With the chill of autumn in the air and winter on its way, Flagstaff business owners, hoteliers, and restaurateurs are now able to reflect on the recently concluded summer tourism season.
Although the skiing and snowboarding seasons that are yet to come traditionally provide Flagstaff with the vast majority of its tourist-based economic activity, visitation to the area during the summer months provides the city with a much-needed cushion in the event of snowfall declines.
A review of data obtained from the Flagstaff Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (FCVB), the Flagstaff Downtown Business Alliance (FDBA) and local business owners indicates that the city’s tourism and visitation rates have remained steady, or even improved in certain sectors, despite the uncertainty associated with the recent national recession.
FCVB Director Heidi Hansen says several key economic indicators suggest that Flagstaff’s summer season represented an improvement over the same period one year ago.
“Flagstaff has not seen a dip in tourism activity during the summer, and in fact, we are seeing additional increases indicating that Flagstaff continues to be resilient while staying on the positive trajectory we maintained throughout the economic downturn,” said Hansen. “Data from July is showing that Better Business Bureau tax revenue we receive from hotels, restaurants and bars is up 1.29 percent. Based upon preliminary information, we expect August to have been even better.”
If Hansen’s appraisal of economic activity in August proves to be accurate, this upward trend might suggest Flagstaff is quite resilient, especially considering one of Northern Arizona’s most celebrated traditions recently came to an end.
The Arizona Cardinals have held their annual summer training camp on the campus of Northern Arizona University every year since 1988 – barring 2005, when a virus outbreak forced a move to Prescott – and during more than two decades in the high country, the team attracted thousands of football fans to the area.
When negotiations between NAU and the Cardinals fell through earlier this year, the team moved its training camp to Glendale, and with it, the annual invasion of football fans.
Despite the loss of this consistent economic generator, Flagstaff business owners have not experienced the expected decline in sales revenue, and in fact many entrepreneurs report that the past summer actually represented an improvement over seasons past.
“Our businesses had a great summer, and from our perspective, downtown was full of families and visitors all summer long,” said John VanLandingham, owner of the Old Town Shops, a collection of independently owned shops and restaurants in downtown Flagstaff. “There are so many visitors to Flagstaff and so many things going on in the summer, that from a sales perspective, we didn’t notice the Cardinals’ absence.”
VanLandingham attributes Flagstaff’s ability to retain its share of the notoriously fickle tourism market to a variety of regional factors, including the downtown district’s eclectic makeup, and the preference of residents to shop in locally owned establishments.
“Downtown Flagstaff is a vibrant retail, restaurant and business district that is at once quirky, friendly and fun,” he said. “Over 100 locally owned businesses call downtown home, each bringing their own unique take on the products they sell or the food they make. Our downtown fabric is full of friendly people, one-of-a-kind places and people that make it fun to visit for locals and tourists alike.”
Leslie Connell, who works with the FDBA and publishes the Flagstaff Discovery Map & Guide, agrees with VanLandingham’s optimistic assessment of the economic climate.
“So far, I’ve had no turn-downs on my renewals, and have some new leads that seem interested in advertising,” she said, in reference to the Discovery Map. “Anecdotally, the customers I’ve spoken with so far seem satisfied that the tourism economy has been okay this summer – versus a couple of years ago when people were just hanging on by a thread.”
For Connell, the loss of the Cardinals camp was not an excuse to justify reduced visitation and tourism revenue, but an opportunity to reshape the overall tourism marketing strategy put in place by the city’s commercial sector.
“I think that we can ‘retrain’ our visitors to keep coming throughout August, while we’re experiencing the most wonderful weather in the state,” she said. “The goal should be to aim at target markets with disposable income and no kids going back to school – but to also avoid putting all of our eggs into one ‘event’ basket.”
While one major summer event centered on professional athletics has moved on, Flagstaff and NAU are still hoping to parlay the passion of sports fans into a payday for local businesses. According to Lisa Campos, who serves as the vice president of intercollegiate athletics for NAU, the university worked diligently after the Cardinals’ departure to replace the team’s – and their fans’ – presence. An agreement with Arizona’s first professional sports squad – the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns – put the team’s preseason training camp on campus from Sept. 30 through Oct. 5.
“NAU has always been committed to using its facilities and expertise for economic development in the region, and during this past summer university staff worked very hard within a short time frame to bring additional camps and programs to NAU in an effort to replace visitor spending associated with the Cardinals,” said Campos. “Based on the fact that the July BBB returns and hotel revenues were greater than in 2012, it appears that NAU, the FCVB and the community were able to replace the Cardinals’ previous economic impact.”
“The important hotel numbers to look at are Average Daily Rate, which is up 5.1 percent, and Revenue per Available Room, which is up 1.5 percent,” she said. “Hotels reported that they made more revenue per room night in the month of July 2013, compared to last July. In addition, while hotel occupancy was relatively flat in August, Average Daily Rate was up 5.9 percent, Revenue per Available Room was up 5.2 percent, and hotel revenues were up 7.1 percent.”
Although the sun has set on Flagstaff’s summer season, the FCVB attributes the better than expected tourism numbers to the new branding campaign.
“We focused a lot of our efforts on the individual leisure market in the Phoenix area, specifically new bus wraps and light rail wraps encouraging them to visit the cool pines of Flagstaff this summer – and that has definitely returned dividends,” said Hansen.
Business owners like VanLandingham cite the area’s temperate summer weather, numerous outdoors activities and thriving nightlife scene for the recent tourism activity.
“People from all around the state and beyond come to Flagstaff in the summer for the weather, and the recreational opportunities,” he said. “They visit downtown because of the unique character of the buildings, shops, restaurants, pubs and the like.” FBN
