd last year, targeting such groups as the LGBTQ+ community.
“That’s a powerful and growing group of travelers who are worth an estimated $218 billion to the worldwide tourism industry,” Sacco said.
“We also were proud to launch our partnership with Wheel the World, the online booking platform that helps seniors and travelers with disabilities find the accommodations and travel experiences that meet their individual needs,” she continued.
The agency also reached over 3,500 travel professional across 43 countries.
During travel trade shows, it did things like place agaves and saguaro shaped soaps in heavily trafficked areas. And at another show, it set up a sneaker lounge where 30 top clients received customized Scottsdale sneakers.
Meeting planners were also targeted by Experience Scottsdale with tactics like hosting a Scottsdale Meetings Showcase.
“These are just some examples of the programs that allowed Experience Scottsdale to land 645 bookings into area hotels and resorts and to generate 20% of our leads from new business,” Sacco said. “Our bookings, room nights and economic impact were all up year over year.”
Experience Scottsdale also hosted a Scottsdale Media Showcase, which hosted 40 journalists who wrote 76 articles.
“Throughout the year, our communications team generated over 9,000 media hits,” Sacco said. “Many of our articles and segments were picked up by multiple outlets and stations across the country, leading to this record number.”
That includes hits in international markets.
Canada is Experience Scottsdale’s primary foreign market, but the agency also created a presence in France and the United Kingdom.
J. Graber can be reached at jgraber@iniusa.org. We invite our readers to submit their civil comments pro or con on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
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