Tourism & Visitation
Tourism: Flagstaff’s #1 Economic Driver A
rizona’s travel and tourism industry is one of the state’s most lucrative statewide businesses and is the number one economic driver in our community. Flagstaff tourism supports an estimated 8,000 jobs generating $500 million dollars to the local economy. According to the Arizona Office of Tourism Economic Impact Study, tourism provides economic stability to the community with an annual real tax savings of approximately $1,360 per household. The City of Flagstaff destination marketing organization, Discover Flagstaff, strives for a balance between the visitor experience and quality of life for residents. This marketing team manages sustainable eco-tourism messages that encourage visitors to stay and play responsibly while providing exceptional visitor services and quality support to educate, inspire and motivate travel to northern Arizona. As the city’s economic engine providing many local services, residents are encouraged to be friendly with visitors and connect with them in the moment. Visitors aren’t looking for a vacation but rather searching for authentic local experiences. Many visitors rely on locals for information and sharing the community with our out-of-town guests benefits all of us by supporting Bed, Board, and Beverage (BBB) funds. And did you know? The Flagstaff Visitor Center is also an excellent resource for referring visitors to meet wellinformed staff for detailed Flagstaff information, maps and suggestions. Sustainable tourism is key to our community and recently, Discover Flagstaff, joined forces with the mountain towns of Bend, OR; South Lake Tahoe, CA; Bozeman, MT and Steamboat Springs, CO to encourage responsible resource use. Pledge for the Wild supports efforts to keep our wild places, wild. The simple action of texting a donation to 44321 with the message Wild4Flag directly benefits the Flagstaff Trails Initiative. How it works: Once a visitor is inspired by an epic Flagstaff hike, biking beautiful mountain trails, enjoying the breathtaking fields of flowers or a peaceful forest trek, they will be encouraged to text a donation and want others to do the same. Working together, the idea is to keep Flagstaff’s wild places special as a destination for all to experience the outdoors and Pledge for the Wild. Flagstaff tourism is incredibly important to our local economy, and with Pledge for the Wild, visitors and residents can help sustain Flagstaff’s beauty for generations.
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Winter 2020 • www.flagstaff.az.gov
Flagstaff Local My Actions Matter: A resident centered FREE program
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lagstaff Local is a community movement encouraging and celebrating residents that complete actions in the Flagstaff city limits supporting the following pillars: shop, volunteer, be eco-friendly, donate, support education, mentor and vote. Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans said, “local decisions make a difference in Flagstaff and supporting our community through our actions is an integral part of our Flagstaff culture improving quality of life for all.” Flagstaff residents accomplish great things every single day. This program rewards those actions and it begins with an easy one, two, three sign-up process: • login to flagstafflocal.com, hover on the “hamburger” menu icon in the upper left corner, click “take action” • Enter information: first and last names, email address, password • Hit return – process completed Once a login has been established, residents then record their support of a pillar by up uploading receipts or photos confirming support within the pillar. Multiple actions can be recorded in a single website visit. Some examples of actions include: • Be eco-friendly: Purchase sustainable products, re-use and recycle, pick up trash when walking or hiking, work with sustainability organizations on how to make your home or office eco-friendlier, choose to bike, carpool or take the bus. • Shop Flagstaff: Learn about local businesses and get to know the community members that work there, use local services, bank locally and support restaurants that source part or all of their product locally. • Support education: Volunteer in a classroom or a lunchroom, serve as a chaperone on a school field trip or assist in a technology lab, and encourage students to utilize library resources. •Vote: Register to vote, educate yourself about the candidates and issues, cast your vote in person or by mail. Flagstafflocal.com is a secured website and there will be no selling of information. Choosing to shop Flagstaff has many benefits to residents. For instance, a local purchase generates revenue that helps support parks and recreation, public safety, workforce, and much more. Specifically, purchasing a cup of coffee from a neighborhood coffee house, or a vehicle
from a Flagstaff dealership, directly results in collected taxes providing for better Flagstaff parks, beautification programs and much more. By residents engaging and taking part, it is making a difference and connecting to what is loved about Flagstaff and living here, with everyday actions. Flagstaff Citizen of the Year and volunteer Gene Munger said, “my most rewarding time is reading to young children at our local schools and if you have that opportunity it will change your life forever.” Aside from the feeling of doing good and making good things happen, residents will also have opportunities to win rewards: •The first 300 locals that sign up and log 20 points of actions will receive a free June 6, 2020 Hullabaloo ticket. • Prizes vary and can include chances-to-win running shoes, event tickets, gift certificates and more. •Three grand prizes will be awarded June 2020 that included a pair of bikes and office equipment provided by Pepsi, Flag Bike Revolution and Quality Connections. • Earning points exclusively supports businesses and organizations within Flagstaff city limits. City of Flagstaff Economic Vitality Director Heidi Hansen said, “it’s more than the prizes, it’s about the feeling you get when giving back to the community and that actions do matter. You love Flagstaff. We love Flagstaff. Let’s come together, share our actions, and be the city where people continue to visit, discover, grow, and thrive. This is a movement where our community shares and works toward common goals for stronger outcomes.” To qualify, residents must live within the Flagstaff Unified School District boundary and actions must occur within Flagstaff city limits. For additional details, visit www.flagstafflocal. com, click on Frequently Asked Questions which includes a boundary map link. Flagstaff Local – My Actions Matter - began November 21, 2019 and concludes May 31, 2020. Flagstaff Local – My Actions Matter is brought to you by the City of Flagstaff and our partners to highlight the importance of keeping our collective actions local.
