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SIERRA VISTA — Visitors spent like never before in Cochise County last year, but they seem to be tightening their purse strings this summer.
Though the county is below half the state’s counties in total travel spending, it had the second greatest increase in spending.
Travelers spending accounted for about $351 million in Cochise County in 2007, up 7.1 percent from 2006, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism. Restaurants were where most of their money went, followed by retail stores, grocery stores, transportation, fuel and entertainment and recreation.
Only Pinal County had a greater increase at 11.3 percent. Pima County saw a decrease of 1.3 percent in travel spending.
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“It’s because they came here,” joked Kay Daggett, director of the Sierra Vista Convention and Visitors Bureau.
She is one of the people who have worked to get Sierra Vista “on the map,” and the steady growth of visitor spending since 1998 has been a positive, she said.
“Everyone in the valley (Phoenix metropolitan area) says ‘We have to go north.’ I think the perception is finally changing. They’ve seen Sedona and Payson and now they want to see something new.”
Summer is usually a downtime for local tourism, but local tourism officials hope their slogan for Sierra Vista — “It’s cooler than you think” — will help entice potential visitors.
Sierra Vista’s tourism industry is different than others around the state, Daggett said. Usually leisure travelers make up 70 percent of the total visitors, while business travelers make up the rest. In Sierra Vista, the situation is reversed, with business travelers being the majority.
Most of the leisure visitors tourism officials see in the county are in-state travelers, but they are still seeing international travelers and many Canadians looking to take advantage of currency exchange rates, Daggett added.
She wants to see “the whole pie” of visitors increase, but there are challenges.
This year Americans are taking shorter trips, staying close to home, looking for bargains and spending less on souvenirs, according to Arizona Office of Tourism Research.
That’s been seen by Brooke Gebow, manager of The Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon Preserve, one the state’s top visited natural attractions.
“This year I’d say things are a little bit down,” Gebow said.
Although the preserve’s staff members haven’t seen their summer visitor counts yet, they have noticed less spending in their gift shop.
Besides, higher gas prices, low per diem rates and budget cuts also are making it tough to get visitors to Sierra Vista this year, Daggett said, but they have taken on the challenge.
“You just get more strategic,” she said.
The Cochise County Tourism Council also annually puts out its Land of Legends publication promoting sites and events in the entire county.
Local tourism officials will be advertising with Web sites and publications that have generated leads in the past, including National Geographic Traveler, Sunset Magazine and www.GoTravel.com.
Some advertisements are targeted to birders, others combine images of local hiking, cycling, ancient petroglyphs, Fort Huachuca, and others to convey the diversity of experiences travelers can have here, Daggett said.
It may be the right strategy to have.
Throughout Arizona, in-state travelers’ top activities, excluding dining, sightseeing, entertainment and shopping, were outdoors, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism. Hiking, biking and camping are on the top of list of activities, followed by visiting national and state parks, hunting and fishing, and other eco-travel. Gambling and visiting historic sites were also ways they spent their time.
Out-of-state visitors spent time visiting parks, historic parks, hiking and biking, but they also looked at real estate, golfed and experienced the night life.
Local national and state parks seem to be faring well, considering more than half the state parks saw a decline in visitors.
From May 2007 to May 2008, total visitors increased by 3.5 percent at Coronado National Memorial, 3.6 percent at Kartchner Caverns State Park, and 2.6 percent at the Tombstone Courthouse State Park.
Hotel sales, another tourism indicator, in Sierra Vista were up 4.4 percent from January to May, compared to the same period last year with an inflation adjustment, according to the Cochise College Center for Economic Research.
However, the county’s accommodation sales were down 1.2 percent for the first five months of the year.
REPORTER Laura Ory can be reached at 515-4683 or by e-mail at laura.ory@svherald.com.
COCHISE COUNTY TOURISM FACTS
Arizona’s overnight visitors
• 23.3 million are visiting from out of state.
• 9.9 million resident overnight visitors.
• About half stay in hotels.
Cochise County travel impacts
• Tourism employs 4,460 people.
• Hotel patrons spent $106.2 million in the county.
• Local governments got about $11.8 million from travelers.
Hot spots
• The Grand Canyon was the top natural attraction with 4.4 million visitors.
• Ramsey Canyon was No. 36 with 16,500 visitors.
• The most visited private attractions included Tombstone (No. 33) and Bisbee’s Queen Mine Tour (No. 36).
Source: Arizona Office of Tourism
ON THE NET
• Cochise County tourism Web site: www.explorecochise.com
• Arizona Office of Tourism Web site: www.arizonaguide.com
Winston Smith wrote on Aug 24, 2008 8:45 AM: