Council Eyes New Tourism Campaign

Council Eyes
New Tourism Campaign

Reprinted From:
Herald/Review
March 30, 2002
By Lyn Southerland

Sierra Vista — Tourism generates more than $12.5 billion every year in the United States — $120 million of it in Cochise County.

The Cochise County Tourism Council wants more of those dollars for local businesses and is planning a $300,000 campaign to capture the attention of potential visitors from other parts of Arizona and the rest of the country.

In a meeting and luncheon on Wednesday, council board chairperson Donna Harris unveiled the council's marketing plan for the next year to tourism-based business owners and members of the community. The campaign's theme is "Land of Legends."

The council consists of representatives from Benson, Bisbee, Douglas, Sierra Vista, Tombstone, Willcox and the county government. The council's purpose is to represent and market the county as a whole, rather than as individual towns. Through intergovernmental agreements, each community contributes funds based on its population. Through the council, grants are sought to enhance the county's marketing muscle.

A study commissioned by the council generated valuable information about the who, why, where, when and how of visitors to the county, Harris said.

Tom Combrink of the Arizona Hospitality Research and Resource Center at Northern Arizona University explained the study's findings and pointed out trends, strengths and weaknesses in the region's tourism industry, for the 32 people attending the meeting.

The study revealed that the tourism industry in Cochise County generated an economic impact of $120 million during 2001. Visitors spent more than $79.2 million in lodging, transportation, food, shopping and entertainment. Another $40.8 million trickled down in expenditures by employees and owners of tourism-based businesses. Visitor spending resulted in 2,967 direct jobs in the county, and another 1,250 indirect and induced jobs, for a total of 4,217 jobs in Cochise County.

"This study shows the economic impact of tourism on the county. It shows why people are coming here and how it affects the whole region," Harris said.

She said the council's plan to increase the number of visitors to the area. A stronger presence on the Internet, state and national advertising campaigns and an official visitors guide, "Land of Legends," are just three of the ways that tourism can be increased.

The council has hired Michael Bolchalk Marketing to coordinate the campaign. At the meeting, Bolchalk explained how his firm will use the study results to focus the three-year marketing strategy.

"Although we are operating in a negative economic environment, there are opportunities out there," Bolchalk said.

He said the research shows that people are taking shorter vacations, staying closer to home and traveling by car or recreational vehicle. The information led to initial plans to create a proprietary Web site at www.explorecochise.com and an outdoor advertising presence using 14-feet-by-48-feet high-tech billboards in the Tucson area.

Some of the specific findings of the 2001 Cochise County Visitor Survey are:

•	Ninety-five percent of the county's visitors are from the United States and 5 percent are from out of the country.
•	Among domestic visitors, 36 percent are Arizona residents. The large majority live in the Phoenix metropolitan area, although Tucson is the most important single city of origin.
•	Vacationers account for 85 percent of the visitors, with the remaining 15 percent made up of business and military-related travelers.
•	The average age of visitors is 52 years.
•	The most important attractions are the Old West, cultural and historic sites; national and state parks; ghost towns; and birding and wildlife preserves.
•	Seventy percent of visitors have household incomes above $50,000.